Horizon League Notebook
Player of the Week: Marcus Skinner, UW-Milwaukee
Skinner averaged 15.5 points and 11 rebounds in two games last week for the Panthers, both victories over Youngstown State and Cleveland State. He posted collegiate-highs with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the victory over Youngstown State.
Butler Bulldogs (19-2 overall, 8-2 Horizon)
Last week: 2-0
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. Loyola – W 63-50
Jan. 26 vs. UIC – W 73-57
Freshman Matt Howard scored 20 points in the Bulldogs’ victory over UIC. It was his 12th consecutive game of scoring in double figures.
Senior Mike Green added 15 points against the Flames as well. Green is the only player in the league who is leading his team in scoring, rebounding and assists.
A.J. Graves, who has been struggling of late, scored 16 points against UIC. It was his highest scoring output since scoring 17 against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 22.
This week, the Bulldogs will open a three-game road swing at Valparaiso in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2.
This week’s game
Feb. 5 at Valparaiso (ESPN2)
Cleveland State (14-7, 7-2)
Last week: 0-2
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. UW-Green Bay – L 59-50
Jan. 26 vs. UW-Milwaukee – L 79-71
The Vikings lost a pair of games on the road in Wisconsin, opening up the Horizon League regular season title race. The Vikings were out-rebounded in both contests, and shot a season-low 28 percent from the field against UW-Green Bay.
Against UW-Milwaukee, junior Cedric Jackson posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 16 points with a collegiate-high 11 rebounds.
The Vikings will stay on the road this week, this time in Chicago for two.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 at Illinois-Chicago
Feb. 2 at Loyola
Detroit Titans (4-15, 0-9)
Last week: 0-1
Week recap
Jan. 26 vs. Wright State – L 66-57
Not much good has happened for Detroit this season.
After losing to Wright State, the Titans have lost 13 consecutive games, which is just one shy of tying the school record for most in a single season. The Titans lost 14 straight to open the 1987-88 season, a streak that doesn’t include losing the season finale the season before.
Junior Chris Hayes led Detroit with 16 points and six rebounds, and Jon Goode scored 17 points to register double figures in scoring for the 13th straight game.
Goode leads the league in scoring at 19.5 points per game, including 22.8 per game during league play.
Detroit will host two tough teams this week, starting with red-hot UW-Milwaukee.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 vs. UW-Milwaukee
Feb. 2 vs. UW-Green Bay
Illinois-Chicago Flames (10-10, 4-5)
Last week: 0-2
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. Valparaiso – L 60-56
Jan. 26 vs. Butler – L 73-57
The Flames are happy to be back home.
UIC is 2-9 away from home this season (8-1 at home) after losing a pair of games on the road at Valparaiso and Butler.
Scott VanderMeer scored nine points against Valparaiso, but grabbed a collegiate-high 21 rebounds in the loss. He became just the fourth player in league history to grab at least 20 rebounds in a single game, and also became UIC’s all-time leader in blocked shots after three blocks against Valparaiso. He has 166 blocks in two years, which eclipsed Sherell Ford’s record of 164 (1992-95).
Junior Josh Mayo leads the country in 3-point shooting accuracy at 53.4 percent and ranks second in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game. He has reached double figures in scoring in 19 of 20 games this season, and needs just two points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Sophomore Spencer Stewart returned to the lineup against Valparaiso, his first action in six games.
The Flames host two of the three Ohio schools this week, including Cleveland State.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 vs. Cleveland State
Feb. 2 vs. Youngstown State
Loyola Ramblers (7-13, 3-7)
Last week: 1-1
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. Butler – L 63-50
Jan. 26 vs. Valparaiso – W 65-63
If you’re going to reach a milestone, it doesn’t hurt to win the game at the same time.
J.R. Blount hit a shot with four seconds left against Valparaiso to give the Ramblers an upset victory on the road. Blount scored 19 points, giving him 1,000 points in his career at Loyola. He became the fourth league player this year to eclipse 1,000 career points, joining Green Bay’s Mike Schachtner, Detroit’s Jon Goode, and Cleveland State’s J’Nathan Bullock.
In a loss at Butler, sophomore Andy Polka scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Loyola will return home this week for a pair of games.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 vs. Youngstown State
Feb. 2 vs. Cleveland State
UW-Green Bay Phoenix (11-8, 5-4)
Last week: 2-0
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. Cleveland State – W 59-50
Jan. 26 vs. Youngstown State – W 66-58
The Phoenix defense was stingy this week, holding Cleveland State and Youngstown State to an average of 54 points – leading to two victories.
Junior Terry Evans scored a collegiate-high 16 points and added eight rebounds against Cleveland State. By beating the Vikings, the Phoenix snapped CSU’s six-game win streak.
Junior Mike Schachtner scored just five points against CSU, but did grab 10 rebounds to set a new collegiate high. Schachtner is third in the league in scoring at 17.2 points per game.
The Phoenix, who rallied from halftime deficits in both games, defense has held each of their past three opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field.
UWGB will play five of its next seven games on the road, starting at Wright State on Thursday.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 at Wright State
Feb. 2 at Detroit
UW-Milwaukee Panthers (12-8, 7-3)
Last week: 2-0
Week recap
Jan. 24 – vs. Youngstown State – W 76-69
Jan. 26 – vs. Cleveland State – W 79-71
Milwaukee, since losing to Wisconsin on Dec. 12 to drop to 3-7, has won nine of its past 10 games, after beating Youngstown State and Cleveland State at home. UWM has found a niche to playing close games, winning eight of the 11 close games it’s been in this season.
Senior Paige Paulsen led UWM with 24 points and nine rebounds against Youngstown State. He then followed that up with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort against Cleveland State. Paulsen is fifth in the league in scoring at 15.3 points per game.
The Panthers grabbed 32 offensive rebounds in the two games and have collected at least 10 offensive rebounds in 17 of 20 games so far this season.
The Panthers hit the road for a pair this week, starting at Detroit.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 at Detroit
Feb. 2 at Wright State
Valparaiso Crusaders (14-7, 5-4)
Last week: 1-1
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. UIC – W 60-56
Jan. 26 vs. Loyola – L 65-63
The Crusaders have made it a habit of playing in close games in this league season. Of the first nine league contests, six have been decided by six points or less.
Sophomore Samuel Haanpaa led Valpo with 15 points against UIC. All of his points came off of 3-pointers, making it the 16th time in his career he’s hit at least four 3-pointers in a single game.
Valparaiso won’t play another game for nine days, but it will be a big one when instate rival Butler comes to town on national television (ESPN2).
This week’s game:
Feb. 5 vs. Butler (ESPN2)
Wright State Raiders (12-6, 5-4)
Last week: 1-0
Week recap
Jan. 26 vs. Detroit – W 66-57
The Raiders finished off a three-game road swing with a perfect record. The Raiders are now 6-3 away from the Nutter Center this season.
Sophomore Todd Brown led the way for the Raiders, scoring 18 points. Seniors Scottie Wilson and Jordan Pleiman added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Raiders will play the next three games at home, and will be the busiest team this week in the Horizon League. WSU will play three games in six days starting with UWGB on Jan. 31.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 vs. UW-Green Bay
Feb. 2 vs. UW-Milwaukee
Feb. 4 vs. Presbyterian
Youngstown State Penguins (7-13, 3-7)
Last week:
Week recap
Jan. 24 vs. UW-Milwaukee – L 76-69
Jan. 26 vs. UW-Green Bay – L 66-58
The Penguins have dropped four straight games after losing a pair on the road in Wisconsin to Green Bay and Milwaukee.
Freshman Vytas Sulskis averaged 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two losses for the Penguins.
Senior Mike Barber registered his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Milwaukee. Senior Byron Davis scored 22 points against Milwaukee as well.
YSU remains on the road with a pair of games in Chicago. YSU has the opportunity to sweep either Loyola or Chicago for the first time in school history.
This week’s games
Jan. 31 at Loyola
Feb. 2 at Illinois-Chicago
