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.
Oakland-90-72 winners over Towson-has a legitimate All-American in Kahlil Felder. East Tennessee State-which defeated Louisiana Tech 88-83 in the fourth quarterfinal-joined Northern Illinois and Tennessee Tech as three of the most improved teams in the country. Louisiana Tech won 23 games this year and was a two-time defending NIT quarterfinalist.
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Tonight’s Menu: It’s the week before the Final Four, but Tuesday is hardly a quiet night on the court
The NIT semifinals are held in Madison Square Garden, and perhaps because it includes some teams notably snubbed from the NCAA Tournament, is one of the most appealing quartets in recent memory. It’s Lutherans vs. Mormons in the opener as Valparaiso takes on BYU (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN), and that is followed by another good matchup with George Washington against San Diego State (9:30 p.m.).
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The Vegas 16 also holds its semifinals, with Old Dominion vs. UC Santa Barbara (9 p.m., CBSSN) and Oakland taking on East Tennessee State (11:30 p.m., CBSSN).
Side Dishes
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The situation at Wisconsin-Milwaukee continues to simmer, as three of the team’s top players have asked for their releases. Austin Arians, Jordan Johnson-the nation’s second-leading assist man this year-and Akeem Springs all are considering a transfer, though all three have said they will wait to see who UWM hires as its new coach. It’s been an ugly situation, with the school’s athletic director first not allowing the team to play in a postseason tourney and then firing coach Rob Jeter, and the players have been vocal yet reasonable in addressing their concerns with the way things have gone down.
Saint Louis Billikens
Out: Jim Crews
Names: Joe Dooley (FGCU HC), Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt HC), Anthony Grant (Thunder asst), Bryce Drew (Valpo HC)
Notes: Add Grant and Drew to the rumor mill here. Grant could be waiting for Archie Miller to finally leave Dayton, while bigger names have failed to draw Drew away from his alma mater in the past.
Drew has passed on Power-5 jobs and seems in no rush to leave his alma mater. But he has won at least 25 games in four of the five seasons he has coached at the Division I level, and he's the two-time Horizon League Coach of the Year. Drew got a look from Iowa State. Pitt would be wise to look, too.
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Greg Kampe (Oakland head coach)
Pitt fans seemed to grow tired of Dixon in the sense that he neither plays fast nor has a big personality. So why not look at a guy like Kampe -- who plays fast and has a huge personality? He has guided Oakland to the NCAA Tournament three times, turned so-so prospects into NBA players, won 550-plus career games, gone 24-10 in Horizon League contests the past two years and his Grizzlies led the nation in scoring this season by averaging 86.3 points, which has to be appealing to a school that just lost in the NCAA Tournament with 43 points.
It was hardly what Valentine, Matt Costello and Bryn Forbes envisioned, putting every bit of energy they had into getting back to the Final Four after losing last season to Duke. But that’s where they found themselves, Costello with his head in his hands and Forbes staring at nothing, his eyes not moving.
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Costello had the best game, scoring 22 and grabbing nine rebounds, but his front-end miss of a one-and-one with 1:50 to play kept Michigan State behind by three. That came after Valentine and Forbes each missed 3-pointers that would have tied the game.
But it was a struggle most of the game. Forbes ended up with 14 points, but he was scoreless in the first half. And Valentine turned the ball over six times and was just 5-for-13 shooting for 13 points.
None, however, was deflecting responsibility.
“I wasn't sharp at all in the first half,” Forbes said. “Then at halftime the coaches just put it to us that we were playing terrible. I was playing awful. So, I know I had to pick it up, but it still wasn't enough.”
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The seniors – Colby Wollenman included – were a special group he said, his eyes red as he struggled to relay his feelings.
“They gave me everything,” Izzo said. “They gave me the ability to sleep with two eyes shut again. That disappeared for a few years.”
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Later, Izzo said if his son grew up to be like Valentine, Costello, Forbes or Wollenman, he’d “a happy guy.”
NIT quarterfinal play opens with a delicious matchup of a pair of teams that should’ve been in the NCAA Tournament. It’s offense vs. defense when Saint Mary’s travels across the country to face Valparaiso (7 p.m. EST, ESPN), with the winner making its first-ever trip to the NIT semifinals. That is followed by Creighton playing at BYU (9 p.m., ESPN), with the Cougars looking to get to the semis for the second time in four years while the Bluejays attempt to make their first semifinal trip since 1942.
One of the big stories in the NIT bracket is the fact that there is only one remaining No. 1 seed of the four that entered the tournament in the Valparaiso Crusaders. The Crusaders have rolled to this point, but they’ll certainly be put to the test in the quarterfinals as they take on another team that many people considered to be a snub from the NCAA Tournament in the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
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Obviously the Valparaiso-Saint Mary’s game is going to be huge while the other three matchups all feature a No. 4 seed taking on the No. 2 seed. With how things have gone in the NIT to this point, though, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen next.
Side Dishes
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Given the chance to host an ACC school for the first time ever, Valparaiso handled Florida State 81-69 in the NIT second round to move within one game of a trip to New York. The Crusaders moved to 2-0 all-time against the Seminoles in the second round of postseason tournaments, as Valpo also defeated FSU in the 1998 NCAA second round.
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What appeared to be a bitter situation at Wisconsin-Milwaukee came to a seemingly inevitable end Thursday when Rob Jeter was let go as the Panthers’ coach. UWM finished 20-13 this year but did not participate in a postseason tournament due to the decision of athletic director Amanda Braun, who was very pointed in comments stating she didn’t feel the team deserved to be in the postseason. Jeter had a 185-170 record in 11 seasons at the school and led teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2014 and ran a solid program despite working for six athletic directors in his tenure.
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Today’s Menu:
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Other excellent games include Northern Iowa against Texas, Oregon State vs. VCU, Syracuse meeting Dayton, a highly anticipated Notre Dame/Michigan matchup, and watch out for Wisconsin-Green Bay against Texas A&M, as the Phoenix and their up-tempo style very well could give the Aggies fits.
WSU’s attack seems to come at teams in waves up front. The Shockers start three forwards — Evan Wessel, Morris and Zach Brown —and bring forwards Markis McDuffie, Anton Grady and Kelly off the bench, with sophomore Rauno Nurger also picking up big minutes in the last two games.
“They’re a very good team,” Jekiri said. “Don’t sleep on them. They will make you pay.”
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Something else that’s crucial? WSU’s forwards have very little focus on scoring points and none average in double digits. Not that they don’t like to score — McDuffie can get baskets in bunches, Grady has a good mid-range game and Morris is fierce at the rim —it’s just that their minds are elsewhere.
“Defense is what we are,” Morris said. “Defense is what we do.”
WSU basketball ended an era on Saturday and soon the on-court work of replacing Baker, VanVleet, Wessel, Anton Grady and Bush Wamukota begins. After Saturday’s game, assistant coach Isaac Brown gave McDuffie and sophomore forward Rashard Kelly fist bumps on their way to the team bus and told them “Be ready to work.”
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Darral Willis, a 6-foot-8 forward from Pearl River (Miss.) Community, must replace the productivity of Grady. While Morris and Grady teamed up for an inside presence that was adequate most nights, that position could use an upgrade if the Shockers expect to continue their NCAA Tournament success.
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With Baker, Grady and VanVleet gone, the Shockers lose three key scorers from a team that shot 42.9 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from behind the arc. Those are the lowest marks since Marshall’s first team shot 41.7 percent from the field and is second team made 32.2 percent of its threes.
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1. How will the Shockers score?
It is disturbing to consider Wichita State’s scoring struggles against some of the top teams this season, and then consider that Ron Baker, Anton Grady and Fred VanVleet won’t return. WSU needs several scorers to emerge. It could start with Shaq Morris playing more minutes and newcomer Darral Willis adding offense from the post.
Green Bay (+13.5) over Texas A&M: This game has the potential to be ugly, as both teams do a good job of forcing turnovers. "Tempo" is the single most over-used narrative in basketball, but it could be a factor here. Green Bay likes to drive the pace as quickly as then can and get easy transition buckets, but they struggle in a half court offense. Texas A&M likes to grind out defensive possessions. If Green Bay can up the pace and have the advantage in fastbreak points, they could win this game outright.
