#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – December 28

#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – December 28

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INDIANAPOLIS – Horizon League play resumes this week for all 11 men’s basketball teams as each team completed the non-conference portion of their schedules before the holiday break and now have their sights set on Indianapolis March 6-7 for the Horizon League Championships.

#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES

  • Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis is on the brink of being one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history. On Dec. 1 he became the Horizon League’s all-time leading scoring, surpassing the previous record of 2,914 points set by Loyola’s Alfredrick Hughes (1981-85) and then on Dec. 10 became the 11th player in NCAA history to surpass 3,000 career points. The Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year sits 619 points away from Pete Maravich’s NCAA record of 3,667. He is the NCAA record holder with 124 consecutive games in double figures and his 483 3-pointers are first in Horizon League history and third in NCAA history, 26 away from Fletcher Magee's NCAA-record 509 and 21 away from fellow Horizon League alum Travis Bader of Oakland.

  • Davis has been named to four national awards list this season: John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List, Naismith Award for the Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s top point guard and the Lou Henson National Player of the Year.

  • Four #HLMBB Players were named to the Lou Henson National Player of the Year award watch list, presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I. The four players are Davis, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jarred Godfrey, Oakland’s Trey Townsend and Northern Kentucky’s Marques Warrick.

  • Davis and Warrick have been two of the most prolific scorers in the country this season with Davis second in the country at 24.2 points per game and Warrick averaging 19.8, good for 21st nationally.  

  • Two of the highest individual scoring games in the country this year have been by Horizon League players. Warrick scoring the most points in a single game in Division I this season with 45 in a double overtime win on 18-made field goals, while Youngstown State’s Dwayne Cohill posted 43 points in a road win against Wright State on 16-of-19 shooting.

  • Purdue Fort Wayne is back to being one of the best shooting teams from distance in the country. The Mastodons are eighth in the country in 3-pointers made per game (10.4) and third in 3-point field goal attempts (30.5). Purdue Fort Wayne is also strong defensively as the No. 1 scoring defense in the HL at 63.4 points per game and are holding opponents to a 27.2 shooting percentage from long range. The Mastodons will bring their League-high five game winning streak into the return of League play on Dec. 29 when it goes on the road to RMU.

  • Jarred Godfrey continues to do a little bit of everything for the ‘Dons as he is averaging 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, all top-15 in the Horizon League.

  • Youngstown State is the Horizon League’s highest ranked team in the NET at 109 with a 9-4 record. Three of its four losses this year have been by single-digits. The Penguins are also the No. 1 scoring offense in the HL and No. 8 nationally at 85.0 points per game.

  • The ‘Guins are one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the HL as four players are ranked inside the top-20 in scoring led by Cohill with 18.2, followed by Malek Green with 14.5, Brandon Rush at 12.3 and Adrian Nelson at 11.9. Cohill and Green are also ranked inside the top four in field goal percentage with Cohill leading the HL (min. 5 attempts/game) at 60.0 percent and Green second at 54.9 percent.

  • Detroit Mercy’s Gerald Liddell has made a huge impact for the Titans since transferring from Alabama State and becoming eligible on Dec. 1. In four games, Liddell is averaging 18.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game and has tallied a double-double in all six games played, good for the tied for the most in the HL this season.

  • Northern Kentucky’s Chris Brandon sits 28th in the nation in rebounds as he is grabbing 9.3 per game. Not far behind is Youngstown State’s Adrian Nelson who is 33rd in the nation with 9.2. Nelson is also tied for the League-lead and 10th in double-doubles in the country with six.   

  • Milwaukee returns to Horizon League play as one of just three teams who started #HLMBB play 2-0. Despite having its last game canceled, MKE has won six of its last seven contests and is fifth in the country with 35.4 points off the bench per game. The Panthers are also 10th in the nation in blocks per game with 5.8 led by Ahmad Rand who is 14th in blocks per game with 2.5.

  • The Colonials make their return to Horizon League play having won three of their last four non-conference contests capped off by a 77-66 victory over Saint Francis (PA). Enoch Cheeks scored a career-high 23 points and is now sixth in the HL in scoring at 16.8 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.9 steals.

  • RMU is the best 3-point shooting team in the Horizon League thanks in large part to Josh Corbin as he leads the League in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.6 and is seventh nationally with 3.7 3-pointers per game, trailing just Detroit Mercy’s Davis who is third in the country with 4.2 triples per game.

  • Wright State has one of the most efficient offenses in the country as it ranks 11th in field goal percentage at 50.5 percent led by underclassmen AJ Braun and Brandon Noel both shooting over 62 percent from the floor.

  • Cleveland State will look to defend its back-to-back regular season titles when HL play resumes this week by getting it done on the defensive end. The Vikings rank top-3 in the League in three major defensive categories as they allow 64.3 points per game, while opponents are shooting 40.2 percent from the floor and just 30.2 percent from distance.

  • Northern Kentucky leads the Horizon League and is 34th in the country with over nine steals per contest led by the reigning Freshman of the Year Sam Vinson who is fourth in the nation with 2.9 swipes per game.

  • Oakland’s Trey Townsend continues to lead the Golden Grizzlies as he is fourth in the League in points (18.0), third in field goal percentage (52.2), sixth in rebounds (7.4) and tied for fourth in blocks (1.1).

  • Oakland’s Greg Kampe enters his 39th season at the helm of the Oakland men’s basketball program. He is the second-longest tenured active coach in Division I, only behind Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 45 seasons) who faced one another on Dec. 6. Kampe’s 664 career wins ranks 13th among active Division I coaches.
RESULTS
DATE GAME RECAP
Wednesday, Dec. 21 Michigan State 67, Oakland 54 Box Score
Cincinnati 72, Detroit Mercy 54 Box Score
Florida Atlantic 67, Northern Kentucky 52 Box Score
RMU 77, Saint Francis 66 Box Score
Youngstown State 76, Central Michigan 65 Box Score
Cleveland State 78, Mt. St. Joseph 48 Box Score
Thursday, Dec. 22 Wright State 88, Miami (OH) 80 Box Score

NIKE #HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Thursday, Dec. 29
Milwaukee at Oakland, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Detroit Mercy, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne at RMU, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Wright State at Northern Kentucky, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Cleveland State at Youngstown State, 8:00 P.M. (ESPN+)

Saturday, Dec. 31
Milwaukee at Detroit Mercy, 12:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Oakland, 1:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Northern Kentucky at IUPUI, 2:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne at Youngstown State, 2:45 P.M. (ESPN+)
Cleveland State at RMU, 3:00 P.M. (ESPN+)

Monday, Jan. 2
Wright State at IUPUI, 2:00 P.M. (ESPN+)