#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 25

#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 25

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#HLMBB Standings | #HLMBB Statistics | #HLMBB Weekly Notebook
INDIANAPOLIS – The first half of the #HLMBB season is in the books as all 11 teams prepare for the final stretch towards the end of the regular season and the beginning of the Horizon League Championship. Week 6 will play a big factor in who will be the regular season champion as Youngstown State hosts Oakland on Friday on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET with both teams tied for second place at 7-3, followed on Saturday by the two teams at the top of the standings heading into this week’s action, Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky, facing off on ESPN+.

#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES

  • Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis has become 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 second all-time with 3,288 points, 379 away from Pete Maravich’s NCAA record of 3,667. He is the NCAA record holder with 132 consecutive games in double figures and on Jan. 14 broke the NCAA’s all-time 3-point record with a school-record 11 triples and sits at 523 3-pointers in his career.

  • Davis currently leads the nation in scoring at 26.4 points per game and total points with 554 while ranking second in field goals (184), total 3-pointers (94) and 3-pointers per game (4.5). He has been named to six national awards lists this season: John R. Wooden Award Midseason and Preseason Top 50 Watch List, Naismith Award for the Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason, the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s top point guard and the Lou Henson National Player of the Year.

  • Milwaukee remains tied at the top of the standings at 8-2 in the League following another home sweep last week that featured a battle for first place against Youngstown State. MKE is third in the League in scoring at 77.9 points per game as it is also fifth in the country with 34.0 points off the bench per game. The Panthers are also tops in the HL in defensive field goal percentage as they rank seventh in the nation in blocks per game with 5.8 led by Ahmad Rand who is 18th in blocks per game with 2.3.

  • The Panthers are 5-1 since the calendar turned to 2023 in large part to the rise of BJ Freeman. Over his last six games, the Selma, N.C. native is averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game including a 30-point, 11-assist performance against the Penguins on Saturday in the highly anticipated matchup of first-place teams. In addition, the sophomore has won two out of the last three Nike #HLMBB Player of the week honors.

  • Northern Kentucky is tied with MKE at the top of the Horizon League standings thanks to an exciting week of games at Trusit Arena. The Norse started the week with a win over the Vikings, who came into last weekend also tied for first place, on a buzzer beater by birthday boy Marques Warrick. They ended the week with a 20-point victory propelled by a strong second half they shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the floor and just under 50 percent from behind the arc (7-15) over the final 20 minutes.

  • NKU is the No. 1 scoring defense through the first half of HL play at 61.8 points per game. The Norse are also tops during League play in steals (9.5) and turnover margin (+5.7). Northern Kentucky is 14th in the country with over nine steals per contest led by the reigning Freshman of the Year Sam Vinson who is seventh in the nation with 2.5 swipes per game. Warrick is the third-leading scorer in the Horizon League with 19.1 points per game.

  • Youngstown State is the Horizon League’s highest ranked team in the NET with a 15-6 record. The Penguins have one of the top offenses in the country leading the nation in points per possession (1.142) while also ranking top-10 in points per game (5th - 84.5), field goal percentage (8th - 49.7), free throw percentage (8th - 78.7), effective field goal percentage (10th - 56.6), and 3-point percentage (10th - 39.3).

  • 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 Dwayne Cohill with 17.1, followed by Malek Green with 14.6, Brandon Rush at 14.4 and Adrian Nelson at 11.9. Cohill and Green are also ranked inside the top-3 in field goal percentage with Green shooting 55.3 percent and Cohill at 54.7 percent.

  • Cleveland State is in a tie for second place at 7-3 heading into Week 6 of #HLMBB play. The Vikings are one of the top defenses during Horizon League play ranking top-4 in scoring (67.3), defensive field-goal percentage (42.6) and defensive 3-point field goal percentage (31.3). Tristan Enaruna leads offense with 17.0 points per game during League play.  

  • The Golden Grizzlies sit at 7-3 through the first five weeks of Horizon League play as they have won seven out of their last eight contests. Over the eight-game stretch, Oakland is averaging 75.0 points with Jalen Moore leading the offense with 20.8 points per game. Last week, Moore his a 3-pointer at the end of regulation against IUPUI to send the game to overtime to finish with 27 points and followed that up with a season-best 32 at Metro Series rival Detroit Mercy. Trey Townsend continues to lead the Golden Grizzlies as he is top-10 in the League in points (16.6), field goal percentage (51.3), rebounds (7.3) and blocks (1.1).

  • Earlier this season, Oakland head coach Greg Kampe became the fourth coach in League history to earn 100 Horizon League victories. He is in his 39th season at the helm of the Oakland men’s basketball program. Kampe 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 671 career wins ranks 13th among active Division I coaches.

  • Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jarred Godfrey continues to do a little bit of everything for the ‘Dons as he is averaging 16.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game in League play, all top-15 in the Horizon League, while shooting over 94 percent from the foul line. He is the only active player in Division I with 1,900 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 3-pointers. He is also the program’s all-time leader in games played with 142.

  • Wright State is one of the most efficient offenses in the country as it is one of only seven teams to shoot over 50 percent from the floor this season led by three-time Freshman of the Week honoree Brandon who is also tops in the League at 63.2 percent.

  • There have been 18 40-point performances in Division I this season and the Horizon League boasts four of them, the most of any conference. Detroit Mercy’s Davis leads the way with two in back-to-back games vs. RMU and IUPUI, while NKU’s Warrick is tied for the third-highest scoring mark this season with 45 against Tennessee Tech and YSU’s Cohill registered 41 on the road at Wright State.

  • RMU’s Enoch Cheeks has been a leader for the Colonials this season as he is averaging 17.0 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, all ranking in the top-15 marks in the Horizon League.
RESULTS
DATE GAME RECAP
Thursday, Jan. 19 Northern Kentucky 57, Cleveland State 56 Box Score
Oakland 83, IUPUI 77 (OT) Box Score
Purdue Fort Wayne 88, Wright State 80 Box Score
Milwaukee 77, RMU 69 Box Score
Youngstown State 86, Green Bay 70 Box Score
Saturday, Jan. 21 Detroit Mercy 89, IUPUI 77 Box Score
Northern Kentucky 74, Purdue Fort Wayne 54 Box Score
Milwaukee 88, Youngstown State 75 Box Score
RMU 72, Green Bay 38 Box Score
Cleveland State 85, Wright State 77 Box Score
Monday, Jan. 23 Oakland 76, Detroit Mercy 67 Box Score

NIKE #HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Wednesday, Jan. 25
IUPUI at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)

Thursday, Jan. 26
Milwaukee at Wright State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Northern Kentucky, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)

Friday, Jan. 27
Detroit Mercy at RMU, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne at Cleveland State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Oakland at Youngstown State, 9:00 P.M. (ESPN2)

Saturday, Jan. 28
Milwaukee at Northern Kentucky, 4:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Wright State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)

Sunday, Jan. 29
Oakland at RMU, 1:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Detroit Mercy at Youngstown State, 2:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
IUPUI at Cleveland State, 3:00 P.M. (ESPN+)