On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Oladapo's 19 leads Oakland over N. Kentucky 69-58 in Horizon--Associated Press
Patton lifts Cleveland St. past Milwaukee 71-65 in Horizon--Associated Press
#HLMBB Tournament Staff Picks: Semifinals--HoriZone Roundtable
College Basketball Viewing Guide for Monday, March 8, 2021--Blogging The Bracket

Horizon Semifinals

Game 9: No. 8 Milwaukee (10-11, 7-10) vs. No. 1 Cleveland State (17-7, 16-4), 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
The pair split their two meetings (at Cleveland State).
Game 10: No. 4 Northern Kentucky (14-10, 11-7) vs. No. 3 Oakland (11-17, 10-10), 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
The pair have not met this season.

The Horizon League’s four quarterfinals, held last Tuesday, were decided by 11 total points and featured five total overtime periods. Despite that, only second-seeded Wright State was eliminated out of the top four, though their conquerors, the Milwaukee Panthers, will next turn their attention to No. 1 Cleveland State as action shifts to Indianapolis. Northern Kentucky, meanwhile, resumes its push for a fourth Horizon Tournament title in the past four seasons.

#HLWBB Power Rankings: Horizon League Semifinals--HoriZone Roundtable
Who’s going dancing? Predicting the final week of women’s conference tournaments--The Athletic

Horizon: IUPUI and Wright State face off in the title game Tuesday afternoon. These two teams haven’t seen each another since last season, when IUPUI swept the Raiders. This year, I’m going with the Raiders. Why? Common opponents. The best common opponent between these two teams was Milwaukee. IUPUI went 1-2 against the Panthers, while the Raiders went 2-0.

Cleveland State, Oakland Earn Spots in #HLMBB Championship Game--The Horizon League
Sean Miller, Archie Miller, Scott Drew and more: Who to watch on the college basketball coaching carousel--The Athletic

Gates has done remarkable work rebuilding Cleveland State quickly. (Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Getty)

Dennis Gates, head coach, Cleveland State. Next to Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser, Gates is the hottest mid-major coach in the country. He grew up in Chicago and became a two-time All-Academic Pac-10 selection at Cal, where he graduated in three years and played his senior season as a master’s degree candidate. Gates later spent eight years as an assistant to Leonard Hamilton at Florida State, and after being hired at Cleveland State in 2019 he was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in his first season. Gates led the Vikings to a share of the league title this season. He is deep in the mix at Penn State, whose athletic director, Sandy Barbour, worked previously at Cal. Gates could become a leading candidate at DePaul.

Penn State basketball coaching candidates: Names who could be atop the list--The Athletic

Dennis Gates, Cleveland State head coach. With only two years and 53 games under his belt as a head coach, Gates would be a dice roll not entirely in alignment with Barbour’s previous hires. But you’re Penn State. Why not roll the dice every now and then? Cleveland State has jumped from 11-21 in Gates’ first season to 17-7 in Year 2. To give you an idea of how rough the job was upon arrival, Gates directed his team to a 7-11 record in the Horizon League in his debut year … and shared conference coach of the year honors. He’s only 41 and he has a long stint at Florida State under Leonard Hamilton on his résumé, where he saw a football school develop into a basketball power. Maybe give Gates a veteran assistant with Big Ten experience, and then see if you’ve got a long-term solution on your hands.
Brian Hamilton’s hire

It must be someone who can push the basketball culture forward, in every sense. Someone who will be comfortable out of the spotlight while maximizing the resources available. If the school can get past the Ivy League’s opt-out this year, James Jones offers a known quantity in the head coach chair. If the administration is fixated upon a longer-term solution, Dennis Gates may be making the trek to State College.

Cleveland State basketball advances to Horizon League men’s tournament championship with 71-65 win over Milwaukee--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State mens basketball advances to Horizon championship game--News-Herald
Cleveland State Advances to #HLMBB Championship Game--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Cleveland State women’s basketball falls to Wright State, 73-62, in Horizon League Tournament semifinals--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Vikings Fall To Top-Seeded Wright State In #HLWBB Semifinal--csuvikings.prestosports.com

MCLIMORE, WILLIAMS PROPEL IUPUI IN TO HORIZON LEAGUE FINAL--iupuijags.com

Cleveland State 71, UWM 65: The tables turn as this time the Panthers can't hold a second-half lead--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Late Cleveland State Rally Derails Milwaukee Upset--mkepanthers.com

IUPUI 56, UWM women 46: Cold shooting and inexperience hurt Panthers in Horizon League semis--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Panthers Fall in Semifinals to IUPUI--mkepanthers.com