It’s official: ESPN and the Horizon bone us again

In case you were unaware before, the Horizon League and ESPN decided that they were going to put two games to a vote as to which game would make it on ESPNU.

Last time, the vote was between Green Bay versus Cleveland State and Milwaukee versus Youngstown State.  As you know, the GB-CSU game won, forcing Milwaukee fans to watch their road game at Youngstown State on ESPN3.

Well, be prepared to watch the Horizon League match-up on February 10th against Detroit on ESPN3.com as well.

That’s because in a second vote, the Horizon League and ESPNU have decided to put the Green Bay at Wright State game on ESPNU over the Milwaukee at Detroit game.

In a short voting session on Facebook, the Panthers saw their second shot at a nationally-televised game evaporate before their eyes.  The final vote came back at 1,801 to 1,759, a mere 42 votes to decide a nationally-televised game.

Here is the full vote.

The Panthers will play at Detroit on ESPN3.com, their fourth such game this season.  The Youngstown State game, Northern Iowa, and Michigan State were all played on the internet.  Michigan State was on BTN.com, the pay website for the Big Ten Network.

So what should your reaction be to this news?  OUTRAGE.

The Horizon League and ESPN decided to put games up for a vote in the first place, which was ridiculous.  It’s one thing to try and get people interested in your brand through social networking, it’s another thing entirely to screw over universities in the process.

Put it this way.  Not only are fans in Washington D.C., Phoenix, Chicago and elsewhere (big pockets of Black and Gold) unable to see the Panthers play their game at Detroit, but so are recruits that the coaching staff are desperately trying to bring to Milwaukee.  With this move made by the Horizon League and ESPNU, the Panthers have effectively been shut out of national television.  Recruiting players in the area is nice – Time Warner Sports puts us in a decent percentage of southeast Wisconsin homes (although not nearly enough).

But we don’t recruit solely in southeast Wisconsin.  We recruit nationally.  And how are players from around the country supposed to see Milwaukee as a big-time mid-major program if they have to crowd around a computer screen to see our games?

It doesn’t even make sense.  Forty-two fans separate the winner and loser.  I don’t know if I’m mistaken, but I’m pretty sure many fans from every school in the conference don’t have Facebook.

In fact, I overheard a discussion in the minutes leading up to the Valpo game between two season-ticket holding fans. “Why are they putting it on Facebook? I don’t have Facebook!”

The truth is, Milwaukee just got screwed out of another game.  Despite averaging about 1,600 more fans per game than Green Bay, it is the Phoenix fan base that will be watching their team on the road at Wright State.

Vote for Milwaukee-Detroit!

VOTE NOW

A few weeks ago, fans of Milwaukee, Green Bay, Youngstown State and Cleveland State had the opportunity to vote for their programs to get a nationally televised game on ESPNU.

Despite our best efforts to get people to vote, the Green Bay at Cleveland State game ended up on national TV, while the Milwaukee at Youngstown State game ended up on ESPN3.com.

Why is that?  Milwaukee has the highest attendance of the four schools, and YSU has a big football following that would be willing to at least vote on facebook.

The truth is, the Panthers and Penguins lost the vote last time because the folks at Green Bay and Cleveland State were more proactive.  The Sports Information Departments at both schools pushed readers of their website and followers on Twitter and Facebook to vote for their game, and thus the smaller fan bases won an ESPNU game that wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the Milwaukee/YSU game.

Now, we have another opportunity.  Milwaukee plays Detroit on Friday, February 10th. That same night, Wright State hosts Green Bay.  ESPN is putting it up to a vote again.  Guess who is promoting it?  Wright State.  Despite the Raiders putting on the full court press in promoting the game, Milwaukee-Detroit is currently winning.  Then again, Milwaukee-YSU was winning until late in the voting process, so we need to make sure that the Panthers get on National TV this time around.

Send this to all your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  VOTE NOW!

Defense shuts down Raiders

Julius Mays, coming in averaging 18.3 ppg for Wright State, scored three points on 1-7 shooting due to lockdown defense by Ryan Allen and Ryan Haggerty, and the Milwaukee Panthers dropped the Wright State Raiders for the 15th game in a row in Milwaukee, 58-38.

The Panthers were led on the floor by Kaylon Williams with nine assists. Tony Meier had a great comeback game, scoring 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

The Raiders had a rough day from the field, shooting 25.5% overall and only 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.

We’ll have more from the Arena later tonight.

Horizon League Power Rankings (12.12.11)

This is a big week for Horizon League teams in non-conference play.  Some games on the docket this week include #15 Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Cincinnati at Wright State and UIC at Oregon State. Cincinnati/Wright State is a very intriguing matchup due to Cincinnati’s major suspensions from their brawl at Xavier.  Wright State has a real chance to steal one at home.  Milwaukee also welcomes a major rival to their home floor as they take on Jordan Taylor and the Wisconsin Badgers.  They key to this game for the Panthers is to avoid going cold on offense, and that will be a huge task with tenacity the Badgers display on defense. Still, an upset against Wisconsin would be huge for Milwaukee’s confidence as they inch closer to conference play, and could move them up to the top of the Power Rankings.  See where they’re currently at, below…

In descending order…

Free Ben Averkamp.

10. Loyola (2-7) – Despite their most recent victory, the Ramblers are a one-man band that will struggle to win more than 2 league games this year.  Without Ben Averkamp’s monster game on Saturday, the Ramblers would have lost to a Toledo team that is one of the worst in the nation.  That tells you all you need to know about where they belong in this conference.

9. UIC (3-5) – A more balanced win, but over a similar opponent as Loyola. Northern Illinois is a really bad team as is evidenced by their 0-8 record.  Still, UIC managed to win, and they can earn a “moral victory” by keeping it close against Oregon State later this week.

8. Green Bay (4-6) – The Phoenix had a tough week, getting blown out by Wisconsin and Marquette. That was to be expected, but they’re not exactly upwardly mobile at this point.  Don’t expect them to move up this list much in the next couple weeks, as their only game in the next week and a half is against Michigan Tech.  At least they won’t have any bad losses, right?

7. Wright State (4-6) – A win over Miami (OH) isn’t what you would call a “good” win, but to beat an in-state rival is always a good win.  The interstate battle continues as the Raiders host Cincinnati and Ohio in the next week.  There’s a real opportunity here for the Raiders to move on up this list…

6. Butler (4-6) – Yet another 4-6 team, Butler has been a disappointment so far.  We knew they would struggle.  The question was, how much?  Losing to a decent Ball State team is not what the Bulldogs were hoping for to start off a 4-game road trip that includes games against Purdue, Gonzaga, and Stanford.  The Bulldogs could re-enter league play at 4-9 with their “signature” victory coming over Savannah State (seriously).  Not exactly the start Coach Stevens was hoping for.

Doug Anderson's athleticism has been on full display.

5. Detroit (5-7) – If the key to winning basketball games was getting exciting fast break dunks, the Titans would be in the Top 25. Led by high flying wing Doug Anderson, the Titans are starting to play a better brand of basketball, but the turnovers persist.  Ray McCallum and the crew take on #16 Mississippi State on Saturday.  Their chances of victory are greatly improved by Eli Holman’s controversial reinstatement.  If the offense goes through him, there are few teams on the schedule they can’t beat.

4. Youngstown State (6-3) – The Penguins lack an impressive victory, and a loss to Buffalo is nothing to be ashamed about. They’re on the right track, but they have a long way to go if they expect to stay in this spot. The teams directly behind them certainly won’t be complacent.

3. Valparaiso (7-3) – The Crusaders can get a nice win over visiting Oakland on Saturday, and they are just a small step behind in these Power Rankings.  They have a very good shot at winning their next 3 games which would give them a 10-3 record before their matchup against Milwaukee in conference play.  Go Valpo!

2. Milwaukee (8-2) – The Panthers suffered a tough loss at Northern Iowa, but the UNI Panthers are a really good, tournament caliber team.  The Panthers can bounce back with a HUGE game against the Wisconsin Badgers on Tuesday.  If they can shock Wisconsin, it would be one of the biggest regular season wins in Milwaukee’s history.

1. Cleveland State (10-1) – The Vikings continue to win in a variety of ways, but they’ve shown their vulnerability.  Ten wins is sweet, but the Vikings have a pretty weak non-conference slate in the next couple weeks, so improving their RPI is probably about as high as it’s going to be (#38) for the rest of the year. At this point, however, they have the best chance of any team in the conference at obtaining an at-large berth.

Horizon League Power Rankings (12.5.2011)

What an exciting week in Horizon League action. Seven of the first nine conference games were within 6 points in the end. Such a great way to start the conference season.  It wasn’t all conference fun however. The league went 2-0 against the Big East as well. This league continues to improve year in and year out.

In descending order…

10. Loyola – The Ramblers are lost. There is very little to be positive about as they traveled to Wisconsin and were thoroughly outplayed in every facet of each game.  Without Courtney Stanley, this team doesn’t have a competent floor general, and I expect to see them stay in this spot for the foreseeable future.

9. UIC – The Flames could make a case here to be a bit higher. They played both Green Bay and Milwaukee down to the wire and even took the more talented Panthers to overtime.  UIC has a ton of potential with their undersized guards Gary Talton, Daniel Barnes and Marc Brown. Brown, a freshman, will be a really nice player as he continues to mature.

8. Wright State –  The Raiders nearly pulled off the upset against Cleveland State, but a loss is a loss. However, they rebounded in a big way against Youngstown State at home. The Raiders are going to struggle this year. That much is obvious. But they have to feel good about how junior transfer Julius Mays has played so far.

7. Green Bay – Hey, I don’t care who they played, anytime you can start the conference season 2-0 you have to be happy about it.  The Phoenix are a very young team and they’ll continue to learn on the fly. Seventh seems about right for them, and I expect them to hover around this spot all season.

6. Detroit – They beat St. John’s on Dickie V night on ESPN2, but this team looks rudderless. It’s no secret that Ray McCallum has been questioned as a head coach.  It’s beginning to look like he may be nothing more than a recruiter. Still, with that much talent, I expect them to figure things out sooner or later. Eli Holman was recently reinstated but has yet to play in a game. That will certainly change things for them.  He has NBA talent.

Kendrick Perry has played like a man possessed making YSU a threat.

5. Youngstown State – The Penguins were looking great to move into the top 4 of the power rankings until they blew the game at Wright State late.  Kendrick Perry has been outstanding as just a sophomore. He leads the conference in points per game.  Incredible that Jerry Slocum is experiencing a revival in year 7 at Youngstown.

4. Butler – I have a hard time putting Butler any lower than this despite their mediocre record. The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker against Valpo in overtime and it puts them at 0-1 in conference play. It’ll be interesting to see if Coach Brad Stevens continues to go with two freshmen (Kameron Woods and Roosevelt Jones) in the starting lineup. The Bulldogs need someone to step up and score consistently.

3. Valparaiso – The Crusaders could certainly argue that they belong in the top two after the win in overtime over Butler.  Richie Edwards has been tremendous as of late and Coach Bryce Drew has a great trio of forwards in Ryan Broekhoff, Kevin Van Wijk, and Edwards.  These guys can definitely challenge for the Horizon League title this year.

Tony Meier adds a different dimension to an already potent Milwaukee squad.

2. Milwaukee- Following up a blowout against Loyola, the Panthers struggled against UIC late. It was a good show of resiliency and it proved valuable as they won their next game at DePaul despite a frantic comeback from the Blue Demons.  This team has a ton of talent and they’ll continue to gel as the season wears on.

1. Cleveland State – The Vikings continue to play well winning their first two conference games on the road.  It was this degree of difficulty that keeps them in first for now. As a basketball fan, I just can’t wait to see them clash with Valpo and Milwaukee.  Defensively, they’re a treat to watch.