On The Horizon

Jim Squire

The Morning Dish – Sunday, November 30, 2014--Hoopville

Saturday’s action
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Toledo’s disappointing start continues. The Rockets lost again and are now 2-4 after falling at Oakland 81-79. None of its four losses are awful-VCU, Oregon and Detroit are solid and even at Oakland is no picnic-but more was expected of this team. The Golden Grizzlies shot 55.1% in this one.
Ditto for Murray State. There’s no polite way to say it: Racers stunk up the joint last night and are playing nowhere near their talent level, not after a 93-58 loss in Nashville to Valparaiso in which Bryce Drew’s Crusaders outscored Murray 50-21 in the second half. By the way: Valpo sophomore Alec Peters is turning into quite a player: 26 points in this one, and averaging 19.1 per game this year.

O26 Weekly Awards: Northern Iowa, Craig Bradshaw, Pat Duquette & Eastern Washington--Rush The Court

Honorable Mentions: Gonzaga (2-0: N-Georgia, N-St. John’s); Green Bay (3-0: N-East Carolina, N-Evansville, N-Florida Gulf Coast); Colorado State (3-0: N-Missouri State, N-Pacific, N-UC Santa Barbara); Valparaiso (3-0: N-Drake, N-Murray State, N-Portland).

Late Night Snacks: Two ranked teams fall at the Battle 4 Atlantis--CollegeBasketballTalk

STRUGGLED

1. Cleveland State players other than Trey Lewis

Lewis scored 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting from the field. His teammates scored a combined nine points on 4-for-32 shooting. The Vikings lost to No. 6 Louisville 45-33, with Rick Pitino getting his 700th career win.
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NOTABLES
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Keifer Sykes scored 19 points and dished out five assists, but the biggest story in Green Bay’s 59-45 win over FGCU is that they limited the Eagles to 27.3% shooting from the field.

Mid-Major Rankings for the Week of Dec. 1--The Catch and Shoot

15. Green Bay (4-1). Last week: 15

Green Bay defeated East Carolina, Evansville and Florida Gulf Coast to win the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Phoenix have their hands full again this week with games at Georgia State and Miami (Fla.).
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21. Valparaiso (7-1). Last week: Unranked

Valparaiso dominated the Challenge in Music City last week with wins against Drake, Murray State and Portland. The Crusaders’ average margin of victory at the tournament was 23.3 points.

Rick Pitino gets his 700th career victory, but his team remains cold from three--CollegeBasketballTalk
Dwyane Wade scores 27 in return as Heat holds off Knicks--Miami Herald

Noteworthy: Dwyane Wade returned to the starting lineup Sunday against the Knicks after missing seven consecutive games. Chris Andersen is expected to miss his third game in a row with a sprained ankle. Norris Cole is playing with an injured left middle finger for the Heat. … The Wizards have won four of their past five games, and Monday will be Bradley Beal’s third game back in the starting lineup since returning from injury. Nene has missed three games in a row with plantar fasciitis.

Heat’s effort lacking in poor showing against Wizards--Miami Herald

The Wizards’ lead stretched to 21 points early in the third quarter with a wide-open dunk in transition by forward Kris Humphries. Finished off by a running layup from Norris Cole, the Heat scored eight consecutive points and cut Washington’s lead to 72-59, but Humphries then put down another wide-open dunk, and the blowout was on.

Splint causing problems for Heat's Norris Cole--South Florida Sun Sentinel
Heat return to court after holiday break--South Florida Sun Sentinel

Guard Norris Cole, who didn't practice Saturday, was also given added time to heal the dislocated finger on his left, non-shooting hand that caused him to miss two games. Spoelstra said Cole will play versus New York.

"Norris went through the non-contact part of practice," Spoelstra said. "He'll be fine [Sunday]. We just didn't want to risk him getting hit."
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They've dealt with injuries to Wade, Cole, forwards Josh McRoberts, Udonis Haslem and Danny Granger. With all available, the Heat are close to resembling a full team.

MSU 79, Marquette 68: Valentine scores career-high 25--The Detroit Free Press

Travis Trice scored 19 points for MSU, which got a spark off the bench from freshman Lourawls (Tum Tum) Nairn. Izzo started Nairn in the second half in place of Bryn Forbes, who played just 18 minutes because of defense that frustrated his coach.

Izzo frustrated with win: 'We have some guys that are soft'--The Detroit Free Press

"As I've been telling you, we have some guys that are soft and that is a four-letter word at Michigan State and not a good one," said Izzo, who benched junior guard Bryn Forbes to start the second half and played him just four minutes after the break.
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Freshman flip: Izzo also was displeased with the play of freshman point guard Lourawls (Tum Tum) Nairn at times in the first half, but he started Nairn in place of Forbes in the second and got a boost from him. Nairn's consecutive steals keyed an 8-0 MSU run that blew open the game.

Cleveland State has no offense to keep No. 6 Louisville from getting No. 700 for coach Rick Pitino--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State gets Charlie Lee back; Akron, Kent State continue to regroup -- Division I Basketball Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State offers Baltimore point guard--Cleveland State Hoops
Cleveland State Downed by No. 6 Louisville 45-33--Vikings Ball
Cleveland State Downs Marshall 68-59--Vikings Ball
Cleveland State (3-3) Squares Off with Toledo (2-4)--Vikings Ball
Vikings Win at Marshall, 68-59--csuvikings.com
Two "Viking Voyages" Set For 2014-15 Season--csuvikings.com

Vikings Top Notre Dame (OH), 83-67--csuvikings.com
Vikings Travel To Eastern Michigan For Tuesday Evening Contest--csuvikings.com

Bowling Green moves to 4-0 thanks to a Richaun Holmes buzzer-beating layup (VIDEO)--CollegeBasketballTalk
Monday's roundup--The Detroit News

(At) Detroit 109, Aquinas College 59: Juwan Howard Jr. shot 10-for-11 for 20 points to lead Detroit over NAIA member Aquinas College.

Paris Bass and Brandan Kearney had 17 apiece and Carlton Brundidge added 14 for the Titans (5-3).

Howard is now just 20 points away from 1,000 for his Detroit career.

Detroit (5-3) jumped out to a 29-15 lead midway through the first half, pushed that to 60-34 at the half and was rolling 88-48 with 10:42 left in the game.

The Titans nailed 12 of 22 3-point attempts and made 41 of 68 field goal attempts (60.3 percent) while limiting the Saints to 39.3 percent. Detroit also won the rebounding battle, grabbing 41 compared to 24 for Aquinas.

Jake Bullock scored eight for Aquinas, which was forced into 23 turnovers.

Dream comes true for Bass as he makes UD debut--Dayton Daily News
Smith stays patient and shakes off shooting slump--Dayton Daily News

The return of Ryan Bass, who made his UD debut Saturday after missing more than three weeks of practice and games because of a concussion, takes some of the pressure off Smith and the rest of the guards. Smith played more than 30 minutes in three of the first four games and only 22 minutes against Connecticut because he was in foul trouble.

With Bass back in the mix and Darrell Davis also able to play point guard, Smith will get more rest.

Saturday's state roundup--The Detroit News

(At) Oakland 81, Toledo 79

Dante Williams scored 20 and Kahil Felder blocked the potential game-tying shot with 1 second left as Oakland held on for the win.

Corey Petros hit a short jumper to give the Golden Grizzlies (2-5) a 37-36 lead at the half and they built that to 74-60 on Ralph Hill's 3-pointer with 6:07 to go.

Johnathan Williams knocked down two 3-pointers as the Rockets (2-4) stormed back. His two free throws made it 80-79 with 43 seconds to go. After a Jalen Hayes free throw at 10 seconds, Julius Brown had a shot to tie that Felder blocked.

Petros had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Felder had 14 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Oakland shot 55.1 percent and hit 10 of 20 3's with Williams going 6-of-9.

Williams had 19 points and Justin Drummond 16 for Toledo.

Free-throw shooting and defense lead Oakland to win over Toledo--The Oakland Press
Oakland Nips Toledo 81-79--Grizz Gang
Kampe hot during loss: Coach thinks team lacks mental toughness right now--Oakland Post
OAKLAND HOLDS OFF TOLEDO, 81-79--ougrizzlies.com

Grizzlies claw to second win of the season over Miami through tough defense--Oakland Post
OAKLAND BESTS REDHAWKS, 65-51--ougrizzlies.com

UIC loses at Dayton, falls to 0-5 away from home--The Catch and Shoot
Illinois College Basketball Rankings for the Week of Dec. 1--The Catch and Shoot

9. UIC (2-5). Last week: 8

UIC ended a three-game losing streak with a win against St. Xavier. The Flames returned to Division I competition Saturday and lost again to Dayton. They host Grand Canyon and Loyola this week.

Inside-outside punch--Whoosh!Net
UIC Pounded by Dayton 75-41--Flame Fanatic
UIC (2-5) Faces Grand Canyon (2-4)--Flame Fanatic
Flames drop tough road contest at Dayton--Bleacher Report
Flames Drop Tough Road Match at rv/- Dayton--uicflames.com
Men's Basketball Seeks 3-0 Home Record on Tuesday Night--uicflames.com

Women drop contest vs rival Northwestern--UIC News
Women’s squad cruises past UIS at Pavilion--UIC News
Women's Basketball Cruises Past UIS, 61-44--uicflames.com
Women's Basketball Seeks Third Straight Win over SIUE--uicflames.com

Morning Coffee: Green Bay, North Florida, Northern Iowa Take Home Titles--Mid-Major Madness

Gulf Coast Showcase

The marquee event of yesterday was certainly the Gulf Coast Showcase final between Green Bay and Florida Gulf Coast. The absence of Jamail Jones may have finally gotten to the Eagles last night as Green Bay started the game on a 15-0 run and never looked back in a 59-45 win. Of course Keifer lead the way with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Keifer Sykes wins second-straight Horizon League Player of the Week--The Catch and Shoot
UWGB men vs. Minn.-Duluth: What to watch for--Green Bay Press Gazette
UWGB men 78, Minnesota-Duluth 52--Green Bay Press Gazette
Sykes, UWGB roll to best start since 1991--Green Bay Press Gazette
GB moves up 2 spots in Mid-Major polls--Phear The Phoenix
NOTEBOOK: Defense Wins Gulf Coast Showcase Championships--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Green Bay Returns Home Monday Seeking 5-1 Start--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Sykes Wins Record 11th Career Player of the Week Award--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Green Bay Cruises to Best Start Since 1991-92--GreenBayPhoenix.com

No. 3 UConn cruises to a 89-53 victory--MICentralSports.com
UW-Green Bay women upend Arizona State--Green Bay Press Gazette
UConn steamrolls UW-Green Bay women--Green Bay Press Gazette
UConn 89, UWGB women 53--Green Bay Press Gazette
Strong weekend has UWGB women near Top 25--Green Bay Press Gazette
Kraker's 20 Points Power Green Bay Past Georgia Tech--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Green Bay Storms Back Late to Knock Off Arizona State--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Green Bay Starts Hot, But No. 3 UConn Too Strong in End--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Mehryn Kraker Garners Player of the Week Award--GreenBayPhoenix.com

UW-Milwaukee does just enough to win--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee wins close game against Concordia-St. Paul--PantherU
Milwaukee Holds On For 64-59 Victory Over Concordia-St. Paul--uwmpanthers.com
Milwaukee Announces Student Ticket Distribution For Wisconsin Game--uwmpanthers.com
Panthers Close Out Brief Homestand Versus UMKC Wednesday--uwmpanthers.com

Rally isn't quite enough for UWM women--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Rally Forces Missouri To Sweat Out Victory--uwmpanthers.com
Panthers Renew Series With UMKC After 20-Year Break--uwmpanthers.com

Late Night Snacks: Last-second heroics land No. 7 Texas an important non-conference victory--CollegeBasketballTalk

NOTABLES
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Valparaiso moved to 7-1 with a 70-55 win over previously undefeated Portland, with Alec Peter scoring a team-high 20 points.

Chicago Weekly Awards: Dec. 1--The Catch and Shoot

Player of the Week
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Honorable mention: Alec Peters, Valparaiso; Milton Doyle, Loyola; Jamee Crockett, DePaul

Freshman of the Week

With last year’s start point guard Lexus Williams out for the year, freshman Tevonn Walker has started every game. He delivered in the Crusaders’ three dominant wins at the Challenge in Music City, averaging 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Men’s Basketball: Valparaiso center Vashil Fernandez refocuses to produce results--The Post-Tribune
Men’s Basketball: Alec Peters steers Valparaiso past Murray State in rout--The Post-Tribune
Men’s Basketball: Valparaiso completes three-game sweep of Challenge in Music City--The Post-Tribune
Valparaiso's Nickerson faces tough challenge this weekend--The NWI Times
Crusaders take first game of Challenge in Music City--The NWI Times
Crusaders simply dominant against Murray State--The NWI Times
Crusaders capture Challenge in Music City title--The NWI Times
Defense the key to Valparaiso’s early success--The NWI Times
Valparaiso Thumps Drake 66-46--Valpo Daily
Valparaiso Demolishes Murray State 93-58--Valpo Daily
Valparaiso Trounces Portland 70-55--Valpo Daily
Valparaiso (7-1) and Eastern Kentucky (4-1) Square Off--Valpo Daily
Crusaders Take Down Drake in Nashville Friday Night--valpoathletics.com
Crusaders Explode In Win Over Murray State--valpoathletics.com
Crusaders Claim Tournament Crown With Win Over Portland--valpoathletics.com
Men's Basketball Looks For Seventh Straight Win at EKU--valpoathletics.com
Valpo Basketball Preview--valpoathletics.com

Women’s Basketball: Louisville (6-0) at Valparaiso (3-2)--The Post-Tribune
Women’s Basketball: Louisville too much for Valparaiso to handle--The Post-Tribune
Valparaiso’s gutsy effort comes up short against Louisville--The NWI Times
Crusaders Assemble Valiant Effort Versus #12 Louisville--valpoathletics.com
Old Rivals Square Off on New Stage--valpoathletics.com

Morning Coffee: Thanksgiving Round Up and Leftovers--Mid-Major Madness

Spartansburg Marriott Upstate Classic

There's a nice little four team tournament going on in South Carolina this week. Host USC Upstate defeated FIU 68-53 yesterday behind 15 points and 7 boards from Fred Miller. Wright State lost to Cal State Fullerton 67-62 and the four teams will play eachother in this three game event.

Preview: Wright State vs. Florida International--Dayton Daily News
Wright State falls in OT to FIU--Dayton Daily News
Wright State-Evansville preview--Dayton Daily News
Raiders wrap up road swing with tough test--Dayton Daily News
Wright State Loses Close One to Florida International 61-59 in OT--Rowdy Review
Wright State Takes Down USC Upstate 56-51--Rowdy Review
Wright State (4-3) Takes On Evansville (4-1)--Rowdy Review
Eye on the Raiders Blog: My apologizes--The Guardian
Men’s basketball: Mavin sinks Raiders--The Guardian
Men’s basketball: Raiders respond to adversity with win--The Guardian
Men’s basketball: Raiders fold against the Aces--The Guardian
Men Fall In Overtime to Florida International--wsuraiders.com
Men Win at USC Upstate--The Guardian
Men Fall 86-78 at Evansville--The Guardian

Chaos Gives Way To Effort As Youngstown St. Prevails Over Robert Morris--Mid-Major Madness
Youngstown State Penguins rally to force OT, but fall to Redbirds--Youngstown Vindicator
YSU men visit Robert Morris--Youngstown Vindicator
Hain, Keene lead YSU over Robert Morris--Youngstown Vindicator
Youngstown State Slips with Loss to Illinois State 85-73 in OT--Guin Report
Youngstown State Drops Robert Morris 89-81--Guin Report
Keene Scores Career-High 29 in Overtime Loss at Illinois State--ysusports.com
Penguins Seize Control Late in 89-81 Victory at Robert Morris--ysusports.com

YSU Men and Women Look to Improve on Early Performances--The Jambar

Benjamin’s free throw lifts women over Nicholls State--Youngstown Vindicator
YSU women top Tennessee State for 6-0 start--Youngstown Vindicator
Penguins Escape With 51-50 Win Over Nicholls State--ysusports.com
Posts Carry Penguins to 73-66 Win at Tennessee State--ysusports.com
Schlegel, Benjamin Earn Weekly Awards--ysusports.com

On The Horizon

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

News On The Horizon 12/3/2014

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