Butler Bulldogs (5-7): Butler began the week with a matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Having struggled in the early part of the season, the Bulldogs probably weren’t given much of a chance by most observers against the Boilermakers. Summing up some of the magic that has helped the team advance to two straight NCAA Tournament Championship Games, the Bulldogs upset the Boilermakers by a score of 67-65 when Andrew Smith tipped in a missed shot from freshman Roosevelt Jones. Three days later, the Bulldogs headed west to battle Gonzaga in a matchup of mid-major powers. Although sophomore Erik Fromm scored a career-best 16 points in his first career start, Butler lost to Gonzaga by a score of 71-55. The Bulldogs will remain on the road and square off against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday.
Cleveland State Vikings (10-2): After dedicating a week to final exams, the Vikings returned to action on Monday on the road against South Florida. Despite outrebounding South Florida by a 37-34 margin, the Vikings were plagued by poor shooting and foul trouble and lost their first road game of the season by a score of 70-55. Senior D’Aundray Brown currently leads the Horizon League with 3.0 steals per game. Cleveland State will return to action at home on Thursday night against the Sam Houston State Bearkats.
Detroit Titans (5-8): After a multi-day break dedicated to final exams, the Titans returned to action against the nationally ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Titans fought hard to overcome a second-half deficit that stretched to 15 points at one point in the game and even managed to tie the game with less than three minutes left in the game, but the Titans ultimately fell short by a score of 80-75. Although he did not return to the starting lineup, Eli Holman was very impressive in 17 minutes of action, scoring 12 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Detroit is unique in the fact that they lead the Horizon League in scoring as well as points given up per game, and the return of Holman should help address the Titans’ defensive struggles. The Titans will return to action on Thursday night against Alabama State.
Green Bay Phoenix (5-6): During the past week, the Phoenix exemplified the meaning of the term “student-athlete” as they did not play a single game and focused on final exams. Alec Brown ranks second in the Horizon League in rebounds per game and blocked shots per game. The Phoenix will return to action on Thursday night at home against Idaho.
Loyola Ramblers (4-7): The Ramblers racked up two wins over the past week. On Saturday, Loyola used double-doubles by standouts Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler to defeat Chicago State by a score of 64-49. Two days later, Loyola defeated Division II Rockhurst by a score of 69-46. Paced by another strong performance from Averkamp, the Rambers earned their third straight victory in a game that marked the return of the injury-plagued Jordan Hicks. The Rambers will attempt to secure their fourth straight victory when they head to New York to battle Canisus on Thursday.
Milwaukee Panthers (9-3): The Panthers are another team that was relatively idle over the past week. In their only game of the week, the Panthers used 15 3-pointers to dominate the visiting Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks by a score of 86-50. In a major intrastate battle, the Panthers will head over to Marquette’s campus to battle the nationally ranked Golden Eagles on Thursday night. The Panthers have limited opponents to a Horizon League-leading 58 points per game, and they will need to utilize their tough defense in order to keep pace with Marquette.
UIC Flames (4-7): Despite a career-best 20 points from junior guard Daniel Barnes, the Flames lost to Central Michigan by a score of 70-67 after they allowed a lead to slip away in the final minute. However, UIC found itself on the winning end of a close game three nights later. UIC edged Western Illinois at home by a score of 57-56. Gary Talton’s layup with 3.2 left in the game helped the Flames earn their fourth win of the season. Hayden Humes leads the Horizon League in 3-point percentage, nailing 50% of his shots. The Flames will battle the Dayton Flyers on the road on Friday night.
Valparaiso Crusaders (8-4): The Crusaders lost a close game at home to Oakland University by a score of 82-80. Oakland’s Reggie Hamilton, who led all scorers with 41 points, nailed a jumper to win the game. Three days later, Valparaiso used two big runs to defeat Northern Illinois by a score of 59-48. Kevin Van Wijk currently leads the Horizon League in field goal percentage and also ranks seventh in the Horizon League in points per game, averaging 14.4 points per contest. The Crusaders will return to action on Friday against IUPUI.
Wright State Raiders (5-8): Wright State’s youth and a tough non-conference schedule have combined to lead to a slow start to the season for the Raiders. However, if the Raiders continue to improve throughout the course of the season, they could be a tough opponent in the Horizon League Tournament. Wright State squared off at home against the Ohio University Bobcats. Fueled by a stellar shooting performance, the Bobcats knocked off the Raiders by a score of 82-54. However, Wright State hung on in overtime to defeat Idaho by a score of 80-78. Julius Mays’ 3-pointer in overtime helped propel the Raiders to their fifth victory of the season. Wright State will return to action on Thursday night against Central Michigan.
Youngstown State Penguins (6-5): Youngstown State’s turnaround hit a bit of a rough patch over the past week. On Saturday, the Penguins traveled across Ohio to battle the Toledo Rockets. Plagued by poor play in the first half, the Penguins fell behind early in the game and were down by as many as 17 points before rallying in the second half. However, the Penguins could never retake the lead and wound up losing by a score of 86-77. Two days later, the Penguins battled another in-state opponent when they squared off against the Akron Zips. Akron is a talented team, and the Penguins made matters worse for themselves by committing 21 turnovers—their highest total of the season. Needless to say, the turnovers led to a Penguins loss, and the Zips defeated the Penguins by a score of 88-62. The Penguins will attempt to end their losing streak on Thursday when they host Robert Morris.
