#HLMBB Weekly Notebook - February 5
#HLMBB Standings | #HLMBB Statistics | #HLMBB Weekly Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Week 6 of the #HLMBB season brought some shake up throughout the standings, but as we head into Week 7, Northern Kentucky remains on top with Wright State and Oakland just one game behind.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Week 7 of the League season brings several interesting matchups with the top six teams in the standings all playing each other. First-place Northern Kentucky and Wright State, who is tied for second place, will both welcome the Golden Grizzlies, the other second place team in the standings, and Detroit Mercy who is tied for fourth at 6-5 in HL play. The two other teams tied with Detroit Mercy in fourth-place, UIC and IUPUI, will face off against each other on Saturday in Indianapolis.
• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis broke the Horizon League freshman scoring record on Saturday, set by UIC’s Dikembe Dixson (2015-16), and now has 597 points this season. He also became the fastest freshman in NCAA history to reach 100 3-pointers, doing so in just 22 games, and is still working to break Stephen Curry’s NCAA freshman record of 122 3-pointers in 2006-07. Davis still leads the nation with his 102 triples and is second in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game.
• Oakland’s Brad Brechting had one of his best weekends on the court as a member of the Golden Grizzlies. He began his week recording his first career double-double with 21 points and 18 rebounds against Youngstown State. Brechting concluded the week by scoring 32 points against Cleveland State by going 14-for-15 from the floor including setting a school record by making his first 13-straight field goal attempts. The Golden Grizzlies are tied for second place with a record of 7-4 in #HLMBB play
• UIC became the only team so far this season to defeat both Northern Kentucky and Wright State in the same weekend to climb to 6-5 during League play. The Flames boast the best scoring defense during HL play and are tops in field-goal defense at just 39.0 percent. UIC is also the only team to have three players ranked in the top-15 in scoring; Marcus Ottey (8th, 15.8), Tarkus Ferguson (10th, 15.2) and Godwin Boahen (15th, 14.3).
• The Golden Grizzlies boast the highest scoring teammates during #HLMBB play at 36.3 points per game with Jaevin Cumberland ranking third in the HL with 19.5 points and Xavier Hill-Mais ranking sixth in scoring at 16.8. They have also proved to be one of the best in the nation at holding on to the ball and sharing it. The Golden Grizzlies are 13th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.47 and ninth in assists per game at 17.7.
• Green Bay’s Sandy Cohen III and UIC’s Ferguson are the only players in the Horizon League that rank inside the top-10 in points, rebounds and assists. Ferguson leads the League in assists at 5.4, while Cohen ranks second in steals with 1.7. Both are also top-10 in blocks and minutes played.
• #HLMBB teams have been prolific from long range this season as eight out of 10 teams are ranked in the top-100 in total 3-point field goals made with Oakland pacing the HL with 242, good for ninth in the NCAA. The Horizon League as a conference ranks fourth overall in 3-point field goal percentage at 35.67.
• Detroit Mercy’s Davis, Wright State’s Loudon Love and Northern Kentucky’s Drew McDonald were selected to the 2018-19 Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List, presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major player in Division I College Basketball.
• McDonald has also been selected to the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Karl Malone Award Watch List, presented to the nation’s top power-forward and one of 30 of candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. He has moved into the top-25 all-time in Horizon League scoring with 1,885. McDonald is one of only 18 active players to record 1,500 points and 600 rebounds and among active Division I players ranks sixth in double-doubles, ninth in rebounds and 18th in points.
RESULTS
| DATE |
GAME |
RECAP |
| Thursday, Jan. 31 |
Detroit Mercy 78, Cleveland State 64 |
Box Score |
|
Youngstown State 75, Oakland 74 |
Box Score |
| Friday, Feb. 1 |
IUPUI 83, Northern Kentucky 77 |
Box Score |
|
Green Bay 90, Milwaukee 74 |
Box Score |
|
UIC 67, Wright State 53 |
Box Score |
| Saturday, Feb. 2 |
Youngstown State 72, Detroit Mercy 70 |
Box Score |
|
Oakland 83, Cleveland State 68 |
Box Score |
| Sunday, Feb. 3 |
Wright State 79, IUPUI 74 |
Box Score |
|
UIC 69, Northern Kentucky 67 |
Box Score |
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
GAME OF THE WEEK
Oakland at Northern Kentucky, Saturday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3
The first-place Norse enter Week 7 of the HL season at 8-3 and will welcome Oakland, who trails by just one game at 7-4, into BB&T Arena on Saturday. Oakland earned a two-point win at home in the first meeting and NKU will look to avenge that loss and to break out of a two-game losing streak heading into Week 7. The Golden Grizzlies will also look to snap the 13-game home winning streak the Norse have built this season. Both teams are even offensively with NKU averaging 79.9 points in HL play and Oakland right behind at 77.7, but the Norse have the edge defensively allowing 70.5 points in League play as Oakland surrenders 74.1. Drew McDonald leads the way for NKU with 19.6 points and 10.3 boards in HL play, while Jaevin Cumberland is averaging 19.5 points and 3.5 triples in League games and Xavier Hill-Mais is registering 16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| DATE |
GAME |
Time (ET) |
TV/Live Stream |
| Thursday, Feb. 7 |
Oakland at Wright State |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Detroit Mercy at Northern Kentucky |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Green Bay at Cleveland State |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Milwaukee at Youngstown State |
7 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
| Saturday, Feb. 9 |
UIC at IUPUI |
1 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
|
Milwaukee at Cleveland State |
3 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
|
Green Bay at Youngstown State |
6 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
|
Oakland at Northern Kentucky |
7 p.m. |
ESPN3 |
|
Detroit Mercy at Wright State |
7 p.m. |
ESPN+ |