horizon tourney bracket:
http://horizonleague.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/05-hori-mbaskbl-tourney.html
home teams held serve in the tuesday campus-site games. lost some money in the opening round. dont anticipate that happening any more the rest of the horizon tourney.
tournament shifts to milwaukee and the matchups are very intriguing. great defensive matchup in the wright/detroit game, and then the chicago rivals meet in the nightcap.
==============================
wright state raiders ( 8-8 / 15-14 )
vs.
detroit titans ( 9-7 / 12-15 )
season series:
1/8/05 in dayton -- wright 63 detroit 57
2/10/05 in detroit -- detroit 71 wright 49
series series notes:
both teams were totally dominant on their home floors in the two matchups. wsu shot 52% in the first meeting (which is almost unheard of on a detroit defense that allows just 41% on the season) and held a +13 edge on the glass. six point final score was deceptive; detroit was playing from behind the entire game. the rematch in detroit was a different story. titans shot 55% from the field, held wright to just 36% shooting and detroit won the battle of the glass with a +12 margin.
who's playing well right now for detroit:
brandon cotton. he's averaging 20.1 ppg his last 6 and just was named the horizon newcomer of the year. simply put- when he plays well, detroit plays well. he went 6 of 16 for 13 pts in the first wright state game. then went 8 of 13 for 20 pts in the rematch.
who's playing well right now for wright state:
these guys are well-balanced. one game its burleson who steps up. the next its wood. and then zakee boyd is tough too. wood is probably playing the best out of any of the raiders. nobody on this team is outstanding. but alot of guys are just solid contributors. detroit will certainly have the best player on the floor with cotton. but wright state's balance is tough.
my take on this one:
first one to 60 wins. and its likely that 55 will be enough to win it. two outstanding defensive teams that are sound in all their defensive principles. both coaches really emphasize that side of the floor. detroit and wsu are 1/2 in the horizon in rebounding margin. both have some guys inside who really get after it. expecting a physical, low-scoring game. detroit is the better team but wright state matches up well with them on a neutral floor. to me, they cant set this total low enough. any total higher than 118 is too much. i know that sounds really low, but 4 of detroit's last 5 horizon tourney games havent cracked the 120-mark. titans allowed 36,55,and 58 points in their 3 tourney games last season. titans are rested and held 4 of their last 6 regular season opponents to 56 pts or less. planning on playing the under here.
==============================
uic flames ( 8-8 / 15-13 )
vs.
loyola ramblers ( 8-8 / 12-16 )
season series:
1/6/05 at loyola -- uic 64 loyola 58
2/17/05 at uic -- loyola 91 uic 85
season series notes:
both teams lost on their home floor. loyola led 23-22 at halftime of the 1st meeting at home. ramblers led by 9 points with 7:00 left but the flames went on a 14-2 run to retake the lead and win the game. cedric banks had just 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting. schilb scored 19 for loyola but was just 6 of 16 himself. at the time, it was uic's 10th straight win over their rival. the rematch was all loyola. uic's defense was incredibly lame and loyola led by 3 at the break and controlled the entire 2nd half. that win ended their 10-gm losing streak to illinois-chicago. schilb struggled again (5 of 12 for 16 points) but dajaun gouard stepped up huge for loyola and went for 31. banks scored 25 for uic but did it on 7 of 20 shooting from the floor.
who's playing well right now for loyola:
theyre pretty much a two-man team. schilb and gourard are the only guys that are really any good. blake schilb has played really well down the stretch. the schilb/gouard duo scored 45 of loyola's 78 pts the other night against youngstown and they were the only two in double figures. schilb had 27 against cleveland state in the regular season finale and gouard had 11 (and again, they were the only 2 in double figures). schilb has scored 20+ in his last 3 games.
who's playing well right now for illinois-chicago:
cedric banks has been pretty much unstoppable down the stretch. over his last 5 games he's averaging 27.8 ppg :scared and scored 39 on wright state 2 weeks ago. whats encouraging for uic is that banks was in a shooting slump for most of the season, but in this current 5-gm stretch he's shot almost 48% from the field. he's finally back to playing like the preseason horizon player of the year.
my take on this one:
theres no doubt that loyola is probably playing the best ball in the horizon right now. and im the last one to cap a game 'on paper', but uic is just so much better than loyola overall. theres a reason the flames had won 10 in a row against their rival before loyola emphatically ended the skid two weeks ago. theres also a reason uic was the preseason co-favorite in the conference. that said, uic's defense has inexplicably been a sieve the last 5 or 6 games. its really been puzzling. the flames have always been a physical, aggressive defensive team capable of locking you down. but to allow 78.5 ppg in the final 6 games to close the season is just unacceptable. then the outside variables have to be factored in. IE posted a great link the other night which spoke of the dissention thats taking place between the uic players:
http://www.madjacksports.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181882
shit like this is the reason why uic, who is probably the 2nd most talented team in the conference behind milwaukee, was 8-8 in the league this year. for now, im passing with a definite lean to uic. id like to think these knuckleheads can put their differences aside now that an ncaa tourney berth is on the line. this program is too good to let petty stuff affect the outcome of their season. on paper, loyola is 5 times better than loyola. but ramblers are playing confidently and cohesively. flames are loaded with talent but havent put it all together. on paper, loyola has an edge in size but its incredibly 'soft size'. their interior guys are pussies. i still think uic will take care of business on the floor with a 7 or 8 point win, but ill sit out the 1h to see which uic team shows up.
===============================
predicting:
detroit and the under (but only playing the under)
uic and no clue on total (but sitting it out until halftime)
===============================
http://horizonleague.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/05-hori-mbaskbl-tourney.html
home teams held serve in the tuesday campus-site games. lost some money in the opening round. dont anticipate that happening any more the rest of the horizon tourney.
tournament shifts to milwaukee and the matchups are very intriguing. great defensive matchup in the wright/detroit game, and then the chicago rivals meet in the nightcap.
==============================
wright state raiders ( 8-8 / 15-14 )
vs.
detroit titans ( 9-7 / 12-15 )
season series:
1/8/05 in dayton -- wright 63 detroit 57
2/10/05 in detroit -- detroit 71 wright 49
series series notes:
both teams were totally dominant on their home floors in the two matchups. wsu shot 52% in the first meeting (which is almost unheard of on a detroit defense that allows just 41% on the season) and held a +13 edge on the glass. six point final score was deceptive; detroit was playing from behind the entire game. the rematch in detroit was a different story. titans shot 55% from the field, held wright to just 36% shooting and detroit won the battle of the glass with a +12 margin.
who's playing well right now for detroit:
brandon cotton. he's averaging 20.1 ppg his last 6 and just was named the horizon newcomer of the year. simply put- when he plays well, detroit plays well. he went 6 of 16 for 13 pts in the first wright state game. then went 8 of 13 for 20 pts in the rematch.
who's playing well right now for wright state:
these guys are well-balanced. one game its burleson who steps up. the next its wood. and then zakee boyd is tough too. wood is probably playing the best out of any of the raiders. nobody on this team is outstanding. but alot of guys are just solid contributors. detroit will certainly have the best player on the floor with cotton. but wright state's balance is tough.
my take on this one:
first one to 60 wins. and its likely that 55 will be enough to win it. two outstanding defensive teams that are sound in all their defensive principles. both coaches really emphasize that side of the floor. detroit and wsu are 1/2 in the horizon in rebounding margin. both have some guys inside who really get after it. expecting a physical, low-scoring game. detroit is the better team but wright state matches up well with them on a neutral floor. to me, they cant set this total low enough. any total higher than 118 is too much. i know that sounds really low, but 4 of detroit's last 5 horizon tourney games havent cracked the 120-mark. titans allowed 36,55,and 58 points in their 3 tourney games last season. titans are rested and held 4 of their last 6 regular season opponents to 56 pts or less. planning on playing the under here.
==============================
uic flames ( 8-8 / 15-13 )
vs.
loyola ramblers ( 8-8 / 12-16 )
season series:
1/6/05 at loyola -- uic 64 loyola 58
2/17/05 at uic -- loyola 91 uic 85
season series notes:
both teams lost on their home floor. loyola led 23-22 at halftime of the 1st meeting at home. ramblers led by 9 points with 7:00 left but the flames went on a 14-2 run to retake the lead and win the game. cedric banks had just 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting. schilb scored 19 for loyola but was just 6 of 16 himself. at the time, it was uic's 10th straight win over their rival. the rematch was all loyola. uic's defense was incredibly lame and loyola led by 3 at the break and controlled the entire 2nd half. that win ended their 10-gm losing streak to illinois-chicago. schilb struggled again (5 of 12 for 16 points) but dajaun gouard stepped up huge for loyola and went for 31. banks scored 25 for uic but did it on 7 of 20 shooting from the floor.
who's playing well right now for loyola:
theyre pretty much a two-man team. schilb and gourard are the only guys that are really any good. blake schilb has played really well down the stretch. the schilb/gouard duo scored 45 of loyola's 78 pts the other night against youngstown and they were the only two in double figures. schilb had 27 against cleveland state in the regular season finale and gouard had 11 (and again, they were the only 2 in double figures). schilb has scored 20+ in his last 3 games.
who's playing well right now for illinois-chicago:
cedric banks has been pretty much unstoppable down the stretch. over his last 5 games he's averaging 27.8 ppg :scared and scored 39 on wright state 2 weeks ago. whats encouraging for uic is that banks was in a shooting slump for most of the season, but in this current 5-gm stretch he's shot almost 48% from the field. he's finally back to playing like the preseason horizon player of the year.
my take on this one:
theres no doubt that loyola is probably playing the best ball in the horizon right now. and im the last one to cap a game 'on paper', but uic is just so much better than loyola overall. theres a reason the flames had won 10 in a row against their rival before loyola emphatically ended the skid two weeks ago. theres also a reason uic was the preseason co-favorite in the conference. that said, uic's defense has inexplicably been a sieve the last 5 or 6 games. its really been puzzling. the flames have always been a physical, aggressive defensive team capable of locking you down. but to allow 78.5 ppg in the final 6 games to close the season is just unacceptable. then the outside variables have to be factored in. IE posted a great link the other night which spoke of the dissention thats taking place between the uic players:
http://www.madjacksports.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181882
shit like this is the reason why uic, who is probably the 2nd most talented team in the conference behind milwaukee, was 8-8 in the league this year. for now, im passing with a definite lean to uic. id like to think these knuckleheads can put their differences aside now that an ncaa tourney berth is on the line. this program is too good to let petty stuff affect the outcome of their season. on paper, loyola is 5 times better than loyola. but ramblers are playing confidently and cohesively. flames are loaded with talent but havent put it all together. on paper, loyola has an edge in size but its incredibly 'soft size'. their interior guys are pussies. i still think uic will take care of business on the floor with a 7 or 8 point win, but ill sit out the 1h to see which uic team shows up.
===============================
predicting:
detroit and the under (but only playing the under)
uic and no clue on total (but sitting it out until halftime)
===============================
Last edited:
