#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – December 22
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INDIANAPOLIS – We are counting down the final days of the non-conference season until Horizon League play starts back up on Dec. 30.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Wright State will come into Horizon League play having won its final two non-conference games including an impressive 84-70 victory over North Carolina State on Tuesday. It marks the second win over a Power 5 team for Scott Nagy at WSU after defeating Georgia Tech on Dec. 22, 2017. Four Raiders scored in double figures against the Wolfpack paced by Grant Basile with 23 points and 14 boards, followed by Trey Calvin with 19 and Tanner Holden with 17.
• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis set the Horizon League record for career 3-pointers earlier this season and now has 365 triples for his career. He currently leads the Horizon League in scoring and is third in the country with 22.2 points per game. The two-time Preseason Player of the Year ranks sixth on the Horizon League’s all-time scoring list with 2,284 points and is 189 points away from breaking the HL’s all-time scoring record in League play of 1,481 set by Alfredrick Hughes at Loyola. The senior is the nation’s active career leader in scoring average (24.6) and 3-pointers per game (3.92), while also second in total points and total 3-pointers.
• Jamal Cain is leading the charge for the Golden Grizzlies as he is averaging 21.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and is only one of two players in the country averaging more than 21 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Cain is also tied for the League-lead in double-doubles with five and ranks third in steals with 2.1.
• Two #HLMBB teams are ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll with Oakland coming in at No. 14 and Cleveland State receiving 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.
• Milwaukee’s Baldwin continues to impress during his freshman campaign as he is averaging 15.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game including a 26-point performance in his first Horizon League game of his career. 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.
• Cleveland State will enter Horizon League play next week having won six out of its last seven games with its only loss coming in overtime on the road at Oklahoma State. The Vikings continue to play well defensively as they lead the HL in defensive field-goal percentage (39.9) and rank second in steals (9.56). However, don’t sleep on the CSU offense as it is the No. 1 scoring offense in the League (74.9) with four 80-point games this season, while leading the HL in field-goal percentage (47.4) and assists (17.4). D’Moi Hodge leads the offensive charge for the Vikings with 14.9 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting from the floor including a 31-point effort against the Cowboys.
• Oakland has won five out of its last seven games as it heads into Horizon League play after dropping a tough game to Michigan State at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday. Oakland is the top Horizon League team in the NCAA’s NET rankings, currently sitting at No. 64, after an impressive start to the season that has included a road victory at Oklahoma State and three victories over teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
• Two #HLMBB players find themselves top-15 in the country in assists per game led by Oakland’s Jalen Moore ranking sixth with 6.9 assists per game, while UIC’s Kevin Johnson is right behind him ranking 15th in the country with 6.0.
• Youngstown State will be riding a five-game winning streak heading into its final non-conference game of the season at West Virginia and the ‘Guins have been getting it down on both ends of the floor. Offensively, YSU ranks second in the Horizon League in both scoring offense (74.4) and scoring defense (65/6) and number one in scoring margin (+8.8).
• UIC claimed a win in its final non-conference game of the season with a 61-60 win over Northern Illinois after dropping a tough-game against in-state rival DePaul 72-66. Over the two-game stretch Damaria Franklin nearly averaged a double-double with 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds including a career-best 24 points and 12 rebounds against the Blue Demons.
• Detroit Mercy improved to 2-0 against in-state schools as it defeated Central Michigan, 89-75. Antoine Davis and Madut Akec each finished with 25 points as Akec completed the double-double with 10 rebounds. In addition, D.J. Harvey also tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.
RECENT RESULTS
| DATE |
GAME |
RECAP |
| Wednesday, Dec. 15 |
Akron 66, Wright State 48 |
Box Score |
| Thursday, Dec. 16 |
Chicago State 61, IUPUI 55 |
Box Score |
| Saturday, Dec. 18 |
Youngstown State 83, Westminster 54 |
Box Score |
|
Wright State 72, Tennessee Tech 63 |
Box Score |
|
Eastern Kentucky 81, Northern Kentucky 68 |
Box Score |
| Sunday, Dec. 19 |
Detroit Mercy 89, Central Michigan 75 |
Box Score |
|
Bowling Green 100, RMU 74 |
Box Score |
|
UIC 61, Northern Illinois 60 |
Box Score |
| Tuesday, Dec. 21 |
Wright State 84, North Carolina State 70 |
Box Score |
|
Morehead State 80, IUPUI 52 |
Box Score |
|
Michigan State 90, Oakland 78 |
Box Score |
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All times ET)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
Green Bay at Minnesota, 5:00 PM (Big Ten Network)
Youngstown State at West Virginia, 6:00 PM (ESPN+)
RMU at Saint Francis, 7:00 PM (NEC Front Row)
Northern Kentucky at Indiana, 7:00 PM (Big Ten Network)
Thursday, Dec. 23
Milwaukee vs. Saint Xavier, 2:00 PM (ESPN+)