#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 12
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INDIANAPOLIS – Horizon League play continues this week with three teams still undefeated in Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy and Oakland and the Vikings are set to host both the Golden Grizzlies and Titans this weekend. In addition, Wright State is right behind these three teams at 5-1 and are riding a six-game win streak heading into this week’s action.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis put on an epic performance Friday night on ESPN2 with 39 points on eight 3-pointers to become the program’s all-time leading scorer and move into fourth place on the HL’s all-time scoring list with 2,323. Earlier this season, he set the Horizon League record for career 3-pointers and now has 373 triples for his career. The two-time Preseason Player of the Year is 150 points away from breaking the HL’s all-time scoring record in League play of 1,481 set by Alfredrick Hughes at Loyola.
• Davis currently leads the Horizon League in scoring and is second in the country with 23.6 points per game, while also leading the country in 3-pointers per game with 4.8. The senior is the nation’s active career leader in scoring average (24.7), 3-pointers per game (3.97) and total points, while also second in total 3-pointers and third in free-throw percentage (89.3).
• Jamal Cain is leading the charge for the Golden Grizzlies as he is averaging 20.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and is only one of three players in the country to rank top-20 nationally in both points per game and rebounds per game. In addition, Cain is also 15th in country double-doubles with seven and ranks second in the HL in field-goal percentage at 52.3 percent and third in steals with 2.0.
• Oakland’s Jalen Moore is back to leading the country in assists after finishing last season as the No. 1 assist man in Division I. Currently, Moore is averaging 8.4 assists per game and has totaled 117 dimes this season, both tops in the nation. He has seven double-digit assist games this season and is tied with his teammate Jamal Cain with seven double-doubles.
• Three #HLMBB teams are ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll with Oakland remaining in at No. 15, while Cleveland State jumped up to No. 21 and Wright State began receiving votes in the poll for the first time since November. Oakland and Cleveland State are set to clash on Thursday night in a battle of the unbeaten teams at the Wolstein Center.
• Cleveland State remains one of three teams that are undefeated in Horizon League play having won seven out of its last eight games with its only loss coming in overtime on the road at Oklahoma State on Dec. 13. The CSU offense as really taken a step forward this season as it is the No. 1 scoring offense in the League (76.4) with six 80-point games this season, while leading the HL in field-goal percentage (47.2) and assists (16.6). D’Moi Hodge leads the offensive charge for the Vikings with 15.3 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor, while Preseason All-League First Team selection Torrey Patton is averaging 12.8 points.
• Oakland has started Horizon League play 5-0 for the first time since joining the HL and have done so in impressive fashion as the Golden Grizzlies have held at least 20-point lead in all five games. Oakland is the top Horizon League team in the NCAA’s NET rankings, currently sitting at No. 72, after an exciting start to the season that included a road victory at Oklahoma State and three victories over teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll. The Golden Grizzlies are the top scoring offense (82.2) and second scoring defense (64.0) during HL play this season.
• Wright State has won six-straight games after closing out a four-game HL homestand with four wins and is now 5-1 in HL play. The Raiders continue to play well offensively against League opponents as they rank third in scoring offense at 79.1 points per game and are shooting over 52 percent from the floor. WSU also features one of the best scoring duos in the HL with two players ranked in the top-5 in points per game with Tanner Holden scoring 20.0 per game and Grant Basile averaging 17.5. In addition, Basile is second in the Horizon League with 8.9 boards per game and Holden is third in field-goal percentage shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and leads the country in total free throws made with 91.
• The Horizon League boasts some of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country with four ranked inside the top-25 nationally. Purdue Fort Wayne leads the way at No. 8 at 79.2 percent, followed by Detroit Mercy at No. 15 at 78.1 percent, Oakland at No. 20 at 77.3 percent and Wright State at No. 24 at 77.1 percent.
• Purdue Fort Wayne won a pair of road games over the weekend to pull back to .500 in League play. Jarred Godfrey and Jalon Pipkins led the way over the weekend as they both averaged 16.5 points over the two-game stretch.
• Northern Kentucky ranks 13th in the country in steals at 9.9 per game led by freshman Sam Vinson who leads the HL with 2.3 swipes per contest.
• Green Bay’s Lucas Stieber is first in the HL and 26th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.67.
• Milwaukee holds the best defensive field-goal percentage of all #HLMBB teams at 39.4 percent thanks to defending the paint as the Panthers also lead the HL in blocks at 3.8 per game with Joey St. Pierre leading the block party at over 1.8 a game.
• 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 has missed four out of the last five games due to injury but has impressed when on the court 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.
RECENT RESULTS
| DATE |
GAME |
RECAP |
| Wednesday, Jan. 5 |
Youngstown State 64, RMU 60 |
Box Score |
|
Cleveland State 65, Purdue Fort Wayne 58 |
Box Score |
|
Milwaukee 63, Green Bay 49 |
Box Score |
| Thursday, Jan. 6 |
Wright State 90, UIC 72 |
Box Score |
| Friday, Jan. 7 |
Detroit Mercy 85, Milwaukee 60 |
Box Score |
|
Cleveland State 78, RMU 77 |
Box Score |
|
Purdue Fort Wayne 71, Youngstown State 61 |
Box Score |
|
Oakland 108, Ohio Christian 40 |
Box Score |
| Saturday, Jan. 8 |
Wright State 72, IUPUI 58 |
Box Score |
| Sunday, Jan. 9 |
Purdue Fort Wayne 76, RMU 70 |
Box Score |
|
Cleveland State 86, Youngstown State 80 (OT) |
Box Score |
|
Oakland 86, Milwaukee 65 |
Box Score |
| Monday, Jan. 10 |
UIC 67, IUPUI 65 |
Box Score |
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (All times ET)
Thursday, Jan. 13
Detroit Mercy at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Wright State at RMU, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky at Youngstown State, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Oakland at Cleveland State, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
UIC at Milwaukee, 8:00 PM (ESPN+)
IUPUI at Green Bay, 8:00 PM (ESPN+)
Saturday, Jan. 15
Oakland at Purdue Fort Wayne, 1:00 PM (ESPN+)
IUPUI at Milwaukee, 3:00 PM (ESPN+)
Detroit Mercy at Cleveland State, 3:00 PM (ESPN+)
Wright State at Youngstown State, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
UIC at Green Bay, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky at RMU, 7:00 PM (ESPN+)