2021-22 #HLMBB Season Preview
#HLMBB Weekly Notebook
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2021-22 men's basketball season begins on Tuesday so check out the 2021-22 Horizon League men's basketball preview as we prepare for another exciting year of basketball action in the HL.
#HLMBB NEWS AND NOTES
• Four #HLMBB teams enter the season ranked in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll with Wright State leading the way at No. 20. Cleveland State, Milwaukee and Detroit Mercy each received votes in the poll.
• A total of four Horizon League men’s basketball players were tabbed to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball. The list included Milwaukee’s Patrick Baldwin Jr., Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis, Wright State’s Tanner Holden and Oakland’s Jalen Moore.
• In addition to being named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List, Milwaukee’s Baldwin Jr. was named to the 2022 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Watch List. He has also recently been included on national watch lists for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award as well as the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. The Preseason All-Horizon League First Team selection is the highest-ranked high school recruit to ever sign with a Horizon League program, was a consensus five-star recruit and was considered the No. 4 player nationally in the class of 2021.
• Detroit Mercy’s Davis earned his second Preseason Player of the Year honor of his career and has led the Horizon League in scoring in all three seasons at Detroit Mercy. He finished last season with 24.0 points, good for third in the country, while also ranking top-5 in 3-pointers per game. The senior comes into this season ninth on the Horizon League’s all-time scoring list with 2,040 points.
• Cleveland State was voted as the preseason favorites this season for the first time since 2009 after winning the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship last season. The Vikings are also coming off a season where they earned a share of its first #HLMBB regular season title since the 2010-11 campaign and the No. 1 seed for the championship for the first time in program history.
• Despite losing Player of the Year Loudon Love, Wright State was selected second in this season’s preseason poll and returns four starters from last year’s team that claimed at least a share of the regular season title for the third-straight year. The Raiders return preseason All-League honorees Holden and Grant Basile.
• Northern Kentucky made it three-straight appearances in the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals last season and will look to do it again this year behind 2021 Freshman of the Year Marques Warrick and All-League Second Team selection Trevon Faulkner, who were both named to the Preseason All-League team prior to this season.
• Preseason All-HL First Team selection Jalen Moore led the NCAA in assists last season with 8.4 per game, becoming the third Oakland player to accomplish the feat since 2009. He also poured in nearly 18 points per game. Moore will be joined this season by Marquette transfer Jamal Cain who averaged almost 10 points a game for the Golden Eagles last season.
• Purdue Fort Wayne will look to continue its hot shooting from last season as the Mastodons were the only team in the country in 2020-21 to shoot over 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range. Preseason All-Horizon League selection Jarred Godfrey will look to lead the way once again for the ‘Dons this season.
• First-year head coach Matt Crenshaw takes over for his alma mater at IUPUI where he is the all-time assist leader in program history and a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame. He will lean on B.J. Maxwell this season after the Jags lost All-Horizon League honoree Marcus Burk.
• Youngstown State has averaged just under 10 #HLMBB wins over the last two seasons as head coach Jerrod Calhoun enters his fifth season at the helm. The Guins return a core group from last season including Michael Akuchie who was fifth in the HL in rebounding including setting a HL single-game record with 24 boards.
• RMU’s Andy Toole prepares for his second year in the Horizon League with a solid core of returners, including Kahliel Spear and Kam Farris, and newcomers featuring Rasheem Dunn.
• Second-year head coach Luke Yaklich looks to build of last season with seniors Michael Diggins and Jamie Ahale along with transfers Zion Griffin, Kevin Johnson and Damaria Franklin.
• Green Bay lost a heart breaker in double overtime last year in the first round of the Horizon League Basketball Championship in Will Ryan’s first season with the Phoenix. He will look to improve on last year’s performance with the help of All-Freshman Team honoree Lucas Stieber and Emmanuel Ansong.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
IUPUI at Butler, 6:45 p.m. (FS1)
UIC at Dayton, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Oakland at West Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky vs. Wheeling, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wright State vs. Lake Erie, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Earlham, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Indiana State vs. Green Bay, 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Milwaukee at North Dakota, 8 p.m. (Bally Sports North)
Cleveland State at BYU, 9 p.m. (BYUtv)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
RMU at UCF, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Youngstown State at Penn State, 8:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Detroit Mercy at Wyoming, 9 p.m. (Mountain West Network)
Thursday, Nov. 11
IUPUI at Evansville, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, Nov. 12
Northern Kentucky vs. UNC Greensboro, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
RMU at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Wright State at Marshall, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. (BIG+)
Oakland at Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Nov. 13
UIC at Valparaiso, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Youngstown State at SEMO, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Cleveland State vs. Ohio, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Detroit Mercy at Toledo, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Milwaukee vs. Eastern Kentucky, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Monday, Nov. 15
IUPUI at Denver, 6 p.m.
RMU at Ohio, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
IUPUI vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, 6 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Austin Peay, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wright State at Purdue, 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Cleveland State vs. Edinboro, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
UIC vs. Trinity Christian. 8 p.m. (ESPN+)