On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Stardate 78-20110124: A Brief History of Mid-Major Smac Rap--The Mid-Majority

Conference Shootaround

Horizon League: Wisconsin has always been above Illinois and Indiana from a geographical standpoint, but the state chose Sunday to exert a kind of weird sports power over its immediate southern neighbors. Front-running Valparaiso was taken down at home by Green Bay Valpo was suffering some injury problems, most specifically to star shooter Brandon Wood. Meanwhile, down south, gutsy Milwaukee -- a .500 team's .500 team this year -- completed a home-and-home sweep over national runners-up Butler with an 86-80 overtime win. Matt Howard was relied on heavily this weekend (29 points and 16 rebounds in Friday's 81-75 win over Green Bay); against the Panthers, he had 18 and 10, but he wasn't around for the end, having fouled out. That ended Butler's 15-game Horizon League home win streak, marked the first time the Bulldogs have been swept by a conference opponent since 2005, and left the Bulldogs looking for answers.

Game 7-039: Illinois-Chicago at Loyola (Ill.)--The Mid-Majority

Ten Tuesday Scribbles--Rush The Court

- Could we possibly have an NCAA Tournament without Cinderella darlings Gonzaga and Butler? Admittedly, that term doesn’t appropriately apply to these schools anymore, not with the Zags riding one of the longest NCAA Tournament appearance streaks in the nation and Butler reaching the title game last March. At this stage in the season it’s genuinely possible, although somewhat unlikely, that both programs will be making NIT reservations about seven weeks from today. Usually Gonzaga stumbles on the road once during their WCC trek where every visit to an opposing gym is the other team’s Super Bowl, but twice in one road swing to mediocre teams like Santa Clara and San Francisco? Although Butler went through the Horizon unscathed last season, normally the same applies for the Bulldogs in conference play once or twice, but swept by a .500 team like Milwaukee? Both Gonzaga and Butler lie dangerously close to the bubble right now with limited opportunities for tournament-boosting victories ahead and formidable contenders dotting both leagues. Luckily for Gonzaga, the emergence of St. Mary’s gives the Zags two games, along with a clash with Memphis in February as a third, to enhance their portfolio. Who knows: in a little over a month, Gonzaga and Butler may both have to win their respective conference tournaments to go dancing. Who foresaw that scenario?

Don't give up on tourney mainstays Butler and Gonzaga just yet--Sports Illustrated
Butler's down season is puzzling--College Basketball Blog
Suddenly, the Jazz Are Very Doom and Gloom--The Big Lead
Kragthorpe: Jazz’s downturn leads to depressing forecast--Salt Lake Tribune

For all of his leadership and dependability, Raja Bell appears every bit of 34 years old, shooting poorly and defending inadequately. Nobody’s sure what to think of rookie Gordon Hayward.

Utah Jazz: Deron Williams misses good-old days of … last season--Deseret News

Williams knew it would take a while for the 2010-11 team to jell, considering the addition of Al Jefferson, Raja Bell, Earl Watson, Gordon Hayward, etc., along with the 2010 losses of Jazz system connoisseurs Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews and Ronnie Brewer.
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Sloan, meanwhile, will continue to try to adjust the lineup in hopes of finding the blend and combinations that work best together. Replacing Andrei Kirilenko with rookie Gordon Hayward in the starting lineup didn't change the outcome Saturday at Philadelphia, and the Jazz coach wasn't quite Monday sure whom he'll start or sit tonight.

Utah Jazz: Gameday glance--Deseret News
Utah Jazz: C.J. Miles gets starting nod tonight--Deseret News

The sixth-year pro will replace Gordon Hayward in the opening lineup after the rookie replaced usual starter Andrei Kirilenko at the 3 spot for one game (a 96-85 loss at Philadelphia).

Butler still in at-large discussion--The Indy Star
Cutting down the ‘Net: Bracket headache--Indy Star Butler Insider

Chloe Hamilton Named Horizon League Player of the Week--ButlerSports.com

Vikes Rebound from Recent Horizon League Losses--The Cauldron
Cole Collects Third Horizon League Player Of The Week Award Of The Season--csuvikings.com
Vikings Start Chicago Swing At UIC On Thursday--csuvikings.com

Shayok Now 30th In Rebounding--detroittitans.com

Kreps can’t save Flames--Whoosh!Net

Surging Ramblers Look For Series Sweep When They Host Youngstown State Thursday Night--LoyolaRamblers.com

Horizon League Power Rankings (January 18-24)--PantherU
No more room for Hyde--PantherU

Valparaiso injury update--The Post-Tribune
Crusaders let one slip away--The NWI Times
Valpo Women Open Four-Game Homestand Thursday--valpoathletics.com

WSU's Land likely not playing this weekend--Dayton Daily News
Upsets tighten Horizon League race--Dayton Daily News
WSU, like all schools, paying more for basketball coaches--Dayton Daily News
WSU’s Donlon: Contract is fair--Dayton Daily News
Cartharn and Mays find friendship and competitive bond on bench--The Guardian

Fox and Davis too much to handle for Cleveland State--The Guardian

Progress doesn’t show in standings--Youngstown Vindicator
Men’s Basketball Visits Loyola For Program’s 2,000th Game--ysusports.com

Success Breeding Toughness--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Weekly Bracketology: 01.24.10--Rush The Court
Horizon League halfway done. Where are we?--ChicagoNow.com

Wisconsin-Milwaukee comes from behind, shocks Butler 86-80 in OT--The Indy Star
Butler's Marshall shows defensive progress--The Indy Star
Butler falls to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in OT--The Indy Star
What now?--Indy Star Butler Insider
Milwaukee sweep exposes Butler’s vulnerability--Victory Firelight
MILWAUKEE 86, BUTLER 80 (OT)--THE unOFFICIAL BUTLER BULLDOGS MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
Bulldogs Fall In Overtime To Milwaukee, 86-80--ButlerSports.com

New national polls will reflect national hoops parity: College Basketball Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer
PRESS RELEASE: Cleveland State's Cole Collects Third Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award of Season--Let's Go Vikes!
Cleveland State Moves to No. 2 In the Mid-Major Top 25--Let's Go Vikes!

Plan To Attend Girls & Women in Sport Day On Feb. 12--detroittitans.com

UIC's losing streak reveals a lot of problems--ChicagoNow.com

Men's basketball: Phoenix knocks off Valparaiso--Green Bay Press Gazette
Brown, Frontline Power Green Bay Past League-Leading Valpo--uwgbathletics.com

Boyle helps Panthers beat Butler in overtime--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee bounces back with win over Butler--UWM Post
Live Blog - Milwaukee at Butler--Panther Blog Zone
Postgame Extra – Milwaukee at Butler--Panther Blog Zone
Gutsy Panthers Pull Together To Claim Overtime Win At Butler--uwmpanthers.com

UW-Green Bay throttles Milwaukee to stay perfect in Conference--UWM Post
Young gives verbal to Botham, Panthers--UWM Post

Class of 2011 Peoria Notre Dame Star Max Bielfeldt Takes Unofficial Visits To Both Illinois and Valparaiso--Chicago Hoops
Injuries catch up with VU--The Post-Tribune
Despite injury, Broekhoff plays 24 minutes--The Post-Tribune
Green Bay at Valparaiso, Jan. 23, Live Blog--Off The Mark
Crusaders Drop Sunday Matinee to Green Bay--valpoathletics.com

Horizon League coaches search for future players--Dayton Daily News
At halfway point, no separation in Horizon League race--Wright State University Sports
Wisconsin trip has been unfriendly to WSU--Wright State University Sports

Green Bay, Milwaukee Put Icing on Successful Sunday for State of Wisconsin--Horizon League Network
Cleveland State's Cole Collects Third Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week Award of Season--Horizon League Network

Butler's Hamilton garners women's basketball player of the week award--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Loyola holds off UIC surge--The Chicago Tribune
McCammon, Ramblers extend Flames’ slide to eight--The Chicago Sun-Times
Loyola of Chicago fends off Illinois-Chicago 68-59--Daily Herald
College Basketball On TV For January 23, 2011--Blogging the Bracket

Wis.-Green Bay Phoenix at Valparaiso Crusaders, Horizon League Network (1 p.m. ET)
The Crusaders look to stay ahead of Butler and Cleveland State in the competitive Horizon race, while the Phoenix will look to rebound from a disappointing loss in Indianapolis on Friday night.
KenPom.com prediction: Crusaders 73-63, 66 poss.
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Milwaukee Panthers at Butler Bulldogs, Horizon League Network/WNDY/TWC 32 (2 p.m. ET)
The Bulldogs struggled with Green Bay on Friday, but will look to stay in the race by handling a Panther team that was smoked by Valpo their last time out.
KenPom.com prediction: Bulldogs 78-61, 65 poss.

Utah Jazz: Hayward moved into Kirilenko's spot in starting lineup--Deseret News
Utah Jazz notebook: Sloan tinkers with starting lineup--Deseret News
Jazz’s slide continues in loss to 76ers--Salt Lake Tribune

Sloan attempted to spark his dormant team with a lineup change, inserting rookie forward Gordon Hayward into the first unit and having veteran Andrei Kirilenko come off the bench.

The Jazz initially found a little life, avoiding another slow start and taking a 20-18 lead late in the first quarter. But Sloan said Hayward played just OK, while Williams acknowledged that the impact was minimal. And Utah was soon back to its non-winning ways, sporting a 76ers squad that Williams referred to as “a team with one of the worst records in the [Eastern Conference]” an endless series of uncontested passes and open looks.

Jazz notes: Hayward’s promotion doesn’t affect end result--Salt Lake Tribune
Butler frosh see slow progress in role-playing assignments--The Indy Star
Howard interview on radio 1070--Indy Star Butler Insider
Men’s basketball avenge Wright State loss with conference win--Butler Collegian

Hamilton Leads Bulldogs to 66-61 Win At UIC--ButlerSports.com

Focused by the sting of defeat, Cleveland State exerts its defensive muscles vs. Wright State: Terry Pluto--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Aaron Pogue not interested in worrying about fouls: Cleveland State Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State takes control from the start, breezes past Wright State, 65-46--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State 65, Wright State 46: Vikes Protect the House Stay Undefeated At Home--Let's Go Vikes!
Viking Defense Stops Wright State, 65-46--csuvikings.com

CSU Women Fall to Wright State, 58-42--Let's Go Vikes!
Cold Shooting Dooms CSU, Fall 58-42 To WSU--csuvikings.com

Detroit Mercy wins second straight--The Detroit News
Titans Hang-On for 73-69 Win at Youngstown--detroittitans.com

Yar Sharok's double-double leads Detroit Mercy to victory--The Detroit News
Titans Hold Off Penguins, 66-57--detroittitans.com

Flames' Comeback Bid Falls Short at Loyola, 68-59--uicflames.com

Women's Basketball Falls Against Butler, 66-61--uicflames.com

Loyola Builds Big Lead, Hangs On For 68-59 Victory Over UIC--LoyolaRamblers.com

Second-Half Rally Falls Short in Loss To Valparaiso, 65-58--LoyolaRamblers.com

Men's basketball: Today's UWGB vs. Valparaiso preview--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay Faces League-Leading Valpo on Sunday Afternoon--uwgbathletics.com

Women's basketball: Phoenix puts it all together, cruises--Green Bay Press Gazette
No. 21 UWGB women vs. UWM--UWGB Basketball
Phoenix Defense Dominates Milwaukee in 87-39 win--uwgbathletics.com

No. 21 Phoenix overpower Panthers--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Live Blog: Milwaukee @ Green Bay--Panther Blog Zone
Post-Game Wrap-Up: Milwaukee @ #15 Green Bay--Panther Blog Zone
Panthers Can't Get Offense On Track In Loss At No. 15/21 Green Bay--uwmpanthers.com

Weekly Panthers report--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Rogers makes most of bump in minutes--The Post-Tribune
Crusaders face Phoenix prior to NFC title game--The NWI Times

VU women pick up first Horizon League win of the season--The NWI Times
Valpo Earns First Horizon League Win Saturday at Loyola--valpoathletics.com

Raiders’ Land misses 2nd game--Dayton Daily News
Frigid shooting continues for Raiders--Dayton Daily News
Frigid Raiders drilled by Cleveland State, 65-46--Wright State University Sports
Woeful shooting stretch continues for WSU in loss at Cleveland State--Wright State University Sports
Men Fall at Cleveland State--wsuraiders.com

Exceeding expectations, WSU women continue HL climb--Dayton Daily News
Women Win at Cleveland State--wsuraiders.com

Free-throw woes down Penguins--Youngstown Vindicator
Guins Suffer Another Tough One, Fall 73-69 to Detroit--ysusports.com

Almost: Penguins lose another close contest--Youngstown Vindicator
Brown Has Double-Double as Penguins Drop 66-57 Decision to Detroit

Cleveland State, Loyola, Detroit Pick Up Saturday Triumphs--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

800 Game Project: Practice Run #2--The Mid-Majority
Mid-Majority Chat Block, Episode 711--The Mid-Majority

4:11

[Comment From Mike Mike : ]
Too Big Yo vs. Gaels Gone Wild - who wins?
Friday January 21, 2011 4:11 Mike
4:13

I don't think there's any question: the latter. There wasn't mid-major #smac rap when TMM started, but every season it seems like there's serious evolution. The "Gaels Gone Wild" video is color-corrected! Eat that, Hype Williams! And I'm still getting my head around the line, "Real deal like Patty Mills."
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[Comment From Top Top : ]
If anyone besides Butler wins the Horizon regular season and Butler wins the tourney, do you see a second bid coming out of Horizon? (for example Valpo)
Friday January 21, 2011 4:34 Top
4:36

As an old MAC coach once said to me, at-large bids are lost in December. I think Valpo took care of theirs when they lost at Toledo. None of those teams has a profile right now. But! Any league in this position can look back to the 2007 CAA, when one team (Old Dominion) put on an epic six-week-or-so win streak to finish out the season, and there was no way the Selection Committee could ignore them when they lost at the tourney. So if any Horizon team would like to do that, this would be a good time to start.

The Other 26: Week 10--Rush The Court
Friday's Pregame Beat: Previewing your college hoops weekend--Ballin' is a Habit

BEST STORYLINES

Friday
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* 7:00 pm: Green Bay @ Butler: I mean, its Butler.
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Saturday
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* 2:00 pm: Wright State @ Cleveland State: Huge game in the Horizon.

College Basketball On TV For January 22, 2011--Blogging the Bracket

Mid-Afternoon (ET) Window
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Laptop: Wright St. Raiders at Cleveland St. Vikings, Horizon League Network/STO/WWRD/ESPN3/Full Court (2 p.m. ET)
On Friday night, Horizon leader Valparaiso and Butler, tied with the Raiders and Vikings in the loss column, both play. The winner of this clash stays in the lead pack with them...provided both the Crusaders and Bulldogs both prevail.
KenPom.com prediction: Vikings 64-57, 63 poss.

Matchup: Illinois-Chicago at Loyola--The Chicago Tribune
Loyola favored to extend UIC’s 7-game slump--The Chicago Sun-Times
College Basketball On TV For January 21, 2011--Blogging the Bracket

Milwaukee Panthers at Valparaiso Crusaders, Horizon League Network/ESPN3 (7 p.m. ET)
The Crusaders look to keep their game lead over the second-place trio (which could drop to a duo if Butler falls tonight). However, they'll have to shut down the Panthers' Anthony Hill to grab the win.
KenPom.com prediction: Crusaders 74-63, 66 poss.

Green Bay Phoenix at Butler Bulldogs, ESPNU (7 p.m. ET)
The Phoenix have won four straight, but will have a difficult time stretching it to five against a Bulldog team that's likely to be angry after a loss at Wright State on Friday. Making matters worse, Green Bay struggles in defending the three and giving up foul shots, two aspects of the game at which Butler is particularly adept.
KenPom.com prediction: Bulldogs 79-63, 65 poss.

Utah Jazz: Eastern road woes continue with Celtics debacle--Deseret News

Here's how bad it was for Williams. Sixteen different players outscored him — and he only made 1 of 4 field-goal attempts in 23 minutes.

That group, by the way, included Gordon Hayward (11 points), Kyrylo Fesenko (seven points), Von Wafer (seven points) and even unknown Boston backup big Semih Erden (14 points).

I was excited. I was ready to get out there and play today," said Williams, who had six assists but was bummed about the early foul issue. "If I could've just got a chance, maybe I could've done something. But I didn't have a rhythm early, two quick fouls — two quick calls I should say — took me out of my game and I really couldn't recover."

Watson's dozen points were a team-high, but only three other players — Millsap, Hayward and Andrei Kirilenko — hit double figures in scoring with 11 points apiece for the Jazz.