The Horizon League holds steady in the conference RPI ranks remaining ahead of the Missouri Valley Conference for 11th this week.
In descending order…
10. UIC (Overall Record: 6-23, Conference Record: 2-16, RPI: 288)
Recent Results: Lost to Valparaiso 79-65
The season is drawing to a close for the Flames. A couple bright lights on a dim season: Senior F Paul Carter – Finished on the all-newcomer team averaging 14.6 points and 8 rebounds per game. Senior G Robo Kreps – Would have received consideration for the all-conference third team (if one rightfully existed) averaging 16 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.9 assists per game. Next year will be a fresh start for coach Howard Moore. It’s time for Moore to put his stamp on this program. Projected conference tournament finish: Lose in the first round; no postseason
Up Next: Tuesday at Cleveland State (22-7)
9. Youngstown State (7-20, 2-16, 291)
Recent Results: Lost to Green Bay 71-60, Lost to Milwaukee 94-87 (OT)
The Penguins came within inches of ruining Milwaukee’s season, but like so many games before, they came up just short. Youngstown State finished with just one player receiving any conference accolades. Sophomore F Damian Eargle – Averaging 11 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 3 blocks per game, Eargle had the best season of any Penguin and finished as a member of the all-newcomer team. Eargle could have also made a strong case for the All-Defensive team. Projected Finish: Lose in the first round; no postseason
Up Next: Tuesday at Valparaiso (19-10)
8. Loyola (16-14, 7-11, 195)
Recent Results: Beat Valparaiso 68-48, Lost to Butler 63-56
The Ramblers were able to squeak out one more conference win in a dismal conference season. The Ramblers finished with one player in the conversation for any conference accolades. Senior G Geoff McCammon – On his way to earning the Horizon League’s Sixth Man of the Year award, McCammon averaged 14.5 PPG and 3 RPG while averaging 43.2% from beyond the arc (and ironically leading the team with 30.9 minutes per game). One could make the case that sophomore F Ben Averkamp was a third team performer. Projected Finish: Lose in the first round; no postseason
Up Next: Tuesday at Detroit (15-15)
7. Green Bay (13-17, 8-10, 164)
Recent Results: Beat Youngstown State 71-60, Lost to Cleveland State 64-57
A big round of applause is deserved for senior G Rahmon Fletcher who ends his career as one of the greatest Phoenix of all time. The diminutive point guard finished the year as a member of the all-conference second team averaging 16 PPG and 3 APG. Fletcher should have a nice long career overseas. Also finishing with postseason accolades is freshman C Alec Brown. Named to the all-newcomer team, Brown finished the season with 10 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. Projected Finish: Lose in the first round; no postseason
Up Next: Tuesday at Wright State (16-13)
6. Detroit (15-15, 10-8, 146)
Recent Results: Beat Wright State 77-67
A nice win to end an unsuccessful regular season for the Titans, but they’ll have a lot of work to do if they wish to reach the NCAA tournament. Still, in all of their mediocrity, they pulled in a bunch of postseason awards. Freshman G Ray McCallum Jr. was named the Newcomer of the Year in the Horizon League as well as to the all-newcomer team and all-conference second team. It’s a pretty impressive haul, but it left some people wondering if it was well deserved, or if it was just a product of being a McDonald’s All-American. Junior F/C Eli Holman also pulled in honors as a member of the all-conference second team and the all-defensive team. Again, some question whether Holman was truly worthy of the second team. Projected Finish: Lose in the second round; no postseason
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Loyola (16-14)
5. Wright State (16-13, 10-8, 128)
Recent Results: Lost to Cleveland State 74-72, Beat Hofstra 82-56
The Raiders slipped in their last game of the year and will now take on the Green Bay Phoenix in the first round. One man that should will them to victory is first team all-conference senior G Vaughn Duggins. Duggins truly had an outstanding season averaging 18 PPG and 3.8 RPG. His backcourt mate N’Gai Evans earned second team all-conference with 14.2 PPG, 4 RPG, and 3.3 APG. Projected Finish: Lose in the second round; no postseason
Up Next: Friday vs. Detroit (14-15)
4. Valparaiso (19-10, 12-6, 71)
Recent Results: Lost to Loyola 68-48, Beat UIC 79-65
Valpo faltered down the stretch, losing 3 of their last 4 and squandering an opportunity for a first round bye. Still, the Crusaders had a successful season with Junior G Brandon Wood leading the way as a first-team all-conference player. A case could have been made for Ryan Broekhoff to be included on the second-team, but he’d have to settle for consideration for the third-team. The Crusaders would have had a much better season had Cory Johnson not regressed so much in his senior year. Projected Finish: Lose in the Semifinals; CBI/CIT
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Youngstown State (7-20)
3. Cleveland State (22-7, 13-5, 37)
Recent Results: Lost to Milwaukee 87-83, Beat Green Bay 64-57
The Vikings blew a huge opportunity that now puts them behind the eight ball. Losing to Milwaukee at home dropped them to third in the pecking order, and quite possibly ruined what was a fantastic season. Senior G Norris Cole, who is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s best point guard, is 2011’s Horizon League Player of the Year. He also placed on the all-defensive team as the Defensive Player of the Year. Clearly, Cole is a special player that should find a place on an NBA bench. Also receiving postseason honors is junior G Trevon Harmon who is a member of the all-defensive team. Projected Finish: Lose in the Semifinals; NIT
Up Next: Tuesday vs. UIC (6-23)
Matt Howard gave his blood, sweat, and tears to the Butler program. Bulldog fans should be proud.
2. Butler (20-9, 13-5, 45)
Recent Results: Beat Loyola 63-56
The Bulldogs didn’t quite finish where they hoped, but they still have a chance at accomplishing their goal of making it back to the NCAA tournament. Outgoing senior F Matt Howard has had an outstanding career and caps it off as a member of the all-conference first team as well as the all-defensive team. Congratulations to him on an outstanding career. Also, Junior G Shelvin Mack finished on the second-team and Ronald Nored finished on the all-defensive team. Projected Finish: Win the Horizon League Tournament; NCAA Tournament Auto Bid
Up Next: Saturday vs. UIC/Cleveland State/Green Bay/Wright State (at Milwaukee)
Ryan Allen has been a tremendous spark of the bench for Horizon League COY Rob Jeter.
1. Milwaukee (18-12, 13-5, 98)
Recent Results: Beat Cleveland State 87-83, Beat Youngstown State 94-87 (OT)
What an incredible story these Panthers have to tell. Finding themselves sitting at seventh place in conference play at a 4-5 record, and just coming off a 60-43 thrashing at the hands of Valpo, the Panthers knew something had to change. They held a team meeting where everything was laid out on the table. Nothing was held back. And the rest? Well, that’s what we like to call history folks. Senior F Anthony Hill went on to average 20 PPG, 6.5 RPG and shoot 76.6% at the stripe over this 9-game stretch and earned first team all-conference along the way. Junior PG Kaylon Williams would go on to average 7.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG (!) and 7.8 APG (!) while earning a spot on the all-newcomer team (and certainly made a case for the second-team). Junior G/F Ryan Allen was asked to defend the opponent’s best guard in crunch time, and while he didn’t play the minutes necessary to earn a spot on the all-defensive team, he was as important to his team as any other player. Finally, head coach Rob Jeter improved as a coach so much that he earned the Horizon League Coach of the Year award; a well deserved honor for a guy who put all his faith in his vocal point guard, and had a lot of help from his qualified assistants. Projected Finish: Lose in the Championship Game; NIT
Up Next: Saturday vs. Youngstown State/Valparaiso/Loyola/Detroit
Filed under: Horizon League | Tagged: Alec Brown, Anthony Hill, Ben Averkamp, Brandon Wood, Butler Bulldogs, Cleveland State Vikings, Cory Johnson, Damian Eargle, Detroit Titans, Eli Holman, Geoff McCammon, Green Bay Phoenix, Howard Moore, Kaylon Williams, Loyola Rambers, Matt Howard, Milwaukee Panthers, N'Gai Evans, Norris Cole, Paul Carter, Rahmon Fletcher, Ray McCallum Jr., Rob Jeter, Robo Kreps, Ronald Nored, Ryan Allen, Ryan Broekhoff, Shelvin Mack, Trevon Harmon, UIC Flames, Valparaiso Crusaders, Vaughn Duggins, Wright State Raiders, Youngstown State Penguins | Leave a comment »
PantherU 
Filling out my brackets
Before I get into my picks for tonight’s games, I want to give a shout out to Sports Illustrated, which has Milwaukee #1 among the teams that have a real chance to be bid-stealers over the next couple weeks.
That said, here are my picks for tonight’s games. Once again, if you’re going to be watching the Horizon League first round tonight, be sure to participate in our co-hosted Tournament Chat over at ChicagoNOW.com.
(3) Cleveland State over (10) UIC – The Vikings just have too much to overcome for the Flames. Forget Norris Cole, the conference Player of the Year, the Vikings have enough on the backs of Trevon Harmon and Aaron Pogue to put away UIC. This will be the last go-round for Robo Kreps, who should get a standing ovation when his career is over; Kreps dealt with some pretty hairy stuff and stuck with UIC through thick and thin.
(4) Valparaiso over (9) Youngstown State – I had to think about this game – no, really. Youngstown State nearly beat Valpo a month ago, and they nearly played the spoiler on Saturday. Valparaiso, on the other hand, lost three of their last four with losses to the 7 and 8 seed. But Youngstown’s success came at home, and I don’t see them beating Valpo in the ARC. No way.
(5) Detroit over (8) Loyola – The Ramblers’ 20-point schellacking of Valpo was eye-opening to say the least. With such a dominant victory and close loss at Butler, one might be willing to pick Loyola in a stagnant Calihan Hall. But the rims are odd in Detroit, and the Titans are 10-4 at home in 2010-11. If they kick it in to Eli Holman all night long, expect buckets all night long. Detroit will advance tonight.
(6) Wright State over (7) Green Bay – The Phoenix put a scare into the Raiders last month down at the Nutter Center before Vaughn Duggins banged home a game-winner. The Phoenix can win, absolutely. They need Bryquis Perine and Rahmon Fletcher to have great games, but the real key to the Phoenix puzzle is Alec Brown. If he can play to his potential as he has done in flashes this season, he could have a stat line that reads like this: 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks. Get close to that, and I expect the Phoenix to be very close to a victory. Without all three having phenomenal games, it’s going to be a tough road to the second round for Green Bay.
I hope to see everyone in the chat tonight!
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Filed under: Cleveland State, Commentary, Detroit, Green Bay, Horizon League, Loyola, Previews, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State, Youngstown State | Leave a comment »