#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 20

#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 20

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INDIANAPOLIS – Friday marks the beginning of the second half of the Horizon League season highlighted by this week’s #FRIDAYisHLMBB matchup as Cleveland State hosts Milwaukee on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET.

HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Cleveland State may have had its nine-game winning streak snapped last week, but the Vikings still sit at 9-1 in the League and continue to lean in on the defensive end as they are top-3 during Horizon League play in scoring, field-goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and steals. The Vikings also continue to win close contests as they are 4-0 in games decided within one point highlighted last week by Deante Johnson finishing an alley-oop dunk with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation to secure the win on ESPNU.

• Milwaukee will be making its first appearance on a national ESPN platform since appearing on ESPNU in the 2018 Horizon League Tournament and then on ESPN and ESPNU during their run to the title game in the 2017 Horizon League Championship. Te’Jon Lucas leads the way for the Panthers scoring 13.0 points per game and ranking third in assists with 6.1, while DeAndre Gholston is scoring 13.1 points and is shooting 53 percent from the field during League play.

• Wright State, No. 18 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, may have one of the most balanced teams in the country. Offensively, the Raiders are 44th in country in shooting percentage (47.8) and first in the HL in scoring offense (79.2) and assists (15.5). Defensively, WSU ranks eighth in the country in defensive field goal percentage (37.6) and fourth in rebounding (43.5), while also being tops in the HL in scoring defense (64.8) and blocks (4.2).

• Purdue Fort Wayne has shown that they are a force offensively as the Mastodons are currently riding a four-game win streak. Nationally, the ‘Dons are seventh in field-goal percentage at 52.1 percent, including being the No. 1 3-point shooting team at 43.9 percent from long range. Over its last four games, Purdue Fort Wayne has not scored less than 81 points. Jarred Godfrey is leading the charge as the second-leading scorer in HL play at 20.5 points per game and leads the League with six 20-point performances.

• The Horizon League has some of the top passers in the NCAA as three HL players rank in the top-20 in assists led by Oakland’s Jalen Moore who is third in the country with 7.6, followed by UIC’s Teyvion Kirk ranking sixth with 7.3 and Te’Jon Lucas of Milwaukee coming in 17th with 6.1.

• #HLMBB boasts four of the top rebounders in the country as they all rank top-25 nationally and are averaging double-digit boards led by WSU’s Loudon Love who is tops in the HL with 10.4 boards per game, followed by NKU’s Adrian Nelson at 10.2, while IUPUI’s Elyjah Goss and RMU’s AJ Bramah are both at 10.1.

• IUPUI claimed its first two #HLMBB wins of the season with a weekend sweep of Northern Kentucky on the road with a pair of hard fought victories. The Jags were led by talented seniors Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett who combined to average 43.0 points per game and shot 48.4 percent from the floor including hitting 13 3-pointers.

• Detroit Mercy missed the last two weeks but returned to the floor this week in grand fashion winning both of its games at home against Green Bay. Junior Antoine Davis came out shooting averaging 28.0 points on 57.1 percent shooting including going 12-of-20 from long range. On Saturday, Davis finished with 30 points on seven 3-pointers marking the sixth time in his career with at least seven 3-pointers and the 16th 30-point game of his career.

• Oakland is also coming off a weekend sweep at home against Youngstown State with both wins coming in comeback fashion. Jalen Moore continues to shine for the Golden Grizzlies as he ranks third during HL play in scoring with 20.1 points and first in assists at 9.2. Moore leads the League with two 30-point performances in League play and is tied with teammate Daniel Oladapo with five double-doubles in League.

• UIC bounced back in a strong way last weekend with a pair of home wins over RMU as the Flames are now 6-1 on the season inside Credit Union 1 Arena. Teyvion Kirk had another impressive weekend for UIC as he averaged 13.5 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game including posting his fourth double-double of the year on Friday with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

• RMU’s AJ Bramah continues to lead the Horizon League in scoring during HL play as the senior is averaging 22.6 points with 20-point performances in four of five #HLMBB games and is now the League’s leading rebounder at 12.0 after posting back-to-back double-doubles over the weekend averaging 21.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game.

RESULTS
DATE GAME RECAP
Friday, Jan. 15 IUPUI 74, Northern Kentucky 69 Box Score
Purdue Fort Wayne 81, Milwaukee 72 Box Score
Detroit Mercy 86, Green Bay 61 Box Score
Oakland 82, Youngstown State 65 Box Score
Cleveland State 66, Wright State 64 Box Score
UIC 67, RMU 53 Box Score
Saturday, Jan. 16 Oakland 81, Youngstown State 74 Box Score
Detroit Mercy 68, Green Bay 65 Box Score
IUPUI 65, Northern Kentucky 63 Box Score
UIC 66, RMU 62 (OT) Box Score
Wright State 85, Cleveland State 49 Box Score
Purdue Fort Wayne 81, Milwaukee 74 Box Score

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE GAME Time (ET) TV/Live Stream
Friday, Jan. 22 Wright State at IUPUI 12 p.m. ESPN3
UIC at Youngstown State 5 p.m. ESPN3
Purdue Fort Wayne at Green Bay 5 p.m. ESPN3
Detroit Mercy at Oakland 7 p.m. ESPN+
Northern Kentucky at RMU 7 p.m. ESPN3
Milwaukee at Cleveland State 9 p.m. ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 23 Wright State at IUPUI 12 p.m. ESPN3
Northern Kentucky at RMU 5 p.m. ESPN3
Milwaukee at Cleveland State 5 p.m. ESPN3
UIC at Youngstown State 5 p.m. ESPN3
Purdue Fort Wayne at Green Bay 5 p.m. ESPN3
Detroit Mercy at Oakland 5 p.m. ESPN+