#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – March 1

March 01

#HLMBB Standings | #HLMBB Statistics | #HLMBB Weekly Notebook
INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship continues on Tuesday with quarterfinal matchups on campus as the top four seeds will host the advancing teams from the first round with the winners punching their tickets to Indianapolis for the semifinals on March 8 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. For all information on the Horizon League Basketball Championships go to the #REACHtheHORIZON Tournament Central Page.

HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Cleveland State claimed 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. CSU continues to be bolstered on the defensive end as the Vikings rank top-2 in the Horizon League in scoring defense (69.4), defensive field-goal percentage (42.4) and steals (7.3) during HL play. Head coach Dennis Gates earned his second-straight Coach of the Year honor and Tre Gomillion was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Torrey Patton received All-Horizon League First Team honors averaging 15.3 points per game during HL contests and shot 48.3 percent from the floor, while also grabbing 7.5 rebounds. Deante Johnson also landed on the All-Defensive Team with Gomillion.

• Wright State also claimed a share of the HL regular season title with a 16-4 mark, its third consecutive season with at least a share of the regular season crown and enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Loudon Love claimed his second-straight Player of the Year award and a spot on the All-Defensive Team averaging a double-double this season with 16.7 points and 10.3 boards and he also recorded 1.3 blocks per game. Tanner Holden joined Love on the All-HL First Team averaging 15.8 points, 7.2 boards and shooting 52.3 percent from the floor, while Grant Basile claimed a spot on the second team and Tim Finke landed on the All-Defensive Team. The Raiders are the fourth-best rebounding team in the country at 42.1 boards per game and also No. 3 in defensive rebounding at 30.2 with Love leading the way ranked 15th in the NCAA in rebounding. Offensively, Wright State is 15th in the country in scoring (81.5) and 29th in country in shooting percentage (48.3). Defensively, WSU ranks 21st in the country in defensive field-goal percentage (40.0) and first in the HL in scoring defense (66.3).

• Oakland is the No. 3 seed for the Horizon League Basketball Championship and is led by First Team selection Jalen Moore who leads the country in assists at 8.4 per game, including 9.5 helpers during Horizon League play. He has posted 11 double-digit assist games and nine double-doubles during the season and is also averaging 17.8 points, including 11 20-point efforts. Daniel Oladapo earned a Third Team nod as he averaged 15.1 points and 10.3 rebounds during HL play and was also tops in field-goal percentage at 61.5 percent. In addition, The Golden Grizzlies landed a pair on the All-Freshman Team in Micah Parrish and Trey Townsend.

• Northern Kentucky secured the No. 4 seed and the final quarterfinal home game with a Horizon League record of 11-7 and come into the tournament having won eight of their last 10 games. Marques Warrick was voted the Freshman of the Year and to the All-League Third Team as he finished Horizon League play ranked fifth in scoring at 17.5 points and top-15 in field-goal percentage shooting 47.4 percent from the floor. Warrick also registered nine 20-point performances. Trevon Faulkner was voted onto the All-HL Second Team averaging 16.6 points, 5.4 boards and 1.5 steals per game this season.

• As the No. 5 seed, Detroit Mercy comes into the championship as one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League as the Titans are 11-2 over their last 13 games. The Titans advanced to the quarterfinals with an 83-73 over RMU at home. All-League First Team selection Antoine Davis is second in the nation in scoring at 24.3 points per game and set Horizon League Championship single-game records during the first round with 46 points and 10 3-pointers. Bul Kuol earned a third team selection after averaging 16.4 points in League play and Matt Johnson was named Sixth Man of the Year coming off the bench in 12 games in HL play and averaged 8.3 points and shot 46.8 percent from the floor.

• Youngstown State is the No. 6 seed after closing the season winning five out of its final six #HLMBB games to finish HL play 9-11. YSU advanced to the quarterfinals with a 74-58 win over No. 11 UIC at home. The Penguins boast All-League Second Team selection Naz Bohannon who finished top-10 in scoring (16.5), field-goal percentage (51.5) and rebounding (8.2) during Horizon League play. YSU also welcomed back Darius Quisenberry to the floor earlier this month after missing a large chunk of the season and is averaging 15.9 points per game over the last seven games against HL foes. In addition, Shemar Rathan-Mayes was selected to the All-Freshman Team and Garrett Covington earned his third All-Defensive Team selection.

• Milwaukee claimed the No. 8 seed and a spot in the quarterfinals with 84-72 win at home over No. 9 IUPUI. Te’Jon Lucas earned All-Horizon League Third Team honors ranking second during HL play in assists at 5.8 and top-20 in scoring at 14.4. DeAndre Gholston leads the team and is ninth in scoring in League play with 16.5 points and has posted six 20-point efforts this season.

• Purdue Fort Wayne are the No. 10 seed and made it to the quarterfinals after claiming an upset victory at No. 7 Green Bay in double overtime that included Jalon Pipkins banking in a triple at the buzzer to send the game to its second extra period. It marked the first overtime game in the tournament since 2016 and the first win by a lower-seeded team in an opening-round game since 2017. The Mastodons rank seventh in the country in field-goal percentage and fifth in the NCAA in 3-point field-goal percentage. Jarred Godfrey earned an All-League Third Team honor after scoring 16.6 points per game during the HL season, shooting 48.5 percent from the field, and grabbing 5.6 boards.

RESULTS

DATE	GAME	RECAP
Thursday, Feb. 25	Detroit Mercy 83, RMU 73	Box Score
	Youngstown State 74, UIC 58	Box Score
	Purdue Fort Wayne 89, Green Bay 84 (2OT)	Box Score
	Milwaukee 84, IUPUI 72	Box Score

2021 HORIZON LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

DATE	GAME	Time (ET)	TV/Live Stream
Tuesday, March 2	No. 1 Cleveland State vs. No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne	7 p.m.	ESPN+
	No. 2 Wright State vs. No. 8 Milwaukee	7 p.m.	ESPN+
	No. 3 Oakland vs. No. 6 Youngstown State	7:30 p.m.	ESPN+
	No. 4 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 5 Detroit Mercy	7 p.m.	ESPN+
Monday, March 8	Semifinal No. 1 - Highest-Remaining Seed vs. Lowest-Remaining Seed	6:30 p.m.	ESPNU
	Semifinal No. 2 - Second Highest-Remaining Seed vs. Second Lowest-Remaining Seed	9:30 p.m.	ESPN2
Tuesday, March 9	Championship Game	7 p.m.	ESPN or ESPN2