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One week remains in the Horizon League’s regular season. Wright State has already clinched at least a share of the title, but fell to the defending champs Sunday, leaving the door open for someone else to join it. The penultimate week, as each week this season has done, brought a load of chaos, and there remains a lot to be decided in the final week.
Here is a recap of the week.
Horizon League Standings
1. Wright State (13-5)
2. Robert Morris (11-7)
Oakland (11-7)
Detroit Mercy (11-7)
5. Green Bay (11-8)
6. Purdue Fort Wayne (10-8)
7. Northern Kentucky (9-9)
8. Youngstown State (8-10)
9. Milwaukee (7-12)
10. Cleveland State (6-12)
11. IU Indianapolis (3-15)
Wins of the week
Green Bay 73, Oakland 68
Green Bay was a hot topic all week leading up to this game, but not necessarily because the two were set to meet separated by less than a game in the standings and with conference-tournament seeding on the line. It was because the Phoenix were without their head coach in this game, as Doug Gottlieb was suspended for the game after he criticized officials in a postgame rant. When these teams met last month in Green Bay, Oakland dominated, taking advantage of an undersized frontcourt and pushing the Phoenix down low. Green Bay responded in a big way this time around. Isaac Garrett had 17 points for Oakland, but Tuburu Naivalurua and Michael Houge were limited to a combined 14 shot attempts and 16 points, allowing the Phoenix to keep the game in check. Justin Allen had a huge game for Green Bay, scoring a team-high 21 points and adding five assists. C.J. O’Hara made just three field goals, but shot 9 for 10 on free throws, adding 16 points and keeping pressure on the Oakland bigs all night. Caden Wilkins also caught fire, knocking down four of his five 3-point attempts to give the Phoenix an additional offensive boost. In an emotional performance, coached by Kerry Rupp, whom Green Bay clearly rallied around, the Phoenix got a major victory in the closing stretch.
Detroit Mercy 74, Green Bay 70
With Green Bay riding high off its statement win over Oakland, it was Detroit Mercy that stole the momentum to earn a huge win on Sunday. 2012-13 was the last time the Titans won 11 games in Horizon League play. That changed with Sunday’s win. Orlando Lovejoy was absolutely unstoppable, scoring a game-high 33 points along with five assists. Green Bay is smaller in the frontcourt than most units and Lovejoy took full advantage, getting to the line 12 times, connecting on 11. Lance Stone was the only other Titan in double figures with 10 points, but 74 was enough to get the job done thanks to a strong defensive effort. For Green Bay, four starters scored in double figures, but it got just six points combined from the other four players who logged minutes, just not enough to win a game against a team in the upper portion of the conference. Detroit Mercy wraps up the week in a tie for second place and seems to be in prime position to host a game in the league tournament. A year ago, these two teams were meeting as two of the worst in the conference and Sunday they met in a game with pivotal implications, college basketball at its finest.
Robert Morris 81, Wright State 68
The defending champions are the hottest and maybe most dangerous team in the league right now. Although the roster doesn’t feature hardly anyone who contributed to last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance, having a coach and point guard who have won the league are two key traits the Colonials still possess. On Sunday, it was on full display. In a game on national television, Robert Morris and Wright State met, just over two weeks after the Colonials upset the Raiders. In Sunday’s win, Nikolaos Chitikoudis and DeSean Goode scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Ryan Prather Jr. struggled shooting, but logged six assists. Freshman Darius Livingston continued his late-season breakout, exploding for 24 points and Ta’Zir Smith also tallied double figures with 15 off the bench. Wright State’s offense has been extremely balanced all season and while three players reached double figures Sunday, Robert Morris forced 14 turnovers and made it difficult for the Raiders to keep pace. A double-digit halftime lead was maintained for the final 20 minutes as the defending champs posted a championship-level effort to jump into a tie for second in the league standings.
Notable results
Defeating IU Indianapolis wasn’t a gaudy win for Wright State, but it moved the Raiders within a win of an outright league championship. Unfortunately for Clint Sargent, his group couldn’t get the job done against Robert Morris on national television Sunday, but it has two opportunities to win the league this upcoming week. It will, however, have to fend off at least one of two of the better backcourts in the league to take the crown outright, with matchups with Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky, both on the road, looming.
With some teams set to play two games in the final week, others just one, the path to a home first-round game is there for seven teams. Northern Kentucky sits a game and a half back of fifth entering the week, and is the team furthest down in the standings with an opportunity, albeit a long-shot. Wright State will host for sure, and is a win away from the championship, but Robert Morris, Oakland, Detroit Mercy, Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky are all within two games in the standings, and any four of that group could be the other first-round hosts.
After falling to Green Bay on Friday night, Oakland snapped out of a four-game funk, getting back in the win column with a 81-70 win over Milwaukee Sunday. Brody Robisnon had 20 points and nine assists alongside Tuburu Naivalurua’s 23 points to take down a depleted Panthers group. The Golden Grizzlies are by far the most battle tested against the nation’s best amongst teams in the league, but to earn the opportunity to take on a high-major in an NCAA Tournament setting, they must play better than they have the past few weeks. Oakland has the talent to make a push for the league’s auto-bid, but it hasn’t played well lately, so it will be interesting to see how Greg Kampe’s crew closes.
Youngstown State flashed what makes it a dangerous team that could spoil the quest for an NCAA Tournament berth for anyone in the league. Cris Carroll put up 26 points, six rebounds and six assists, and was aided by Tae Blackshear and Vlad Salaridze who combined for 42 off the bench, as the Penguins beat Cleveland State 106-82. There was a time when Youngstown State looked like the best team in the Horizon League and while it is far from even being labeled a dark horse in the league, a matchup with Carroll isn’t something any team is going to take lightly in the postseason.
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