Men's Basketball Weekly Release #1

Nov. 9, 2005

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Horizon League Notes and Preview

UW-Milwaukee's Sweet 16 Appearance Puts Horizon League in Elite Eight
UW-Milwaukee enters 2005-06 as the defending Horizon League champion, with four starters back from last year's squad which compiled the best season in school history.

The Panthers, who finished 26-6 advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, were ranked 23rd in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. UW-Milwaukee was an unofficial 33rd in the Associated Press media survey conducted after the national summit. The overall mark included a 19-2 ledger in the team's final 21 games.

The Panthers needed a free throw in the closing seconds of the Horizon League Championship game to slip past Detroit (59-58) and into the "Big Dance," but then raced past Alabama (83-73) in the opening round of the national summit.

The team opened more eyes two days later with an 83-75 triumph to send Boston College home, setting up a showdown with season-long No. 1 Illinois in the Round of 16. The Panthers trailed just 29-26 with three minutes left in the first half before the Fighting Illini pulled away for a 77-63 victory.

UW-Milwaukee's extended stay gives the League one bit of celebrity, as one of only eight conferences to have teams reach the regional semifinals in two of the past three years. Butler carried the League banner into the Sweet 16 in 2003, defeating Mississippi State, 47-46, and Louisville, 79-71, before losing to Oklahoma, 65-54, in the regional semifinals.

The only other conferences able to make that claim are the Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Conference USA---which have each had teams in the third round all three years---along with the Pacific-10.

Panthers Draw Target as Top Choice in League Preseason Poll
Based in part on last year's tournament run, UW-Milwaukee enters the season as the consensus favorite to capture the 2006 Horizon League Championship, according to the results of the League's official preseason poll.

The Panthers received 37 of 43 first-place votes in the canvass of League coaches, sports information directors and media epresentatives, collecting a total of 379 points. Detroit, which lost a 59-58 decision in the 2005 Horizon League Championship game after finishing the regular season with a 12-15 mark, was second in the balloting with 326 points including four first-place nods.

Loyola (two top picks and 269 total points) was the third choice by voters, followed by Wright State (226 points). Butler (206) edged UIC (199) for fifth position in the poll, with UW-Green Bay (159), Cleveland State (120) and Youngstown State (51) rounding out the field.

The Road to the Championship Ends with Us
For the fifth time, the NCAA Final Four comes to Indianapolis this April when Butler University and the Horizon League serve as co-hosts for the event. The "Circle City" also provided the setting for the 1980, 1991, 1997 and 2000 championships.

This season's semifinals are set for Saturday, April 1 at the RCA Dome, with the title on the line Monday, April 3.

The RCA Dome was the site of last year's Women's Final Four when Baylor University captured its first-ever national championship. The women's Final Four is scheduled to return to Indianapolis in 2011. The men also come back to Indianapois in 2010 as part of an extended agreement between the city and the NCAA.

First-Team Honorees Schilb, Tucker To Carry Added Burden in 2005-06
Two members of last season's First-Team All-Horizon League list are back in 2005-06.

Preseason Player of the Year Joah Tucker led the Panthers to the NCAA Sweet 16 last March, finishing fifth on the League with his 16.2 points-per-game pace that included 31 in the League Championship semifinals and 32 versus Illinois in the NCAA Tournament. The senior forward also ranked eighth in the League in rebounding (5.7 per game) last season.

Loyola junior guard Blake Schilb is the League's top returning scorer, averaging 17.9 points per game a year ago. He also was tenth in the League in rebounding (5.5 per game), sixth in field goal percentage (.503), plus third in free throw shooting (.820), assists (4.00 per game) and steals (1.73 per contest).

Other Veterans Make Their Mark
Wright State's DaShaun Wood and Youngstown State's Quin Humphrey also finished among the League leaders in several categories in 2004-05, with Wood seventh in scoring at 15.2 points per game while hadning out 3.70 assists per contest (fifth in the League). His steals pace of 1.60 was sixth-best on the final loop charts.

Humphrey ranked eighth in the League at 14.4 points per game a year ago, adding 1.39 steals per contest to finish tenth in that category. UW-Milwaukee's Adrian Tigert carries the highest rebound average (6.7 per game) of any returning League competitor.

Detroit's Brandon Cotton doesn't appear among the final League statistical leaders for 2004-05 because he played only 22 games after transferring to UDM from Michigan State, just under the minimum (75 percent) required. But there's no mistaking his contribution in that short period of time, as his 18.8 points-per-game scoring pace would have led the League and made him the logical choice as the League's Newcomer of the Year and an easy pick on the Preseason All-League squad this season.

Defense in Detroit
Detroit coach Perry Watson probably hopes the saying that "defense wins championships" rings true this season. The Titans led the Horizon League in defense a year ago, allowing only 60.3 points per game to rank 13th in Division I.

Defense in Detroit, Part II
Defense fueled UDM's late-season surge after a 1-6 start to open the 2004-05 campaign. Detroit held 14 opponents under 60 points last year, including five sub-50 performances at the defensive end. The Titans yielded only 58.8 points per contest in League play, limiting loop foes to 39 percent shooting from the field.

At the same time, Detroit topped the League off the glass, compiling a plus-6.0 rebounds-per-game margin which placed the Titans among the nation's elite in that category. It was a "rebounding by committee" approach for UDM: senior forward Torvoris Baker led the way at 5.8 caroms per contest, but eight teammates each averaged 1.9 or more.

Raiders' 1,000-Point Club Could Grow
Wright State has finished at .500 in each of the past two seasons, splitting 30 games last winter and 28 contests in 2003-04. If the Raiders are to take the next step forward, one player might join some elite company in school history.

DaShaun Wood could reach the 1,000-point plateau this season for Wright State. Wood enters the year with 699 career markers following his 15.2 points-per-game pace as a sophomore.

Ramblers Try to Continue Climb
Loyola probably doesn't put much stock in the preseason polls, considering the way the Ramblers proved the preseason prognosticators wrong in 2004-05. After being picked eighth among the nine League teams, Loyola won nine of its last 13 games to finish the year at 13-17 overall and share fourth place in the League standings with a break-even 8-8 loop record.

The Ramblers won just three of their first 15 games last winter, but a mid-year line-up switch necessitated by injuries moved Blake Schilb to the point guard role and started the road to success. The team closed the regular season with a season-best four-game winning streak and added two more wins in the Horizon League Championship tournament before falling in the semifinals to eventual titlist UW-Milwaukee.

Phoenix Aim for Third Consecutive Winning Season
UW-Green Bay is also trying to prove the critics wrong again, following a 17-11 record last season. Combined with an identical mark in 2003-04, it marks the first time in six years the Phoenix has registered back-to-back winning campaigns onthe hardwood. A third consecutive winning season would equal the school's longest run since joining Division I.

Coach Tod Kowalczyk faces a difficult challenge this year, however, with only one starter returning. Junior forward Josh Lawrence posted rates of 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game a year ago. Junior guard Ryan Evanochko could play a key role for UW-Green Bay, along with Terry Evans, who returns after missing most of last season due to a knee injury.

Vikings Showing ImprovementCleveland State made siginificant strides last season, finishing 6-10 in League play. That not only represents the school's best showing since the 2001-02 campaign, but the six-win improvement from CSU's 0-16 mark in 2003-04 marks the fifth-best single-season turnaround in League history.

To sustain that success, CSU will rely on junior guard Raheem Moss, who set a school record with a pace of 2.63 three-pointers per game a year ago. His 63 treys on 40 percent accuracy enabled the sharpshooter to average 12.8 points per game, putting him 11th on the final League scoring chart.

Bulldogs Shooting for Higher Finish
Butler made League history in one regard last season, thanks to three players who return to the Bulldog line-up in 2005-06.

Brandon Polk topped the Horizon League with his .589 field goal percentage a year ago, enabling the 6-6 guard to compile a 13.6 points-per-game rate which was ninth-best in the League and included 75 points in his final three appearances. Polk's performance drew Second-Team All-League honors in 2004-05 and put the senior on this year's First-Team Preseason All-League squad.

Behind the arc, no League player could match the effort of BU's Bruce Horan. The veteran sharpshooter canned 84 tri-lighters, posting a 41 percent accuracy rating which was the best in the League. At the free throw line, teammate A.J. Graves took top honors with a 91.9 percent clip (68-of-74) in his freshman campaign.

That trio represents the first time one school has had the League leader in all three shooting categories in the same season.

Flames Gather Players from Far and Wide
UIC's roster features a unique blend in one respect. Of the 17 players on the Flames' active roster, six are homegrown talent from within the city, with four others from the suburbs and one apiece from nearby Merrillville, Ind., and Racine, Wis. But it's the the rest of the roster that provides a distinct flavor to the UIC program.

With the addition of junior college transfer Danijel Zoric and true freshman Jovan Ignjatovic, the Flames have three players hailing from Serbia and Montenegro. They join junior Jovan Stefanov, who averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest for UIC last season.

Harris Provides Support for Penguins
Senior guard Derrick Harris could be the key factor if Youngstown State is to improve upon last year's 5-23 overall record. Harris posted career-best rates of 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season, with the formner pace include 23 points versus Eastern Michigan and 22 against Siena.

Harris averaged more than 30 minutes per game in 2004-05 joins Quin Humphrey and Domonique Crawford as the only experienced guards on the Penguin roster, although Crawford saw just 101 minutes of playing time last winter.

TCB: Taking Care of the Basketball
How does an undersized team stay competitve? One way is managing to avoid turnovers, and few teams did that better than Butler last season. The Bulldogs ranked third in the nation with an average of 10.1 turnovers per game in 2004-05, a rate which put BU behind only Temple (9.2) and Air Force (9.8) among 324 Division I schools.

Avery Sheets anchored that efficient offense, posting a League-best 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio last winter. Sheets handed out 112 assists (4.00 per game) while committing just 48 turnovers in 874 minutes of action.

Good Things Come in Threes?
Another key to overcoming size comes in the form of long-range shooting, which was also a Butler strength in 2004-05. BU led the Horizon League with an average of 8.4 three-point field goals per game, putting the Bulldogs 19th-best in the nation last winter.

Bracket Buster Saturday Features Entire League Roster
For the second year in a row, all nine Horizon League teams are part of the pool of teams eligible for the fourth annual Bracket Buster Saturday.

This year's event is slated for February 18, with 11 nationally-televised games selected from an expanded pool of 100 teams representing 18 Division I conferences. The field has increased each year, from 18 in the inaugural (1993) event to 46 in 2004 and 64 last season.

ESPN and ESPN2 will combined to televise six of the Bracket Buster Saturday contests, with five others airing on ESPNU, ESPN's new collegiate network launched last March.

ESPN, in consultation with conference commissioners, will make pairings decisions for the 11 Bracket Buster Saturday games on Jan. 29. Pairings decisions for the remaining 39 games will be announced Feb. 2.

Last year, two Horizon League teams were selected for television appearances as UW-Milwaukee defeated the University of Hawai'i, 87-81, on ESPN2 and UW-Green Bay lost at home to Illinois State University, 79-69, on ESPN-Plus.

The Horizon League is one of seven conferences whose entire membership will participate in this year's event, joining the Mid-American (12 teams), Ohio Valley (11), Missouri Valley (10), Metro Atlantic (10), Western Athletic (nine) and Big West (nine) conferences.

Welcome Aboard
Two coaches make their Horizon League debuts this winter as Rob Jeter takes the reins at UW-Milwaukee while Jerry Slocum moves into the top spot at Youngstown State.

Jeter returns to the UW-Milwaukee campus after a four-year stint as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Wisconsin. Jeter's work helped Bo Ryan lead the Badgers to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during that stint (2001-05), including a spot in last spring's Elite Eight and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2003. UW captured a pair of Big Ten Conference regular-season titles and one conference tournament crown during that span, and finished the 2004-05 campaign ranked tenth in the final coaches' poll.

In his first stint at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2001), then-assistant Jeter played a key role in the Panthers' resurgeance. In 1999-2000, UWM posted its first winning ledger (15-14) in seven years, nearly doubling its victory total over the previous season and advanced to the League tournament semifinals for the first time ever. After a 15-13 mark the following winter, Jeter followed Ryan to Madison.

His professional docket also includes stops as an assistant at UW-Platteville (1994-98) and Marquette (1998-99), with the UW-P stint featuring a 108-6 record along with two NCAA Division III championships.

Slocum boasts 580 career victories over a 30-year career at Nyack College, Geneva and Gannon University. That win total puts him 17th among all active NCAA coaches at any level.

The veteran sideline boss spent the past nine years at Division II Gannon, leading the Golden Knights to a 179-78 overall record and six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Five of those seasons included 20 or more victories, giving him a total of 19 such campaigns in his career.

At Geneva, he posted a 202-81 ledger in nine seasons with four NAIA Division I Tournament trips, with the 1995-96 squad reaching the tourney's quarerfinals. After a 6-21 mark in his first season at the school, he posted a 196-60 (.766) mark over the next eight campaigns.

League Keeping Things All in the Family
If family bloodlines are any indication, this could be an interesting season for several teams in the Horizon League.

Two Detroit players have family ties to the NBA, as junior guard Muhammad Abdur-Rahim is the brother of current Sacramento Kings performer Shareef Abdur-Rahim and senior guard Ben Green is the cousin of former League Player of the Year and current Philadelphia 76er Willie Green.

Loyola's Pierre Parker has big shoes to fill in his family, as well. The sophomore guard is the younger brother of Tony Parker, whose four-year (2001-05) NBA career already includes a pair of championships as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

Across town at UIC, newcomer Othyus Jeffers will don uniform No. 12 this season. That number had been retired, but its previous owner agreed to let Jeffers wear the number as a Flame. That former No. 12 is his cousin, 1997-98 League Player of the Year Mark Miller, who had been the school's all-time leading scorer until Cedrick Banks surpassed him last year.

Butler's A.J. Graves became the third member of his family to lead the Horizon League in free- throw shooting last winter, joining older brother and current Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves (1995-96) and sibling Andrew Graves (1999-2000).

Horizon League Champions Through the Years

Season-- Regular-Season-- Tournament (Seed)
1979-80-- Loyola-- Oral Roberts (2)
1980-81-- Xavier-- Oklahoma City (3)
1981-82-- Evansville-- Evansville (1)
1982-83-- Loyola-- Xavier (2)
1983-84-- Oral Roberts-- Oral Roberts (1)
1984-85-- Loyola-- Loyola (1)
1985-86-- Xavier-- Xavier (1)
1986-87-- Evansville, Loyola (tie)-- Xavier (3)
1987-88-- Xavier-- Xavier (1)
1988-89-- Evansville-- Xavier (3)
1989-90-- Xavier-- Dayton (2)
1990-91-- Xavier-- Xavier (1)
1991-92-- Evansville-- Evansville (2)
1992-93-- Evansville-- Evansville (1)
1993-94-- Xavier-- Detroit (4)
1994-95-- Xavier-- UW-Green Bay (3)
1995-96-- UW-Green Bay-- Northern Illinois (3)
1996-97-- Butler-- Butler (1)
1997-98-- Detroit, UIC (tie)-- Butler (3)
1998-99-- Detroit-- Detroit (1)
1999-2000 -- Butler-- Butler (1)
2000-01-- Butler-- Butler (1)
2001-02-- Butler-- UIC (6)
2002-03-- Butler-- UW-Milwaukee (2)
2003-04-- UW-Milwaukee-- UIC (2)
2004-05-- UW-Milwaukee-- UW-Milwaukee (1)