News On The Horizon 3/10/2014

Out In The Cold--Sports On Earth
Late Night Snacks: No. 4 Duke, No. 10 San Diego State among the big winners--CollegeBasketballTalk

Horizon: Milwaukee eliminates regular season champion Green Bay
Green Bay, the prohibitive favorite to win the Horizon League tournament, lost to Milwaukee 69-64 in overtime in one semifinal. Jordan Aaron led the winners with 28 points, hitting multiple key shots in both regulation and overtime. Keifer Sykes injured his ankle in the first half but he toughed it out for the Phoenix, who will now have a stressful eight-day wait to see if they can squeak into the NCAA tournament field. As a result of Green Bay’s loss Wright State will host the title game as a result of their 68-63 win over Cleveland State.

Sunday Basketball Brunch: The 10 best individual performances this season--USA Today

Green Bay: The Phoenix fell in the Horizon League Tournament to Milwaukee, 73-66, in overtime and despite a fantastic season, the team's NCAA tourney credentials likely won't be enough to push them into the NCAAs. NIT is always a tough consolation.

Leading Off: McLemore or McCallum?--Sacramento Bee

March Madness Begins On Monday As Titans Host Valparaiso--detroittitans.com

OAKLAND TRIO NAMED TO MADNESS ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS--ougrizzlies.com

Illinois College Basketball Rankings for the Week of March 10--The Catch and Shoot

13. UIC (6-25, 1-15 Horizon). Last week: 13

UIC’s nightmare season ended in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament with a loss to Valparaiso. The Flames lose three of their top five scorers this offseason.

RTC Bracketology: March 9 Edition--Rush The Court

Green Bay very much alive: I always feel awful for at least one mid-major team that dominates its conference all season and then gets swept away in the conference tournament, losing to a team its already proven it’s better than. Well, this year’s team has already identified itself: Green Bay. The Phoenix lost to Milwaukee Saturday night and now will sweat out Selection Sunday. For those who think Green Bay’s chances of getting a bid are slim to none, think again. Remember the first year of the 68-team field when UAB was picked out of Conference USA despite losing in the first round of the CUSA Tournament to East Carolina? Or last season, when a Middle Tennessee team without a single top 100 win, made the field? The Pheonix have a top 100 win, and actually, they have four. They also have a TOP 10 RPI win over Virginia, a team the rest of the ACC has only defeated twice. I’m not saying Green Bay is getting a bid – not at this point, with so much still to be determined — but they will be one of the last teams in or out next Sunday. The committee has shown over and over again since the field expanded that it will use an average of two of last few spots for mid-majors. This is a weaker year for mid-majors than any other year since the field went to 68 teams, but that doesn’t mean the committee will act differently.

W-1 BP68--Basketball Predictions

Three auto bids changed in this bracket. First, Eastern Kentucky won the Ohio Valley after upsetting Murray State and Belmont on consecutive nights. Belmont had been the favorite. In the Horizon League, Green Bay was knocked out, and so Wright State is the new favorite. It's a shame that Green Bay will almost certainly miss the NCAA Tournament, because they'll deserve to be there. By Sagarin PURE_ELO they'll likely end up with one of the two or three best resumes left out of the Tournament.

Morning News: New Bracket, West Virginia Upsets Kansas, Oregon Moves Into The Field, Duke Beats UNC, San Diego State/New Mexico And Much More--Basketball Predictions

Green Bay Falls This is a painful loss for Green Bay fans. They'll play in the NIT, but this was a team with a real chance to make an NCAA Tournament run during their final season with 7'1" Alec Brown. He and Kiefer Sykes were a really nice inside-outside combo. The question is: Should Green Bay earn an at-large bid? The answer is "yes they do", but they won't. Green Bay is 44th Sagarin PURE_ELO, but only 60th in RPI with almost as many RPI 100+ losses (3) and RPI Top 100 wins (4). They have the big win over Virginia, and I think we'd all prefer to see them in the Tournament over another 8-10 major conference team, but the reality is that teams in this situation get left out 99% of the time.

Mid-Major Rankings for the Week of March 10--The Catch and Shoot

6. Green Bay (24-6, 14-1 Horizon). Last week: 3

Green Bay’s NCAA Tournament hopes came to an abrupt end with a loss to Milwaukee in the Horizon League semifinals. The Phoenix’s chances for an at-large bid are doubtful, and they will most likely wind up playing in the NIT.

Now what? UWGB has week to prepare for likely NIT bid--Green Bay Press Gazette
Milwaukee 73, Green Bay 66 (OT)--Phear The Phoenix

Kraker Earns Third Freshman of the Week Honors--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Horizon League Postseason Awards Highlighted by Buck, Borseth--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Long-shot UWM takes aim at NCAA Tournament bid--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Why Not: The Incredible Turnaround--PantherU
Milwaukee shocks the world upsetting Green Bay--PantherU
One win away from the NCAA Tournament--PantherU
Ticket And Transportation Information For Tuesday's Championship Now Available--uwmpanthers.com
Video: Panthers Meet Media As Prep For Title Game Begins--uwmpanthers.com
Panthers Set For Title Game Matchup With Wright State--uwmpanthers.com
Video: Panthers In Dayton As Title Game Approaches--uwmpanthers.com

Rodriguez Named To All-Horizon League Second Team--uwmpanthers.com

Valparaiso Accepts Bid to CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament--valpoathletics.com

Women’s Basketball: Horizon League Tournament outlook--The Post-Tribune
Women’s Basketball: Valparaiso opens Horizon League Tournament Monday night--The Post-Tribune
Carr has Crusaders ready for Horizon League tournament--The NWI Times
Scouting the Horizon League Tournament--The NWI Times
Crusaders and Titans Open HL Tournament with Showdown in Motor City--valpoathletics.com

WSU to play for Horizon League title at home--Dayton Daily News
Take two: Older, wiser WSU back in HL title game--Dayton Daily News
Raiders NCAA history has been split--Dayton Daily News
Men’s Basketball: Raiders 40 minutes from NCAA berth--The Guardian

WSU’s Demming named HL Player of the Year--Dayton Daily News
Demmings Player of the Year, James, Mingo Honored--wsuraiders.com
Elkins Named Horizon League Player of the Week--wsuraiders.com

Schlegel, Touvelle and Hirsch Earn Horizon League Postseason Accolades--ysusports.com

Donlon Dreams of NCAAs while Remembering Mother--Horizon League Network

Elkins Named Player of the Week, Kraker Earns Freshman Honors--Horizon League Network
Horizon League Announces Women's Basketball 2013-14 All-League Honors--Horizon League Network