#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – December 1
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INDIANAPOLIS – Horizon League play tips off this week with each #HLMBB team looking to jump out to an early advantage in the race for the regular season title. This week’s games are highlighted by Saturday’s #HLMBBonESPN action as Milwaukee hosts RMU at noon ET on ESPNU.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• This Saturday features the first #HLMBBonESPN game of the season with Milwaukee hosting RMU ESPNU. Both teams will look to start the Horizon League season out strong with a win at UWM Panther Arena. Patrick Baldwin Jr. looks to return after missing the last two games as he leads the team with 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds, while DeAndre Gholston is right behind Baldwin with 15.0 points per game. RMU will be traveling to Wisconsin with three players averaging in double figures led by Kahliel Spear with 14.2 along with 8.2 rebounds.
• Oakland starts Horizon League play as one of the hottest mid-major teams in the country with an impressive 5-2 start on the season. The Golden Grizzlies were the champions of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. and have picked up three wins over teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, Toledo, Vermont and Delaware, and a road victory at Oklahoma State.
• Jamal Cain is leading the charge for the Golden Grizzlies as he is averaging 22.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and is only one of two players in the country averaging more than 22 points and 11 rebounds. The graduate student was named the MVP of the Gulf Coast Showcase and was the most recent recipient of the Lou Henson National Player of the Week award. In addition, Cain is tied for sixth nationally in double-doubles with four and 19th in steals per game.
• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis currently leads the Horizon League in scoring and is second in the country with 23.7 points per game. He scored 39 points at Hofstra on Saturday, tied for the fourth-most points in a single-game this season. The two-time Preseason Player of the Year ranks sixth on the Horizon League’s all-time scoring list with 2,182 points and is 227 points away from becoming the HL’s all-time leading scoring in League play. Davis also stands just six 3-pointers away from hitting the most triples in HL history. The senior is the nation’s active career leader in scoring average (24.8) and 3-pointers per game (3.89), while also second in free throw percentage (89.1) and third in total points. He is one of only 15 current players in Division I to have amassed over 1,500 points and 350 assists.
• Wright State’s Tanner Holden currently ranks third in the HL in scoring with 21.8 points per game, while also fourth in field-goal percentage at 52.4 and is tied with Davis and Cain for the most 20-point performances this season with four. The Horizon League is the only conference in the country to have three players ranked in the top-15 nationally in points per game.
• Two #HLMBB teams are ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll with Oakland jumping up to No. 11 and Cleveland State receiving votes in the poll.
• Heading into Horizon League play, two #HLMBB players are find themselves top-10 in the country in assists per game led by UIC’s Kevin Johnson ranking eighth with 6.7 assists per game, while Oakland’s Jalen Moore is right behind him ranking 10th in the country with 6.6.
• 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.
• The defending Horizon League champion Cleveland State Vikings open up Horizon League play riding a four-game winning streak at home and will welcome in Northern Kentucky on Thursday, who made their third semifinal appearance last season, followed by Wright State on Saturday who they shared the regular season title with a season ago. CSU once again is playing tough defensively as they come into the week second both scoring defense (62.7) and defensive field-goal percentage (38.6). Offensively, D’Moi Hodge and Torrey Patton are leading the way as both are averaging just over 12 points a game.
• Despite missing the last two games, Milwaukee’s Baldwin continues to impress during his freshman campaign as he is averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In addition to being named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List, Baldwin was named to the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Watch List and national watch lists for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and 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.
• Three Horizon League teams have been defending the 3-point line at an elite level as Green Bay, Oakland and Wright State are each holding their opponents to under 30 percent shooting from long range.
• 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.
• Purdue Fort Wayne continues its hot shooting from a year ago as it leads the HL at 46.7 percent from the floor and second in 3-point field-goal percentage at 36.9 percent. Last season, the Mastodons were the only team in the country to shoot over 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range. Ra Kpedi leads the way for the ‘Dons averaging 13.2 points per game, while shooting a League-best 68.2 percent from the floor, while Jarred Godfrey has a team-high 18.0 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting.
RECENT RESULTS
| DATE |
GAME |
RECAP |
| Wednesday, Nov. 24 |
Oakland 81, Delaware 73 |
Box Score |
|
Long Beach State 85, Wright State 76 |
Box Score |
|
Yale 69, Milwaukee 56 |
Box Score |
| Thursday, Nov. 25 |
Hawaii 88, UIC 80 |
Box Score |
| Friday, Nov. 26 |
San Diego 64, UIC 52 |
Box Score |
|
Purdue Fort Wayne 74, Southeastern Louisiana 66 |
Box Score |
|
DePaul 77, Northern Kentucky 68 |
Box Score |
| Saturday, Nov. 27 |
Hofstra 98, Detroit Mercy 84 |
Box Score |
|
Davidson 88, RMU 70 |
Box Score |
|
Cleveland State 89, Penn State Behrend 47 |
Box Score |
|
Western Michigan 93, Purdue Fort Wayne 85 (OT) |
Box Score |
|
Green Bay 77, UW-Superior 48 |
Box Score |
| Sunday, Nov. 28 |
Alcorn State 61, Milwaukee 57 |
Box Score |
|
Florida Gulf Coast 85, Purdue Fort Wayne 78 |
Box Score |
| Tuesday, Nov. 30 |
Northeastern 66, Detroit Mercy 56 |
Box Score |
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All times ET)
Thursday, Dec. 2
Detroit Mercy at IUPUI, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Wright State at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky at Cleveland State, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Youngstown State at Milwaukee, 8:00 PM (ESPN+)
Oakland at UIC, 8:00 PM (ESPN+)
RMU at Green Bay, 8:00 PM (ESPN+)
Saturday, Dec. 4
Oakland at IUPUI, 12:00 PM (ESPN+)
RMU at Milwaukee, 12:00 PM (ESPNU)
Northern Kentucky at Purdue Fort Wayne, 1:00 PM (ESPN+)
Wright State at Cleveland State, 3:00 PM (ESPN+)
Youngstown State at Green Bay, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Sunday, Dec. 5
Detroit Mercy at UIC , 2:00 PM (ESPN+)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
Oakland at Bowling Green, 7:00 PM