On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Previews – January 1st – 5th--HoriZone Roundtable
Under the Radar – Week 9--Hoops HD

This week’s featured conference is the Horizon League, which saw a surprise yesterday as ~~Morehead~~ Wright State beat Oakland rather handily. Northern Kentucky is also showing signs of life, Green Bay is improving, Robert Morris looked strong out of conference but has also suffered and early loss, and we appear to have a lot more parity in this league than what we expected. (Note from Stalica – Wrong, Morehead had a big win against….Alice Lloyd?)

The 2025-26 Conference Play Primer for All 31 Leagues--Basket Under Review

The Precise Median of the Mid-Majors
Horizon League
REGIONAL
Favorites (50% or above): none!
Contenders (25-50%): Oakland, Youngstown State, Wright State
Darkhorses (10% or above): Robert Morris
Wildcards (5% or above): Milwaukee
True to form, at the time I'm writing this (December 30), the Horizon League already has ten of its 11 teams with a conference loss and the one that hasn't (Milwaukee) is 3-0. No one in this league can ever distance themselves for the rest, which makes for a very exciting conference title race but a pretty terrible handicapping experience as a writer.
Still, basically every game should have some amount of meaning. From 1st through 9th, the projected conference records only go from 14-6 to 8-12. It is a terrible, obnoxiously poor defensive league...and also a league stuffed with offenses that can pour it on these awful defenses. Even Doug Gottlieb has promised to actually care about Green Bay basketball this year in his second season as head coach. The Horizon League truly has it all.
CHAMPION: This year's simulator loves ties. Oakland and Youngstown State split the regular season title at 15-5.
TOURNAMENT: A relatively normal run of play for once: Youngstown State over Robert Morris in the title game. Not too bad!
SUPER DARKHORSE: I'm never, ever quitting Northern Kentucky, because every single year the Norse find themselves in Horizon League talks. Every year! I can't stop! I also still think IU Indy could finish ninth instead of 11th.
MOST IMPACTFUL GAME: Oakland at Youngstown State, January 1. No game actually stands out much from the crowd, but this is a good first look to see if Oakland can take an early lead.

Titans Open 2026 Calendar At Home Vs. Robert Morris--detroittitans.com

Odessa College point guard Ahmere Carson talks about commitment to UWGB--Green Bay Press-Gazette

Guyer's Big Night Helps Phoenix to Lopsided Road Win at Wright State--greenbayphoenix.com

JAGUARS TO OPEN 2026 AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY--iuindyjags.com

Panthers Remain Perfect in Horizon League Play, But Battered by Badgers--HoriZone Roundtable
Wisconsin defeats UW-Milwaukee in return of in-state series: Updates, highlights--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Despite loss in renewed rivalry, UWM has earned Wisconsin's respect--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Panthers Play Even After Early Run Helps Decide Outcome For Badgers--mkepanthers.com
Panthers Open 2026 At Wright State With Third Game In Four Days--mkepanthers.com

Women's Basketball Rings in the New Year with Home Matchup vs. Robert Morris--mkepanthers.com

Golden Grizzlies End Road Stint at Youngstown State--goldengrizzlies.com

Women's Basketball Opens 2026 with Showdowns Against Mastodons and Penguins--goldengrizzlies.com

2026 Begins With Trip to Oakland for Mastodon WBB--gomastodons.com

Wright State basketball: Burch’s thefts catalyst for huge defensive improvement--Dayton Daily News
Men's Basketball tips off 2026 Thursday afternoon--wsuraiders.com

Archdeacon: Wright State women ‘just weren’t tough enough’--Dayton Daily News
Riddle Score Career-High as Raiders Fall to Green Bay--wsuraiders.com

UDM’s Hot Shooting Buries Youngstown State on Monday--HoriZone Roundtable
Penguins Host Oakland in New Year's Day Tilt--ysusports.com

Hernandez Puts Up Career Game Against Former School in YSU’s Road Win--HoriZone Roundtable

Jim Squire

Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Tuesday, Dec 30th--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Another Under the Radar surprise was Wright State beating Oakland, and doing so rather handily 88-73. At no point did it seem like Wright State was not in control of that game.

Handing out the Hardware: All-conference players of 2025 (Part 1 of 2)--Hoops HD

Horizon
G: Brody Robinson (Oakland)
G: Mikale Stevenson (Purdue Fort Wayne)
F: DeSean Goode (Robert Morris)
F: Dayan Nessah (Cleveland State)
F: Isaac Garrett (Oakland)
POYSF: Brody Robinson (Oakland)

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Takes Down IU Indy, 99-86--csuvikings.com

Listless Vikings Fall to Youngstown State: Five Observations--HoriZone Roundtable
Catching Up With Former CSU Players--HoriZone Roundtable
Cleveland State Women’s Basketball Drops 70-63 Contest Against YSU--csuvikings.com

Titans Drop Penguins To Move To 3-1 In The #HLMBB--detroittitans.com

Titans' Fourth Quarter Rally Comes Up Short in Upset to Rochester Christian--detroittitans.com

ICE COLD JAGUARS FALL ON THE ROAD AT CLEVELAND STATE, 99-86--iuindyjags.com

JAGUARS ROAR LATE IN 58-49 HOME WIN--iuindyjags.com

UWM uses huge rebounding edge to remain undefeated in Horizon League--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Defense Keys Dominant 77-55 Victory Over Purdue Fort Wayne--mkepanthers.com
Panthers And Badgers Renew Rivalry For First Time Since 2019--mkepanthers.com

Milwaukee Unable to Keep Pace as IU Indy Pulls Away Late--mkepanthers.com

Men’s Basketball closes out 2025 with a bang, hangs on for road win over RMU--nkunorse.com

How Name, Image and Likeness have changed the college athletics landscape--The Northerner

Women’s Basketball takes down league-leading Purdue Fort Wayne in overtime thriller--nkunorse.com

Sluggish Start Dooms Oakland in 88-73 Loss at Wright State--HoriZone Roundtable
Robinson Pours in 27, Houge Adds Double-Double in Loss at Wright State--goldengrizzlies.com

Luehring's Last Second Steal and Score Stamps Golden Grizzlies' First Conference Win of Season over Colonials--goldengrizzlies.com

Men’s Hoops Falls on the Road at Milwaukee--gomastodons.com
Kids Free on New Year's Day vs. Green Bay--gomastodons.com

Nelson Reaches 2,500 Career Points in Overtime Loss to NKU--gomastodons.com

Robert Morris comes out on short end of close game vs. Northern Kentucky--Tribune-Review
2025 in Pittsburgh college sports: Penn State football tries to recover from implosion--Tribune-Review

RMU goes dancing

One of the best Pittsburgh college sports stories in 2025 was Robert Morris men’s basketball making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.

In Year 6 after joining the Horizon League, coach Andy Toole led the Colonials to a 26-9 (15-5) record, conference tournament championship and automatic berth into March Madness.

Robert Morris, coming off a ninth-place finish in-league a year prior, assembled a largely new team, which jelled well together and helped tie the school record for single-season wins.

Alvaro Folgueiras won Horizon League Player of the Year, Amarion Dickerson was named Defensive Player of the Year and Toole earned Coach of the Year honors.

No. 15 Robert Morris took on No. 2 Alabama in Cleveland, going punch for punch with the high-octane Crimson Tide before falling 90-81 in the Round of 64.

Under Toole, the Colonials were regular contenders in the Northeast Conference, but since 2020-21, had struggled to find a footing in the more competitive Horizon League.

After last season, and a strong start to 2025-26 — with another largely new roster — Robert Morris looks to maintain a renewed standard on the hardwood.

Robert Morris Drops Close Contest to Fast-Paced Northern Kentucky--Robert Morris Sports Now
RMU Men’s Basketball Falls to Northern Kentucky, 79-77--rmucolonials.com

Colonials Drop Heartbreaker to Oakland at Home--rmucolonials.com

Wright State basketball: Callaghan’s 3’s, sharp offense lead to victory--Dayton Daily News
Career nights for Burch, Callaghan lead Raiders to 15-point win--wsuraiders.com

YSU comes out cold in loss to Titans--Tribune Chronicle
Four Reach Double Figures in Loss to Detroit Mercy--ysusports.com

Hernandez steps up, posts career-high in YSU’s win at Cleveland State--Tribune Chronicle
Hernandez Nets Career High as Penguins Top Cleveland State 70-63--ysusports.com
YSU Starts Four-Game Homestand, Hosts Salem for New Year’s Eve Matinee--ysusports.com

#HLMBB Notebook – Dec. 30, 2025--The Horizon League

#HLWBB Notebook – Dec. 30, 2025--The Horizon League

Jim Squire

The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning--HoriZone Roundtable
3 keys to Robert Morris beating Northern Kentucky at home in key Horizon League clash--Busting Brackets
Recapping the holiday week and looking ahead to the official start of Horizon League conference play--Mid-Major Madness
Week 9 Watchlist: I Used to Understand--Basket Under Review

Monday, December 29
C Games
#138 Oakland at #148 Wright State (-2), 7 PM ET, ESPN+. I hate this matchup for Oakland, as the Raiders have a 96th-percentile zone offense and won their home game with Oakland last year despite a horrendous exhibition of rebounding and jumper efficiency.
Thursday, January 1 (New Year's Day)
C Games
#138 Oakland at #161 Youngstown State (-1), 1 PM ET, ESPN+. Not much of a men's basketball day, but this is entertaining. Oakland Opponents Versus a Zone Check: Youngstown State is in the 38th-percentile of zone offense efficiency after 41st-percentile last year but swept the Grizz last season thanks to Oakland going 9-41 from deep across the two matchups.

Cleveland State Men's Basketball Continues Horizon League Play against IU Indy--csuvikings.com

Cleveland State Women's Basketball Returns To Action By Hosting Youngstown State--csuvikings.com

Game 12: Detroit Mercy Closes Out 2025 Calendar Year Against Rochester Christian--detroittitans.com

The Women’s Other Top 25: Santa Clara makes giant splash into top 10--Mid-Major Madness

Dropped from Rankings:

UC Santa Barbara – 20; Western Illinois – 21; Ball St. – 23; Green Bay – 2

Green Bay Set to Resume Horizon League Play at Wright State--greenbayphoenix.com

MEN'S BASKETBALL HEADS TO CLEVELAND TO RESUME HORIZON LEAGUE PLAY--iuindyjags.com

Men's Basketball to Take on Wright State on the Road--goldengrizzlies.com

Northern Kentucky Comes to the Summit City For #HLWBB Skirmish--gomastodons.com

RMU Men’s Basketball Continues Horizon League Play Hosting Northern Kentucky--rmucolonials.com

RMU Women’s Basketball Hosts Oakland in Horizon League Action--rmucolonials.com

Wright State’s Sargent: ‘These guys can do everything they dreamed of doing this year’--Dayton Daily News
Men's Basketball closes calendar year at home Monday--wsuraiders.com

Women’s Basketball Closes Out 2025 at the Nutter Center Tuesday Night--wsuraiders.com

Penguins Close Out 2025 Hosting League Foe Detroit Mercy Monday Night--ysusports.com

Penguins Resume Horizon League Play at Cleveland State on Monday--ysusports.com

Under Armour #HLMBB Players of the Week (December 29)--The Horizon League

Jim Squire

The Fountain of Youth--HoriZone Roundtable

Jim Squire

#HLMBB Power Rankings – Week 7(ish)--HoriZone Roundtable

Back From Christmas And Off To Youngstown State For Men's Basketball--detroittitans.com

Panthers Host Mastodons Monday In Final Home Game Of 2025--mkepanthers.com

Milwaukee Heads to the Jungle for Post-Holiday Showdown at IU Indy--mkepanthers.com

Women's Basketball Closes Road Stretch Against Colonials--goldengrizzlies.com

Milwaukee is MBB's Next Stop--gomastodons.com

Post-Christmas Shopping for the Perfect College Basketball Team--Basket Under Review

Bench Rotation

Scoring Guard: Michael Cooper, Wright State

First off the bench, I need a pure bucket-getter who won't play outside of our offensive structure. There are only three players in the country with at least a 55% effective field goal percentage on dribble jumpers and a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio: Bennett Stirtz, Christian Anderson, and Cooper. And you can only get one of those guys at a bargain!

Unbelievably, Cooper is doing this as a unranked freshman with the fourth-highest shot percentage in the Horizon League. Cooper is always in control with the ball in his hands, and has fantastic touch from all three levels.

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Power conference athleticism hasn't bothered him either. Cooper is 8-of-10 from inside the arc against Cal and Butler this season, with seven assists to four turnovers. Cooper is a bucket who doesn't make many mistakes, and one can only imagine how good he'll be with more college experience under his belt. Cooper's defense leaves a lot to be desired right now, but as a spark plug off the bench, that's more of a nitpick.

Wright State basketball: Cooper not shying away from taking big shots under pressure--Dayton Daily News
Wright State basketball: Pickett impressing Sargent on both ends of the court--Dayton Daily News

Baker, Cameron back and contributing again for YSU--Tribune Chronicle

Jim Squire

Previews – December 29th--HoriZone Roundtable

Road warriors: Oakland’s grit secures Horizon League thriller at NKU--The Oakland Post
Grizzlies show grit in Motor City clash with No. 9 Spartans--The Oakland Post

Mid-Major Madness Men’s Player of the Week Voting: Dec. 15-21--Mid-Major Madness

Corey Hadnot II - Purdue Fort Wayne
Following a 2-1 start in the Horizon League, Purdue Fort Wayne took a brief pause from conference play to visit Notre Dame on Sunday. Though it was the Fighting Irish favored by double-digits at home, it was the Mastodons emerging with the program’s fourth-ever high-major upset and its first since 2023.
Leading the way in this historic win was Hadnot, who managed 29 points and shot 10-for-16 from the field, in addition to six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists over Notre Dame.

Jim Squire

Horizon League Dec. 15-21 recap and preview of the shortened holiday week--Mid-Major Madness

Vikings Vanish as Panthers Prevail--HoriZone Roundtable

Titans Announce 2026 Hall Of Fame Class--detroittitans.com

Derrick Hayes - Basketball (1996-98)
A Two-time First Team All-MCC performer
Named the 1997 MCC Newcomer of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Mideast by the Basketball Times
Averaged 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals in his two years with the Titans, leading the Titans in both years with 15.9 as a junior - second in the league - and 13.7 as a senior
Helped the team tie a school record with 25 wins, a share of the league title, and a berth to the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 1998, the first for the school since 1979
Led the team to its second win ever in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting St. John's in the first round, scoring 27 points in the game on 10-of-14 shooting

Phoenix Falls at Campbell 102-79--greenbayphoenix.com

The Women’s Other Top 25: North Dakota St., Colorado St. launch into top 10 as top six hold steady--Mid-Major Madness

Here is the full ranking:

Ranking

Team

Last Week

25 Green Bay 19

GRAND CANYON RACES AWAY FROM JAGUARS IN 91-78 WIN--iuindyjags.com

Monster weekend nets UWM freshman guard Josh Dixon a pair of honors--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Josh Dixon Named National Mid-Major Player Of The Week--mkepanthers.com

Current state of Northern Kentucky and Thomas More University basketball programs--NKyTribune

Mastodons Upset Notre Dame in South Bend--HoriZone Roundtable
Teams of the Week: Guns Up at MSG--Basket Under Review

PURDUE FORT WAYNE

Corey Hadnot II has represented a blooming flower arrangement in his 2.5 years at PFW thus far. First, it's difficult to keep the same player at the Horizon League level for this long. Now in his third season, Hadnot is hitting the developmental sweet spot for this program.

After starting just twice before this season, Hadnot has been in there as a key starter and leader since opening night.

Receiving these Hadnot II POTW notices from the Horizon League on Mondays has occurred twice this year to date, with a third notice now expected this week.

Hadnot II has become much more valuable than an average starter. His usage is the highest in Horizon League play for any player; his offensive rating at 118 is superb, given the amount of involvement he has. At 6-3, 190 with quick hands, Hadnot II has been able to become a Top 50 steals rate player as well as be one of the primary ballhandlers for a higher-paced Mastodon offense.

Hadnot II with quickness off the bounce to create and score.

Hadnot II was in the zone vs. Notre Dame in the 1st Half. Everything was falling, including this bank.

Hadnot II with the steal to start transition.

Corey Hadnot II ended the day with 29 points, three steals, and six rebounds. The Mastodon defense was able to do enough to force six turnovers out of heralded Irish freshman Jalen Haralson. PFW left South Bend with a 72-69 victory.

.@coachcoffman talks about today’s win over Notre Dame and Corey Hadnot II’s big game with 29 points. #FeelTheRumble #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/zX9TLEhSAi
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) December 21, 2025

What does it all mean?
It all equals an unforgettable program win at Notre Dame for the first time in school history (now 1-7). A four-game Mastodon win streak and copious amounts of confidence moving back to league play following the holiday break. It also did major damage to Notre Dame's resume as they continue to try to adjust to life without Markus Burton. The Fighting Irish do have a road TCU and home Mizzou win to work with, but this home loss likely will balance out with one of those results now. A lot of quality work in the ACC is now required. For PFW, the Horizon League is there for the taking. They are off to a 2-1 start with a good test at Milwaukee coming on December 29th.