On The Horizon

Jim Squire

A game a day for the 2017-18 season: January--Hoopville

Jan. 5: Iona at St. Peter’s. One of the busier Friday nights from now until March. Go here for the rich contrast of styles between the hurry-up Gaels and John Dunne’s lovably deliberate Peacocks. Honorable mention: Northern Kentucky at Oakland

A game a day for the 2017-18 season: February--Hoopville

Feb. 2: Yale at Princeton. Another huge Ivy League game. The Tigers swept the Bulldogs in three meetings last year-including the Ivy tourney final-and are probably being undersold this year. Honorable mention: Illinois-Chicago at Oakland
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Feb. 9: Detroit at Oakland. Quickly has become the Horizon League’s best rivalry, even as the Golden Grizzlies are typically the better squad. The Titans were just 8-23 last year, but one of the eight came over Oakland. Honorable mention: Princeton at Harvard

Men's Mid-Major Top 25--College Insider

record  points  previous   
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5.   Oakland         0-0     587     -       Horizon
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11.  Northern Kentucky 0-0   371     -       Horizon
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OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Loyola Chicago 92, Lipscomb 91, Georgia Southern 89, Northern Iowa 82, Iona 71, Stephen F. Austin 69, Monmouth 71, UNCW 65, ETSU 51, Illinois State 49, New Mexico State 46, CSU Bakersfield 39, Morgan State 33, South Dakota 31, Valparaiso 31, Idaho 30, UC Irvine 26, Akron 25, UNC Greensboro 25, Buffalo 22, San Francisco 22, North Dakota 21, Ball State 20, Grand Canyon 20, Kent State 18, Weber State 15, Murray State 13, Liberty 12, UC Davis 12, Winthrop 11, Chattanooga 11, Wofford 11, Siena 8, Fairfield 7, Hofstra 7, UIC 5

Mid Major Madness Twitter Mailbag: The season is upon us--Mid-Major Madness

What are the expectations for Northern Kentucky?
— Troy Cornes (@troycornes) November 7, 2017

I think that a reasonable expectation for the Norse would be to compete for the Horizon League title. Showing that they can build off of last year’s tournament appearance and maintain positive momentum will go a long way toward building consistency as a program. They bring back some nice pieces from last year’s team, and I think that John Brannen has a chance to be one of the game’s great young coaches.
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Why does @DetroitMBB keep scheduling @waynestate?
— Randy Dudek (@kicksave33) November 6, 2017

It’s in Detroit. Detroit is in Detroit. It’s an exhibition and doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Unless they lose, which they did. Maybe find a different local team to play before the season?

Horizon League Preview: Oakland, Northern Kentucky, and their Big 3’s lead the way--The Catch and Shoot

Cleveland State, Youngtown State tip off new eras in Coaches vs. Cancer doubleheader (video)--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State basketball adds second commitment--Cleveland State Hoops
CSU Basketball To Air On WHK, 1420 AM & WHKW, 1220 AM--csuvikings.com

This Week In CSU Athletics--NEO Sports Insiders

2017 2K Classic Benefitting Wounded Warrior Project Primer--Blogging The Bracket
Detroit Mercy preview: Allen aims to help Titans climb Horizon ladder--Detroit News
Men's Basketball: Know Your Foe--detroittitans.com
Detroit Mercy To Host Third Annual Military Appreciation Day On Nov. 13--detroittitans.com

A game a day for the 2017-18 season: December--Hoopville

Dec. 20: Houston at Providence. Quality non-conference tilt high in entertainment value. The type of game Tom Penders-never afraid to take one of his Texas, George Washington or Houston teams halfway across the country for a game years ago-would be proud of. Honorable mention: Towson at Oakland

Mid-majors ready to crash the dance--College Basketball Talk

2. Oakland: The Golden Grizzlies have experience and talent. They’ve got four starters back, headlined by Martez Walker and Jalen Hayes. Plus, Greg Kampe’s squad will be adding Kendrick Nunn, who averaged double figures in back-to-back seasons at Illinois before being dismissed from the team after a domestic violence arrest. Oakland should be plenty motivated after getting knocked out of the Horizon League tournament in their first game last season when they were riding a nine-game winning streak. Shooting could be an issue for Oakland, but the Grizzlies have the pieces to be dangerous to any high-major opponents that may come their way this spring.

College basketball preview: Five mid-major teams with Cinderella breakout ability--USA Today

Less than a week away from the start of the college basketball season, USA TODAY Sports examines some of the most intriguing story lines in its Starting Five series.

Today, five mid-major teams that could play Cinderella.
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Oakland

This team should be explosive offensively, with the return of guard Martez Walker (17.8 ppg) and forward Jalen Hayes (15.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg) from last year’s 25-win squad, as well as the arrival of Illinois transfer Kendrick Nunn. Oakland will be a favorite to win the Horizon League, and will have ammunition to bust brackets should it notch an automatic bid in March.