Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Forbes, a sharpshooter with deep range, had only attempted a total of 13 shots in Michigan State's past three games. He had 12 shots alone on Sunday and scored 18 points, a product of him being more precise and aggressive on his off-ball cuts and Izzo making a greater effort to design plays to get him shots.
"Tonight he was more aggressive and we did a better job of running some things for him," Izzo said. "It was a combination that worked well."
This and That
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• Oakland 's Greg Kampe has an absolute gem in 5-9 point guard Kahlil Felder. The crafty floor general has scored 20 or more points and dished out 10 or more assists in each of the Golden Grizzlies' five games so far this season. Felder is currently averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game.
Dixson gets his second award in as many weeks after averaging 9.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in UIC’s two games last week. The 6-foot-7 forward has continued to struggle from the field at 32.5 percent on the year, but he has been the Flames’ second-leading scorer with 10.5 points per contest.
Side Dishes
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Couple teams going down unexpectedly on Saturday: Valparaiso lost to Ball State 69-66, while Missouri-Kansas City knocked South Dakota State from the ranks of the undefeated, 64-57.
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Wichita State forward Anton Grady continued to recover on Saturday after a frightening fall in the Shockers’ game Friday against Alabama. Per a school press release, “doctors believe Grady suffered a spinal cord concussion during his collision with an opposing player in the Shockers’ Friday afternoon game at the AdvoCare Invitational, and they anticipate that, with time, his motor function and strength will return.” Praying and hoping for the best for him.
Corpus Christi, Texas — Percy Gibson had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Kay Felder added 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Oakland rolled over Abilene Christian, 85-57, in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic on Saturday.
Oakland (3-2) started slow, led 13-9 at the midway point, then sprinted to a 37-24 lead at the break and dominated even more in the second half, winning that period 48-33.
The Golden Grizzles made 10 of 17 from long range and shot 50 percent (32-of-64) from the floor while holding Abilene Christian (3-3) to just 31.3 percent shooting (20-of-64). The Wildcats made only 3 of 21 long-range attempts. The Grizzles also dominated underneath, scoring 42 points in the paint to ACU’s 28.
Jaren Lewis had 13 points to lead ACU and Jalen Little and Jaylen Franklin added eight apiece.
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(At) Oral Roberts 100, Detroit 95: Obi Emegano scored 31 points and Jalen Bradley added 21 as Oral Roberts made 15 of 21 attempts beyond the arc to beat Detroit.
Carlton Brundidge led the Titans (2-2) with 23 points, Anton Wilson had 19 and Chris Jenkins chipped in 16 and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Emegano, who made all five long range attempts, was 8-of-14 from the floor and had eight rebounds and dished out five assists. Bradley made 5 of 7 3-point attempts and had seven assists.
Aaron Young added 15 points for Oral Roberts (6-1), which has won five straight.
The Golden Eagles led throughout the second half. Wilson nailed a trey for the Titans and followed with a free throw to close to 100-95 with 38 seconds left.
State women
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Youngstown State 96, (at) Oakland 77: Olivia Nash scored 15 to lead four Golden Grizzlies in double figures, but Youngstown State had more.
Elena Popkey chipped in 14, Taylor Gleason had 13 and Nicole Dodd 11 for Oakland (3-2, 0-1 Horizon).
Kelsea Newman scored 27 and Indiya Benjamin had 21 for Youngstown State (5-0, 1-0), which outscored the visitors, 50-38, in the second half.
"We're struggling right now with our bigs a little bit," Izzo said. "And we are struggling with our off-guards to guard somebody."
He was talking about Forbes and Harris, specifically. The team gets today to practice, watch film and try to regroup defensively. Izzo joked that he might send Harris and Forbes to nearby Disneyland to "see if they can find somebody to guard."
Cancun Challenge
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The South Dakota State Jackrabbits join Maryland in ending the Cancun Challenge with four wins, a rarity for a split-bracket event, as they rolled past the Cleveland State Vikings, 77-66, to claim the Riviera bracket crown.
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Gulf Coast Showcase
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A bigger surprise is the 0-3 finish the Central Michigan Chippewas, the preseason MAC favorites endured. The Chips fell to the Milwaukee Panthers, 84-78, in the first game of the day in Estero, Fla.
Side Dishes
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Valparaiso concluded its Oregon swing with a split, posting an impressive 63-57 win over Oregon State in a game that wasn’t that close most of the way. Valpo is far from the Alec Peters show anymore; Tevonn Walker and Shane Hammink both scored 15 points each to lead the offense.
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A 5-0 team you need to keep an eye on: South Dakota State, which already has handled Illinois State and TCU on the road and routed Houston Baptist 92-68 last night. Most surprising 5-0 team? Perhaps Southern Illinois, which defeated a good Oakland team 97-88 Tuesday.
Valparaiso Shuts Down Oregon State Oregon State is a Tournament-quality team, yet Valparaiso won this game despite a poor shooting day both from outside (4-for-16 on threes as a team) and from star Alec Peters (3-for-12). They did it with suffocating defense, holding Oregon State to 0.86 PPP, despite a stat-stuffing 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals from Gary Payton III. Valparaiso's defense has been great all season long (Pomeroy currently ranks it 6th in the nation).
Valparaiso is a team that would be good enough to earn an at-large bid in a tougher league. Unfortunately, it will be almost impossible for them to pull it off out of the Horizon League when their best non-conference wins will be over Oregon State and Rhode Island. The Selection Committee just does not properly value road games. Via the Sagarin ratings, a road game at Horizon League foe Milwaukee is approximately equal to home games against Georgetown, Wisconsin, or Florida State. We can be damn sure the Selection Committee won't see it that way, though. A home win over Georgetown would be an RPI Top 50 "quality win", while a loss to Milwaukee will be an RPI 100+ "bad loss".
Oregon State, in contrast, will get plenty of chances to pick up quality victories in conference play. They still look like a team destined to be in the bubble mix in February and March.
In the Gulf Coast Showcase, Murray State defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 66-63 when the Panthers’ tying three-pointer was ruled just after the buzzer. The Racers will now face Pepperdine, which topped Duquesne 84-70. Drake then edged Western Kentucky 81-79 in overtime behind the individual performance of the night-41 points from Kale Abrahamson. The Bulldogs now get Weber State, which slowed down Central Michigan in a 64-60 win. The Big Sky Conference is quietly putting together some nice wins early on.
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Today’s menu: The day is heavy on tournament action
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The best non-tournament game has Valparaiso at Oregon State. The Crusaders continue a hellacious early season schedule. If they can win one of two at the Pac-12 schools in Oregon, call that a success.
Another to watch -- Valparaiso at Oregon State -- 9 ET, PAC12
Can Valparaiso pull off against Oregon State what it barely couldn't at Oregon? It wouldn't be a surprise at all. The Crusaders are a terrific group defensively with experience all over the floor and a genuine star on the mid-major level in Alec Peters. On the other side, the Beavers figure to be much better this season and contend for an NCAA Tournament bid. Gary Payton II is one of the best defensive players in the country, and he's surrounded by more shooting and offense than last season. This is going to be a hard-nosed defensive game that could go either way.
Valparaiso Crusaders at Oregon State Beavers (Beavers Challenge), 9 p.m. (Pac-12 Network National and Oregon)
On Sunday, the Crusaders didn't have enough to win at Oregon, but they get another crack at a Pac-12 NCAA contender this evening. Both squads have already handily defeated Iona in home games as part of this event.
Robert Morris Colonials at New Mexico State Aggies (Air Force Classic), 9:30 p.m. (AggieVision/ESPN3)
The defending NEC Tournament champions have yet to win a game, as they lost by 12 at Air Force to start their participation in this round-robin on Sunday. Tonight, the Colonials will face a difficult contest against a fellow 2015 NCAA qualifier, one who's just lost once—to archrival New Mexico—in their first four.
