On The Horizon

Jim Squire

5 games to watch on Day 1--Mid-Major Madness

Cleveland State vs BYU

A cross-country showdown on the opening day of the season, as a pair of tournament teams tangle in Provo. The Cougars had a strong 2020-21, but still couldn’t take down West Coast Conference goliath Gonzaga. Cleveland State will be coming into Provo off one of their best seasons in school history. In Dennis Gates’ second year, he led the Vikings to a 19-8 record and both the Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. The Vikings return all five starters from last season, making them unsurprisingly the preseason favorite in the Horizon. BYU comes into the season voted second in the WCC preseason poll behind some team named Gonzaga. BYU opens the season just outside the top 25 and they’ll be headlined by All-American honorable mention Alex Barcello. This game will be a big early season test for each team, helping put the winner even more on the map right off the bat.
UNCG vs NKU

It’s an era of change in Greensboro. After 10 years with Wes Miller on the sidelines, the Mike Jones era begins for the Spartans. The first week won’t be a breeze. Following an opening game at home against NC A&T, Greensboro heads north for a big nonconference matchup against Northern Kentucky. The Spartans are coming off a first round exit in the NCAA Tournament, but look very different from that Big Dance team. They return only three of their top seven scorers, and are without a selection on the preseason SoCon All-Conference team. Hosting them in Highland Heights will be the Northern Kentucky Norse. The Norse are coming off an average campaign and did not make the NCAA Tournament last season. They return 91% of their scoring from last season, and 85% of their total minutes from last year. The experience will be key for the Norse in a heavily contested Horizon League. They’ll be led by all-league second teamer Trevon Faulkner and 2021 Horizon League Freshman of the year Marques Warrick who combined for one of the the top frontcourts in mid-major hoops.

Barcello scores 24 to lift BYU past Cleveland St. 69-59--Associated Press
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 9th: SEASON OPENER!!--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CLEVELAND STATE AT BYU. Cleveland State is another really strong Under the Radar team that we think can win the Horizon League. If they can somehow manage an opening night win at BYU, then you’re suddenly talking about them being good enough to land inside the bubble.

Cleveland State falls to BYU in 69-59 season-opening loss--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State men’s basketball now a target in 2021-22--News-Herald
Cleveland State Men’s Basketball Hangs Tough With BYU In Season Opener--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Leo, Cleveland State Use Superb Second Half to Rout ETSU in Season Opener--HoriZone Roundtable
Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Earns 81-54 Victory In Season Opener--csuvikings.prestosports.com

11/10/21 MATCHUP NEWS AND NOTES--Staring At The Floorboards

DETROIT @ WYOMING

Fitting to go from Northern Colorado to Wyoming, as they’re essentially one and the same schematically, with the Linder analytics based system informing UNC’s entire identity. Wyoming was arguably the best PNR offense in the country last year, grading out in the 99th percentile in both ball screen offense and all plays involving pick and roll. Despite losing Williams, Linder’s offense should be just as deadly, if not more so, with flamethrower Dut sliding into the lead guard role and the further development of swiss army knife Maldonado and a circling orbit of deadly perimeter snipers. Mike Davis deployed a vanilla zone on nearly 60% of Detroit’s defensive possessions, one of the highest zone rates in the country, mostly because his Titans couldn’t defend in PNR effectively (23rd percentile per Synergy). Zoning the Pokes might slow down the bevy of ball screens and conserve energy in the Laramie altitude, but you’re then relying on one of the best shooting teams in the country to be cold from outside in their own gym. Wyoming scored in the 86th percentile in their zone offense last year. Detroit of course has their own flamethrower in Antoine Davis, arguably the best pure scorer in the country, and Wyoming’s massive struggles defensively (particularly in ball screen defense, 9th percentile) can be exposed, especially with defensive ace Marble no longer on the team and Foster unavailable. Davis also has one of the best floor stretchers in all of midmajordom in Waterman creating space for Davis, and the Pokes predictably struggled in pick and pop D. I have some reservations about Detroit’s offense around Davis, as he was best off the ball last year, and I’m not sure who steps into the Fraser/Kuol roles with Phillips ineligible to date and Harvey’s consistency and production a question mark (rumor mill says his offseason wasn’t great).

Davis says this year's team is his best Titans squad so far--Varsity News

Spanish players make up nearly third of revamped women's team--Varsity News

Neese, Stephens lift Indiana State past Green Bay 81-77--Associated Press
Green Bay Suffers Season-Opening Loss to Indiana State, 81-77--greenbayphoenix.com

UWGB basketball: Men lose late, women blown out early in season openers--Green Bay Press Gazette

Pingel Scores Career-High, Phoenix Falls 70-49 at South Dakota State--greenbayphoenix.com