YSU Penguin Athletics > YSU Penguin Athletics

Dayton Daily News weekly Horizon League rankings

<< < (2/2)

ysuindy:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/wrightstatesports/entries/2012/01/11/week_9_horizon_league_power_ra.html

Week 9 Horizon League Power Rankings: Cleveland State regains top spot

By Kyle Nagel | Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 10:31 AM
Cleveland State responded with its first Horizon League loss of the season against Youngstown State with back-to-back drubbings of UIC and Loyola, and Butler’s loss against sputtering Detroit again puts CSU in the top spot in the rankings. The Vikings were the league’s top-ranked team for the entire season until their loss to YSU, which came while Butler was winning four of five games. CSU showed its offensive versatility to go with the league’s best defense last week, and the Vikings will get a chance to show what they would do against last week’s No. 1 Butler in a Friday night showdown at Butler on ESPNU.

Butler drops to third after a loss at Detroit, which is just 8-10 and 2-4 in the league. However, the Titans were picked to finish second in the league, so they have plenty of talent, and they are 6-4 at home with losses by 3, 5, 5 and 2 points against teams that are a combined 34-19.

Milwaukee, at No. 2, played one of the league’s toughest schedules, with only one bad loss, against Western Michigan early last week. But, it was a nonleague game snuck in a mix of league matchups, which can make it difficult for a team to focus.

DAYTON DAILY NEWS HL POWER RANKINGS

1) Cleveland State (14-3, 4-1): The Vikings responded to their only league loss, to Youngstown State the previous Saturday, by drubbing UIC 73-56 and Loyola 69-48. Six different CSU players scored in double figures in the two games: Trevon Harmon (20 vs. Loyola), Jeremy Montgomery (14 vs. UIC), D’Aundray Brown (13 vs. UIC), Charlie Lee (13 vs. UIC), Anton Grady (13 vs. UIC, 10 vs. Loyola) and Tim Kamczyc (10 vs. Loyola). Harmon returned from a concussion to play against Loyola and along with his 20 points he added 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, two rebounds and two assists. CSU connected its standout defense with consistent offenses for one of the first stretches this season. The Vikings rank 15th nationally in steals per game (9.2) and 20th nationally in scoring defense (58 points per game). They have followed each of their three losses this season (Hofstra, South Florida and Youngstown State) with at least two straight wins.

2) Milwaukee (11-6, 4-1): The Panthers had lost five of their previous seven games against Northern Iowa, Wisconsin, Marquette, Butler and Western Michigan before beating Green Bay 64-63 on Saturday. Senior guard Kaylon Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after taking the inbounds pass with 1.1 seconds left to win the game. He finished with 13 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and the assists and steals numbers each tied season highs. He is the Horizon League’s assists leader. Paris Gulley, a 6-2 junior guard, scored 18 points against Green Bay to reach double figures in points in consecutive games for the first time this season. Milwaukee is the nation’s No. 1-ranked team at defensive 3-point percentage, as opponents are shooting 24.2 percent from 3-point range against them. They pair that with an overall strong scoring defense that ranks No. 28 nationally, at 59.1 points per game.

3) Butler (9-8, 3-2): The Bulldogs scored a third straight win when they got a Ronald Nored free throw in the final seconds to beat Wright State 62-62 on Friday, but the close calls ended there. Even though Butler had won those four consecutive games by 5, 4, 4 and 1 points, it went down early and dropped a second league loss to Detroit, 76-65, on Sunday. Nored was the only player to score in double figures in both games, with 11 points against WSU and 13 against Detroit, but free throws were again a major problem. In the loss to the Titans, the Bulldogs made 6-of-11 from the line, and they rank 320th out of 338 Division I teams in free throw shooting, at 60.8 percent. They have stayed in and won games with their defense, as they allow 63.4 points per game. Nored ranks second in the league in assists, at 4.3 per game, and third in steals, at 2.1. Butler has made a habit of winning close games, but four losses have come by 3 (Ball State), 3 in overtime (Evansville), 6 in overtime (Valparaiso) and 8 (Xavier). The other losses have come by 11 (Detroit), 16 (Indiana), 16 (Louisville) and 16 (Gonzaga).

4) Youngstown State (9-6, 4-1): The Penguins have won three straight following a four-game losing streak and extended it with an overtime win against Loyola (68-64) and victory against UIC (71-50) last week. Ashen Ward was named the Horizon League’s co-player of the week along with WSU’s Julius Mays after the senior guard scored 21 and 22 points against Loyola and UIC. In the past three games, he has totaled 58 points after scoring a combined four points in the previous three games. The Penguins are keeping things fast and shooting from deep, ranking 6th nationally in forcing turnovers (10.2 per game), 7th in 3-pointers per game (9.3) and 42nd in 3-point percentage. Ward has helped that charge, making a total of 10-of-15 3-pointers in the past three games. Speaking of standout performances in the past three games, junior forward Damian Eargle has averaged 15 points and 8.7 rebounds in that stretch.

5) Wright State (9-9, 4-2): The Raiders dropped a second Horizon League home game with a 63-62 loss to Butler on Friday night, and the other loss came by two points to Cleveland State. They rebounded with a decisive 73-55 win against Valparaiso on Sunday, during which Julius Mays continued a strong stretch. In six games, the junior guard has averaged 21.5 points to help WSU come back from a 4-8 start to reach 9-9 with a 5-1 stretch. Junior forward Armond Battle scored 23 points on Sunday to best his career high by a whopping 10 points, and it was just the fourth time this season he has scored in double figures. He is one of nine Wright State players who have scored at least 13 points in a game this season, as the Raiders have started to develop some scoring depth. They also rank 59th nationally in scoring defense, at 61.8 points per game, and 52nd nationally in turnover margin.

6) Valparaiso (10-7, 3-2): The Crusaders suffered their second-worst loss of the season, after only a 80-47 setback against Ohio State, in a 73-55 defeat to Wright on Sunday. That followed a close 73-71 road win against Detroit on Thursday, during which Will Bogan, a junior guard and transfer from Mississippi, scored 23 points. The Crusaders had been impressive in the league, beating Butler on the road in overtime, at Detroit and at home against Green Bay while losing to Milwaukee by just two points at home. Ryan Broekhoff tied his career high with 14 points against Wright State while adding 18 points for his eighth double-double of the season. He has also scored in double figures in 14 times this season while tying for the Horizon League lead in scoring at 15.3 points and leading the league in rebounding at 9.4 per game. The Crusaders remain a high-scoring bunch, but their defense can leave them in stretches, causing a few bad losses to go along with several solid wins this season.

7) Detroit (8-10, 2-4): The Titans have alternated wins and losses in their past six games, including a two-point loss to Valparaiso on Friday night before an 11-point win against Butler on Sunday. In the Butler win, the Titans shot 53.2 percent, 56.3 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the free throw line. Jason Calliste, a 6-2 junior guard, scored in double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season against Valpo (14) and Butler (16), and he now averages 9.4 points per game. Preseason player of the year Ray McCallum scored a season-high 22 points against Valparaiso, as well. Detroit was picked No. 2 in the preseason poll, but the Titans started the league season 1-4. However, a win against Butler can give a jolt to anyone in the league, whether the Bulldogs are up or down. The Titans rank 41st nationally in free throw percentage at 73.5 percent this season, and even though they score a lot (73.1 ppg), they also allow plenty of points (68.8).

8) Green Bay (6-9, 2-3): The Phoenix suffered their third straight loss, all in league games, with a 64-63 defeat against Milwaukee on Saturday. Those three losses have come against Butler, Valparaiso and Milwaukee by 4, 3 and 1 points. Freshman Keifer Sykes is on a breakout period of games. The 5-foot-10 point guard from Chicago scored 20 points against Milwaukee on 10-of-18 shooting with two rebounds, three assists and three steals. That followed 17 points in the previous game against Valparaiso, a game in which he also handed out seven assists. His high school team finished in third place in the Illinois Class 3A state tournament in 2009-10. Alec Brown, the 7-1 sophomore center, had five blocks against Milwaukee, the fourth time this season he has reached that many. In all, his line against Milwaukee was 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks as he continues to improve inside.

9) UIC (5-11, 1-5): The Flames suffered significant road defeats against Cleveland State (73-56) and Youngstown State (71-50) to reach three straight defeats. A bright spot was Hayden Humes, the sophomore forward who had arguably his best two-game stretch of the season since coming to UIC from Toledo, where he was a victim of scholarship reductions as punishment for too-low Academic Progress Rate scores. He had 8 points and 6 rebounds against CSU before combining 11 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound against YSU. Guard Gary Talton continues to be one of the best free throw shooters around, reaching 85.1 percent. Has hasn’t missed more than one free throw in any game this season, but he reached the line just twice against Cleveland State and once against Youngstown State. UIC ranks 310th nationally in shooting percentage, at 39.3.

10) Loyola (5-11, 0-6): The Ramblers remain the only team winless in the Horizon League after losses of 68-64 in overtime to Youngstown State and 69-48 to Cleveland State. They have now lost four straight games, including three by 11 points or more. Junior Ben Averkamp has reached at least points in six of the past eight games, including 23 points but just two rebounds against Youngstown State. He averages 15.2 points (No. 3 in the league) and 6.8 rebounds (No. 6 in the league). He is joined by another offensive standout in senior Walt Gilbler, who is seventh in the league in scoring (14.1) and fifth in rebounding (7.1). Gibler has scored in double figures in his past 10 games, during which he is averaging 16.4 points. Even though the Ramblers rank 41st nationally in scoring defense (60.3 ppg), they are 331st (out of 338) in scoring offense, at 55.9 points per game.

Week 8 rankings

1) Butler

2) Cleveland State

3) Milwaukee

4) Valparaiso

5) Youngstown State

6) Wright State

7) Green Bay

8) Detroit

9) UIC

10) Loyola

This week’s schedule

Thursday

Detroit at Green Bay, 8 p.m.

Wright State at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Friday

Cleveland State at Butler, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Youngstown State at Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m.

Saturday

Wright State at Green Bay, 2 p.m.

Loyola at UIC, 4 p.m.

Detroit at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Sunday

Youngstown State at Butler, 2 p.m.

Cleveland State at Valparaiso, 2:35 p.m.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page