#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – January 4
#HLMBB Standings | #HLMBB Statistics | #HLMBB Weekly Notebook
INDIANAPOLIS – Week 3 of Horizon League play begins on Thursday with Northern Kentucky, Cleveland State and Milwaukee on top of the standings. This week’s Horizon League men’s basketball schedule is highlighted by Friday’s Wright State-Detroit Mercy matchup on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET with Jordan Bernfield and David Padgett on the call.
#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 seventh all-time with 3,103 points, 564 away from Pete Maravich’s NCAA record of 3,667. He is the NCAA record holder with 126 consecutive games in double figures and his 492 3-pointers are first in Horizon League history and third in NCAA history, 17 away from Fletcher Magee's NCAA-record 509 and 12 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 24.6 points per game and Warrick averaging 19.4, good for 30th 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.
- Northern Kentucky sits on top of the Horizon League standings thanks to its efforts on the defensive end as NKU is the No. 1 scoring defense through the first two weeks of HL play at 58.8 points per game. The Norse are also tops in the HL in scoring margin (+8.8), steals (8.8) and turnover margin (+7.0).
- Northern Kentucky is 24th 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 2.7 swipes per game.
- Youngstown State is the Horizon League’s highest ranked team in the NET with a 10-5 record. Four of its five losses this year have been by single-digits. The Penguins are also the No. 1 scoring offense in the HL and No. 11 nationally at 84.1 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 18.1, followed by Malek Green with 14.4, Brandon Rush at 13.8 and Adrian Nelson at 11.9. Cohill and Green are also ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in field goal percentage with Cohill leading the HL (min. 5 attempts/game) at 57.5 percent and Green at 55.9 percent.
- Northern Kentucky’s Chris Brandon sits 22nd in the nation in rebounds as he is grabbing 9.6 per game. Not far behind is Youngstown State’s Adrian Nelson who is 25th in the nation with 9.5. Nelson is also second in the HL in double-doubles and 16th in the country with six.
- Purdue Fort Wayne is one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams as the Mastodons are seventh in the country in 3-pointers made per game (10.5) and sixth in 3-point field goal attempts (29.8). Purdue Fort Wayne is also strong defensively as the No. 2 scoring defense in the HL at 64.7 points per game and are holding opponents to a 28.0 shooting percentage from long range.
- Jarred Godfrey continues to do a little bit of everything for the ‘Dons as he is averaging 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 0.8 blocks per game in League play, all top-12 in the Horizon League.
- Detroit Mercy’s Gerald Liddell has made a big impact for the Titans since transferring from Alabama State and becoming eligible on Dec. 1. In eight games, Liddell is averaging 16.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game and has tallied a double-double in seven games played, the most in the HL this season.
- Milwaukee is 3-1 during Horizon League play, just one game behind Northern Kentucky for first place. MKE is second in the League in scoring at 78.4 points per game as it is also fourth in the country with 35.4 points off the bench per game. The Panthers are also 17th in the nation in blocks per game with 5.6 led by Ahmad Rand who is 13th in blocks per game with 2.5.
- Cleveland State is also 3-1 after the first two weeks of HL play. The Vikings rank top-3 in the League in three major defensive categories as they allow 65.0 points per game, while opponents are shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and just 30.4 percent from distance. In Horizon League games, CSU is also third in scoring offense at 76.5 points per game and lead the League averaging 14.5 assists.
- RMU’s Josh Corbin is second in the HL in 3-point shooting percentage at 43.1 percent and 11th nationally with 3.3 3-pointers per game, trailing just Detroit Mercy’s Davis who is third in the country with 4.2 triples per game. Enoch Cheeks is also playing well for the Colonials as he is top-20 in the League in scoring (17.5), field-goal percentage (50.0), rebounds (4.6), assists (3.2), steals (1.9) and blocks (1.3).
- Wright State has one of the most efficient offenses in the country as it ranks 11th in field goal percentage at 50.0 percent led by underclassmen AJ Braun and Brandon Noel both shooting over 60 percent from the floor.
- Oakland’s Trey Townsend continues to lead the Golden Grizzlies as he is top-10 in the League in points (16.6), third in field goal percentage (52.6), sixth in rebounds (7.1) and tied for fourth in blocks (1.0).
- 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 666 career wins ranks 13th among active Division I coaches.
RESULTS
| DATE |
GAME |
RECAP |
| Thursday, Dec. 29 |
Oakland 83, Milwaukee 61 |
Box Score |
|
RMU 75, Purdue Fort Wayne 70 |
Box Score |
|
Detroit Mercy 76, Green Bay 59 |
Box Score |
|
Northern Kentucky 78, Wright State 64 |
Box Score |
|
Youngstown State 85, Cleveland State 71 |
Box Score |
| Saturday, Dec. 31 |
Milwaukee 84, Detroit Mercy 81 |
Box Score |
|
Oakland 81, Green Bay 65 |
Box Score |
|
Northern Kentucky 55, IUPUI 42 |
Box Score |
|
Purdue Fort Wayne 76, Youngstown State 71 |
Box Score |
|
Cleveland State 63, RMU 54 |
Box Score |
| Monday, Jan. 2 |
Wright State 82, IUPUI 68 |
Box Score |
NIKE #HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Thursday, Jan. 5
RMU at Youngstown State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Milwaukee at Cleveland State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Friday, Jan. 6
Oakland at Northern Kentucky, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Detroit Mercy at Wright State, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Jan. 7
Milwaukee at Purdue Fort Wayne, 1:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
IUPUI at Youngstown State, 2:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Green Bay at Cleveland State, 3:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Sunday, Jan. 8
Oakland at Wright State, 1:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Detroit Mercy at Northern Kentucky, 2:00 P.M. (ESPN+)
Monday, Jan. 9
IUPUI at RMU, 7:00 P.M. (ESPN+)