On The Horizon

Jim Squire

February Tips Off with Big Matchups and Sunday Best Bets--Busting Brackets

Wright State Raiders at Green Bay Phoenix
Wright State comes in at 14-8 and is firmly in the hunt for a regular-season conference title, though they are just 5-4 on the road. Green Bay is 12-11 and has been a tough out all season. The Raiders dominated the previous meeting, but the Phoenix have improved since then. This feels like a revenge spot at home.

Wright State Downs Milwaukee to Stay Atop the Horizon League--Mid-Major Madness

Vikings Earn Key Victory at NKU: Five Observations--HoriZone Roundtable

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Concludes Road Trip at Milwaukee--csuvikings.com

Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Pulls Away With 69-61 Victory At NKU--csuvikings.com

Fourth-Quarter Push Lifts Milwaukee Past Wright State--mkepanthers.com

Women’s Basketball drops home contest to Cleveland State--nkunorse.com

Golden Grizzlies Play Host to Northern Kentucky Sunday--goldengrizzlies.com

Golden Grizzlies Start Hot; Can't Hold off Penguins Comeback--goldengrizzlies.com

PFW runs away for [sic] Robert Morris to continue winning ways--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
‘Dons Sweep Season Series With Defending League Champ--gomastodons.com

Robert Morris men continue inconsistent play in loss at Purdue Fort Wayne--Tribune-Review
Robert Morris drops Horizon League contest at Purdue Fort Wayne--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Robert Morris Falls Apart in Second Half, Gets Swept By Purdue Fort Wayne--Robert Morris Sports Now
RMU Men’s Basketball Falls to Purdue Fort Wayne--rmucolonials.com

Colonials Secure First Ever Road Victory at IU Indy Behind Big Performances from Leroux and Kuhns--rmucolonials.com

Sunday road action on tap for Men's Basketball--wsuraiders.com

Raiders Drop Back-and-Forth Battle at Milwaukee Saturday Afternoon--wsuraiders.com

Jackson earns 100th career win as YSU fights off Oakland--Tribune Chronicle

Penguins Rally at Oakland in Jackson’s 100th Career Victory--ysusports.com

Jim Squire

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Uses Long Ball to Defeat Green Bay--csuvikings.com

Spratt, Titans Catch Fire As UDM Thumps NKU--detroittitans.com

Game 22: Detroit Mercy Hits the Road for Game at Purdue Fort Wayne--detroittitans.com

Ruedinger Scores 23 points in Green Bay's 89-82 Loss to Cleveland State--greenbayphoenix.com

JAGUARS FOILED ON THE ROAD AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE, 85-76--iuindyjags.com

UWM falls to Wright State, 76-69; Danilo Jovanovich out for season--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Homecoming Comeback Comes Up Short Down The Stretch, 76-69--mkepanthers.com
Homestand Rolls On Against Cleveland State In Sunday Matinee--mkepanthers.com

Norse Men’s Basketball surrenders pair of massive scoring runs in road loss to Detroit Mercy--nkunorse.com

RMU Travels to The Jungle for a Matchup with the Jaguars--rmucolonials.com

Wright State basketball: Raiders stay on roll, capture road win at Milwaukee--Dayton Daily News
Four in double figures fuels Friday road win--wsuraiders.com

YSU comes back to best Jaguars--Tribune Chronicle
Two Second-Half Runs Lead Penguins to 85-76 Win Over IU Indy--ysusports.com

Cameron’s Motor City Dominance Leads YSU to Victory--HoriZone Roundtable

Jim Squire

Before the Weekend Rush: Friday’s Best Bets Breakdown--Busting Brackets

Cleveland State Vikings at Green Bay Phoenix
Cleveland State is 7-14 on the season, while Green Bay comes in at 12-10. Both teams are riding modest momentum, each coming off a win. These two met two weeks ago, and Green Bay went on the road and won by 15 points.
There is little reason to believe this rematch will be much different. Expect the Phoenix to control the game early, stay in front throughout, and pull away late enough to cover the number at home.

Maples, Vikings Run Past Milwaukee: Five Observations--HoriZone Roundtable

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Returns to Action at Green Bay--csuvikings.com

CSU Courtside (January 28th)--HoriZone Roundtable
Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Picks Up 66-46 Victory Over Milwaukee--csuvikings.com
Cleveland State Women's Basketball Closes January With Trip To Northern Kentucky--csuvikings.com

Detroit Mercy Prepares For Home Friday Tilt Against NKU--detroittitans.com

Davis Pours in Titan Career-High 15 Points in Setback to Youngstown State--detroittitans.com

UWGB men's basketball is winning games, but attendance keeps falling--Green Bay Press-Gazette
Green Bay Set to Host Cleveland State and Wright State at the Resch Center--greenbayphoenix.com

UWGB's Maren Westin is ready to help Phoenix after missing 13 months--Green Bay Press-Gazette
Guyer and Skorupski Notch Double-Doubles in Win over Wright State--greenbayphoenix.com

UNDERMANNED JAGUARS FALL ON THE ROAD AT ROBERT MORRIS, 74-58--iuindyjags.com
JAGUARS TO CAP TWO-GAME ROAD TRIP AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE ON FRIDAY--iuindyjags.com
IU Indy Men’s Basketball on Recruiting, NIL, and a Culture of Winning--Get Indiana

JAGUARS FALL IN CLOSE BATTLE AT OAKLAND--iuindyjags.com

Stevie Elam beat kidney cancer to reach DI college basketball in Milwaukee--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Black & Gold In The Cold" Homecoming Matchup Set For Friday Night--mkepanthers.com

Milwaukee Drops Road Contest at Cleveland State--mkepanthers.com
Milwaukee Hosts "Black & Gold In the Cold" Homecoming Matchup vs. Wright State Saturday--mkepanthers.com

How Norse MBB’s newest coach is taking them to the next level--The Northerner

Oakland Earns Season Sweep Over Purdue Fort Wayne--HoriZone Roundtable
Oakland Controls Paint, Pulls Away Late in 74-65 Win at Purdue Fort Wayne--goldengrizzlies.com

Oakland Finds Another Gear in Narrow Win Over Jaguars--HoriZone Roundtable
Women's Basketball Grinds Out Fifth Win in Four Games; Overtake Jags at Home--goldengrizzlies.com

PFW falls to Horizon heavyweight Oakland in seesaw struggle--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Oakland Takes League Game 74-65--gomastodons.com
1 PM Tip Set for Saturday vs. Robert Morris--gomastodons.com

Mastodon Women's Basketball Hosts Detroit Mercy on Sunday--gomastodons.com

Back to .500 Again--HoriZone Roundtable
Robert Morris men use scoring streaks to beat IU Indianapolis--Tribune-Review
Robert Morris Uses Stout Defensive Performance to Neutralize High-Scoring IU Indy--Robert Morris Sports Now
Prather Paces RMU Men’s Basketball to 74-58 Victory Over IU Indy--rmucolonials.com
RMU Men’s Basketball Visits Purdue Fort Wayne--rmucolonials.com

Wright State basketball: Raiders looking to duplicate first half of league season over final 10 games--Dayton Daily News
Raiders trek to Wisconsin for pair of contests--wsuraiders.com

Raiders Tripped Up by Green Bay Thursday Evening--wsuraiders.com
Women’s Basketball Road Trip Continues at Milwaukee Saturday Afternoon--wsuraiders.com

Penguins face tough run in four games--The Jambar
Penguins Close Homestand Hosting IU Indy Friday Night--ysusports.com

First-half shooting barrage lifts YSU over Detroit Mercy--Tribune Chronicle
Snowed in but showed out--The Jambar
Big First Half Leads Penguins to 69-53 Win at Detroit Mercy--ysusports.com
Penguins Eye Michigan Sweep at Oakland on Saturday--ysusports.com

Jim Squire

#HLMBB Power Rankings 1/26--HoriZone Roundtable
Horizon League mid-season check-in--Mid-Major Madness
Horizon League watchguide Jan. 26-Feb. 1--Mid-Major Madness
Teams of the Week: Illini Indulgence--Basket Under Review

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS
IU INDY - One of the eye-popping results anywhere in CBB came in Oakland with IU Indy essentially going wire-to-wire over the host and much more established Golden Grizzlies. Finley Woodward was all over the floor making productive plays and igniting the Jags' offense. That's been the key all year, as the staff transitions from West Liberty to D1 basketball, is getting this team to play efficient basketball within "the system" instead of just straight-up hell on wheels basketball. This win at Oakland shows that it can work against the top of the league and should provide needed confidence headed into the second half of conference play.
HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

HORIZON LEAGUE EXTRA: CLEVELAND STATE - CSU has really struggled under new HC Rob Summers. A win two Saturdays ago may have been a spark as the Vikings knocked off Youngstown State. Then, in its only game last week, the Vikings handed Horizon-leading Wright State an 85-79 defeat in the Nutter Center. It snapped the Raiders' seven-game winning streak in the process. Swiss sensation, Dayan Nassah, could not be stopped. He shot the ball well and made 13 of 15 foul shots in one of the league's largest upsets this year.
Dayan Nessah (@NessahDayan0) was huge last night in a big win over Wright State.

The 6’7” sophomore does it all — smart, tough, relentless motor, and a physical scorer. Knows where to be, plays through contact, and lives at the rim or the free-throw line.

Special talent for… pic.twitter.com/yZmbqQ2cM8
— Matt (@HoopHound5) January 22, 2026

Cleveland State Women's Basketball Set To Host Milwaukee On Wednesday--csuvikings.com

Game 21: Detroit Mercy Returns to Calihan Hall for #HLWBB Battle Against Youngstown State--detroittitans.com

JAGUARS HEAD TO MOON TOWNSHIP SEEKING SEASON SWEEP OF RMU--iuindyjags.com

A week of extremes: Tactical lessons from the O’rena to the Metro Series--The Oakland Post
Oakland to Travel to for Midweek Game at Purdue Fort Wayne--goldengrizzlies.com

From Greece to the Grizzlies: Filippa Goula finds her rhythm at Oakland--The Oakland Post
Luehring leads Oakland to rivalry win over Detroit Mercy--The Oakland Post

Oakland Comes to the Gates Sports Center on Wednesday--gomastodons.com

Lili Krasovec Leads Mastodon WBB Past Robert Morris 60-46--gomastodons.com

RMU Drops Road Contest at Purdue Fort Wayne--rmucolonials.com

Krasovec, Mastodons Dominate Fourth Quarter in Another Revenge Win--HoriZone Roundtable

Jim Squire

Is This the Upside Down?--HoriZone Roundtable
#HLMBB NET Rankings (And More!) – January 26, 2026--HoriZone Roundtable
Previews – January 28th – February 1st--HoriZone Roundtable
Horizon League Recap Jan. 18-24--Mid-Major Madness
Week 13 Watchlist: Stay Glued to Your TV Set--Basket Under Review

Wednesday, January 28
C Games
#127 Oakland (-4) at #222 Purdue Fort Wayne, 7 PM ET, ESPN+. Oakland! What a fun team. This has been a super up-and-down series, with the teams splitting the last ten matchups. There's no rhyme or reason to why either team wins (they're both .500 at home) and no identifiable trends anywhere. I throw my hands up and await a bizarre result.

#HLWBB Power Rankings — Week 12--HoriZone Roundtable

The Women’s Other Top 25: Rhode Island jumps to No. 2--Mid-Major Madness

Here is the full ranking:

Ranking

Team

Last Week

16 Green Bay 18

Road Test Ahead as Milwaukee Takes on Cleveland State--mkepanthers.com

Ups and downs: NKU women drop second straight after winning program-high seven in a row--LINK nky

Women's Basketball Plays Back-to-Back Home Games Against Jags and Penguins--goldengrizzlies.com

Oakland Comes to the Gates Sports Center on Wednesday--gomastodons.com

5 in 5: A Look at the Week Ahead in Women's College Basketball--Basket Under Review

5 Players I Have My Eye On

Alana Nelson
Nelson has been quietly very good for a Purdue Fort Wayne teams that essentially turned over an entire roster from their team a season ago. She transferred in from Spring Arbor (NAIA) and was an All-American for the last three years there. It’s proof that if you can play, you can play, as she hasn’t missed a beat this season. She’s gotten better as the season has gone on and has become a very efficient scorer for Purdue Fort Wayne. She has notched nine games of 20 or more points and has been excellent so far in conference play. She’s proven to be capable of putting her team on her back and shouldering the load, as evidenced by a 23-point game last week in a win where she shot 9-of-12 from the floor. Purdue Fort Wayne has two games this upcoming week, and Nelson will look to help improve her team to 9-4 in conference.

Mastodons and Colonials Square Off on Tuesday Night--gomastodons.com

RMU Men’s Basketball Wraps Up Homestand Against IU Indy--rmucolonials.com

Colonials, Mastodons Set for Horizon League Rematch--rmucolonials.com

Wright State basketball: Players fine with sharing load as part of deep rotation--Dayton Daily News

Under Armour #HLMBB Players of the Week (January 26)--The Horizon League
#HLMBB Notebook – Jan. 27, 2026--The Horizon League

Under Armour #HLWBB Players of the Week (January 26)--The Horizon League