Where do we stand?

First place, that’s where.  I know what you’re saying – two of the victories came in the last minute. The Panthers haven’t taken on fellow favorite Cleveland State. Milwaukee’s offense is not getting the points it has gotten in recent years.

But the fact remains, at the end of the day, this team is 4-1 in the Horizon League, tied with two other teams in first place (sound familiar?), has the opportunity to all-but-eliminate two teams from the conference title conversation, and at the end of the day is playing better defense than it ever has in the history of the program.

This week is a tale of two teams.  One, Wright State, is a team that no one expected to be in the conversation but sits at fourth place with a 4-2 record. The Raiders have gotten significantly better over the course of the season and are only a half-game behind the pack with 12 conference games left to play.  Detroit, on the other hand, was the favorite coming into the season (for anyone who has no idea if a head coach is important or not) and is teetering on destruction at 2-4 in the conference.  The Titans blasted Butler yesterday and improved to 2-4, but they literally have no room for error; last year’s champions lost five games each, and the Titans are faced with the daunting Wisconsin road trip this week.  Luckily they don’t have class to worry about right now.

Tune in tomorrow, when we break down the Raiders and figure out what’s got Billy Donlon improving his team.

Fun fact: while a player at Marquette, Brian Wardle was coached by many coaches spanning the two staffs of Mike Deane and Tom Crean. One of those coaches? Rob Jeter.