Horizon League Tournament

[wsu97]

Youngstown St. 61
Loyola 76 Final

[Big D]

buckeyeball said:

I think we have already proven many times this year that you won't win games when you only show up for 1/2 the contest. We had a nice comeback in the second half but we never should have gone down by 20 in the first place. It should be another interesting summer for WSU. Will our coach be fired? Who will transfer if he stays and who will transfer if he goes?

It has been a long rollercoaster year for Wright State. I love WSU hoops, but I am glad to see the season come to an end. It has been hard supporting our team with all of the ups and downs.

I don't know what the future holds for us. We should receive the NCAA's ruling on OSU and Coach B any time now. I don't know what Cusack will do and I don't know if I would want to be in his position. Either way, getting out from under this NCAA cloud should benefit WSU.

[WSU admin]

Biancardi's gone.

[raider fan]

I echo many of the same sentiments that have already been posted.


Great point about PB continually running a 3 guard offense when 2 guards aren't scorers.

Like others I just want this whole OSU mess to go away one way or the other.

[Class of '83]

February 28, 2006 (News Release/Men's Basketball)

Men's Rally Falls Short at UIC
The Wright State men's basketball team rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to trail by just one, but couldn't get over the hump as the UIC Flames scored the final 12 points to pull out a 77-64 win over the Raiders in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament Tuesday night at the UIC Pavilion.

The Raiders trailed just 17-14 after a Jordan Pleiman layup at the 9:56 mark of the first half, but the Flames scored the next seven points and closed the period overall with a 27-13 run to go up 44-27 at the break.

UIC still led 52-35 with 13:51 left to play, but WSU followed with a 29-13 burst over the next 11 minutes, capped off by a DaShaun Wood three-point play, to trail only 65-64.

Wright State, however, could get no closer as the Flames scored the final 12 points of the contest, including all 10 free throw attempts.

Both teams shot the ball well on the night as Wright State finished at 44 percent and UIC 50 percent, but the foul line proved to be the biggest difference as the Flames were nearly perfect, going 28 of 29, compared to just six for 14 for the Raiders.

Wood led WSU with 17 points and seven assists while Pleiman added 13 points as did Scott off the bench. Burleson chipped in 10.

Rocky Collum had a big night off the bench for the Flames (16-14) as he hit all six shots, including five three-pointers, and made four foul shots in scoring 21 points. Justin Bowen added 19, Danijel Zoric 14 and Josh Mayo 12.

The Raiders finish the season with a final mark of 13-15.

www.wsuraiders.com/cgi-bin/athletics/news.cgi?action=features&id=2667

[Class of '83]

Interesting Stat:

WSU didn't win a game outside the state of Ohio this year.

www.wsuraiders.com/mbasketball/schedstats.html

[Buzz 83]

Big D, I just want to tell you thanks for all the good posts you put on this and the other message board. Of all the usual suspects you are the one that I agree with most often. Grunge 84 was another favorite of mine, it seemed like he also told it like it is, but he has not been heard from much if any the last couple of seasons. Again Big D, thanks for the solid posts and hopefully next year will be the breakout season.

I'm just glad that the first round of the Horizon League Tourney is two weeks before the NCAA Tourney, because it will take two weeks for me to get over the pitiful WSU finish to their basketball season, and then I can enjoy college basketball again.

[Dayton Daily News]

Raiders' rally runs out of steam
WSU cuts 20-point deficit to one but can't overcome poor first half
By By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

CHICAGO | A remarkable comeback that might have gone down as one of the greatest in Wright State basketball history was squashed in the final three minutes Tuesday night, eliminating the Raiders in a first-round Horizon League game at the UIC Pavilion.

Down by 20 late in the first half and trailing by 17 with 13:51 to play, WSU cut the lead to just one with 2:56 to play before losing 77-64 to the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames, who made an astonishing 28 of 29 free throws.

On the other side, the Raiders were 6-of-14 from the line, so earning more free throws might not have done them any good.

"We shouldn't have been in that position," said junior co-captain DaShaun Wood, who led the Raiders with 17 points. "We played a D-minus first half and an A-plus second half."

Part of that effort included the 3-point shooting of reserve guard Tyrone Scott, who made three straight 3-point shots and four baskets in all during WSU's comeback, eventually cutting UIC's lead to 65-64. Wright State didn't score again and UIC didn't stop, including 10-for-10 from the line.

It was the third loss for the 13-15 Raiders in three games this season against UIC (16-14), the only league team they didn't beat. It was also the second loss to the Flames in four days, including Saturday's 69-66 overtime loss that knocked the Raiders from a No. 3 seed to a No. 7.

Contact Marc Katz at 937-225-2157.

Find this article at:
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0301wsubb.html

[wsu97]

WSU NOTES

Raiders rally gamely, can't get over hump
By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

CHICAGO | A Reinaldo Smith 3-point shot cut Illinois-Chicago's lead to 44-27 at the half, so it didn't look like such a big deal at the time.

Wright State was going down Tuesday night, and the finish to its season wasn't going to be pretty.

Yet WSU coach Paul Biancardi sensed something in the halftime locker room.

"There was a quiet confidence," Biancardi said. "I knew we'd have a comeback."

It was quite a comeback, too, but just incomplete. Wright State nudged to 65-64 with 2:56 to play, when all the Raiders' scoring stopped in a 77-64 Horizon League tournament loss.

"Our defense came back to life in the second half," Biancardi said. "But they made their free throws, and you can't say enough about Rocky Collum."

A 5-foot-10 senior guard, Collum tore his left MCL in preseason workouts and missed more than half the season. He was averaging 2.6 points, but led UIC with 21 against the Raiders, making all six of his shots, five from 3-point range, and all four free throws.

• Junior co-captain Drew Burleson, two games under .500 for his career (two straight .500 seasons, then 13-15 this year), was taking none of the comeback congrats.

"It's not even worth it to say it was a good comeback," Burleson said. "I guess it was good, but that stuff is for losers."

• After they finished pregame stretching, the Raiders had to wait a couple of minutes for 6 p.m. Conference rules prohibit any basketballs on the court prior to an hour before game time, which was 7 p.m. local.

Game-day shootarounds are also ruled by the clock. They can last an hour-and-a-half and can't start before noon.

• Athletics Director Mike Cusack and assistant Bob Grant made the trip to see the Raiders play. Cusack plans to stay for Thursday's women's tournament game against UIC.

• In a league priding itself on parity, Loyola (which beat Youngstown State on Tuesday) entered the tournament with the longest winning streak — just three games.

• Two of the three first-round games featured the same matchups as the last regular-season games on Saturday. In addition to WSU playing at UIC, YSU was at Loyola on Tuesday. On Saturday, Loyola was at YSU and beat the Penguins by three in overtime.

• In a bit of pregame banter, WSU coach Paul Biancardi pointed to the line on the floor coaches aren't supposed to cross, a few feet from his bench.

"Is this the line?" Biancardi shouted to referee Sid Rodeheffer.

"It's not up here, I can tell you that," Rodeheffer replied, pointing to the midcourt line.

Contact Marc Katz at 225-2157.

www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0301wsunotes.html

[Raider Country]

Ill. Chicago 66
Wis. Green Bay 76
Final

[Raider Country]

Detroit 55
Loyola Chicago 64
Final

[Class of '83]

The HL semifinals will be Loyola vs. UWM and Butler vs. UWGB.

[wsu97]

Wis. Green Bay 51
Butler 73
Final

Loyola Chicago 66
Wis. Milwaukee 80
Final

[Wolf]

Men's Basketball Championship Preview
An NCAA Tournament berth is on the line as (#2 seed) Butler faces top seed UW-Milwaukee on Tuesday night. ESPN airs the game at 9 p.m. (Eastern time).

March 6, 2006


Horizon League Championship Preview

(#2) Butler vs. (#1) UW-Milwaukee
9 p.m. (ET)

Regular Season: Series tied, 1-1
Jan. 7 (at Milwaukee): UWM 64-59
Feb. 4 (at Indianapolis): BU 63-60 (OT)
-- Joah Tucker paced the Panthers with 22 ponts and 12 rebounds in Milwaukee. He hit seven of his ten shots from the field and eight-of-11 at the line.
-- Boo Davis (15 points) and Chris Hill (10) also hit double figures for UWM. The Panthers shot 48 percent (22-of-46) from the field and outrebounded Butler 38-29.
-- Tucker led all scorers with 26 points and had ten rebounds in the re-match, while Adrian Tigert posted 13 points plus 13 boards.
-- UW-Milwaukee dominated the glass with a 47-23 rebounding margin but missed all 13 of its shots from behind the arc. Butler also committed only five turnovers.
-- Brandon Polk was just two-of-11 from the field for six points in the first meeting, but registered 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field and blocked three shots in Indianapolis. Brandon Crone added 15 points and A.J. Graves had 13.
-- Graves posted a team-high 20 points in Milwaukee, with Bruce Horan canning four triples for his 12 points in that game. Horan also had three treys in the first meeting.
-- Butler hit nine three-pointers in the first game, and seven in the second.
-- Butler reserves tallied just eight points in the two meetings.

--- --- --- --- ---

Regular-Season Series Summary

Composite Statistics:
Team FG 3FG FT Reb TO
BU .393 .400 .720 26.0 6.5
UWM .439 .080 .757 42.5 12.0

Key Players:

Butler
Brandon Polk 9-21 FG, 16.0 ppg., 4.5 rpg.
A.J. Graves 12-30 FG, 16.5 ppg., 2.0 apg.
Avery Sheets 5-16 FG, 11.0 ppg., 2.5 apg.
Bruce Horan 7-15 3FG, 11.5 ppg.

UW-Milwaukee
Joah Tucker 17-29 FG, 24.0 ppg., 11.0 rpg.
Adrian Tigert 10-20 FG, 11.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.
Boo Davis 7-20 FG, 2-10 3FG, 9.5 ppg.
Chris Hill 5-10 FG, 7.0 ppg.

Every Single Point Needed
In reference to the network airing Tuesday's game ...
UW-Milwaukee looks for its second consecutive Horizon League championship, trying to repeat as League kingpin after last year's 59-58 victory over Detroit in the title game. That triumph helped trigger the Panthers' run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

UWM entered the summit as the top seed and edged third-seeded Detroit on Adrian Tigert's free throw with 4.2 seconds remaining. UW-Milwaukee trailed most of the evening and missed 11-of-24 free throws (including the first of Tigert's two tries at the end), but his fifth point of the night put the Panthers ahead and into the NCAA Tournament when Brandon Cotton's last-second shot missed the mark.

Ed McCants led the way for the hosts with 18 points---including four of UW-Milwaukee's ten three-pointers---while tournament MVP Joah Tucker and Boo Davis added 15 and 12, respectively. Cotton had a game-high 21 points for Detroit.

The Panthers have reached the title game in each of the last four League Championships, losing to UIC in 2004 and also claiming the crown by defeating top-seeded Butler (69-52) in 2002. UWM could become the fourth school to win three or more League championships, joining Butler (four) plus former members Xavier (six) and Evansville (three) in that group.

Butler is in the championship game for the first time since 2001, when the Bulldogs defeated Detroit 53-38 in Dayton, Ohio. BU has won 22 loop tournament games, trailing only Detroit (26) and Loyola (23) on that list.

Butler reached the Sweet 16 as an at-large entry into the NCAA tournament in 2003, giving the Horizon League a representative in the regional semifinals in two of the last three national summits. Only seven other conferences can make that claim---the Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Conference USA (all three years), and the Pac-10 (2003, 2005).

Something has to give
Tuesday's title game pits the League's highest-scoring offense (UW-Milwaukee at 73.8 points per game this season) against the circuit's stingiest defense---Butler allows just 60.9 points per contest and has held nine opponents under 55 points. Saturday marked the ninth time UWM has reached the 80-point mark this season.

The Panthers lead the League charts in scoring margin (plus-8.2 points per game), and also stand atop the circuit in three-point field-goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 31.4 percent from behind the arc. Butler is the League's most proficient team from the tri-light zone, shooting at a 39 percent clip and making more than nine triples per game. BU's 272 tri-lighters are easily the most in the League this season, with UW-Green Bay next on that list at 204.

Butler can also shoot well from inside the arc, topping the League with its .462 overall field-goal percentage. The Bulldogs rank second behind UWM in scoring margin (plus-8.0 per game), and also lead the League with their rate of 13.37 assists per game.

BU's efficiency is evident in the team's rate of just 8.9 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs committed seven miscues on Saturday, the 14th time this season Butler has had eight or fewer turnovers. On a national perspective, only Temple (7.7) and West Virginia (8.6) average fewer errors than the Bulldogs.

Other notes from the League stat sheet
UW-Milwaukee's plus-6.2 per game rebound margin is the best mark in the League, with Butler (minus-7.1) at the bottom of that list. UWM is also efficient offensively, ranking second in the League with a plus-1.64 per game turnover margin. The Panthers force an average of 15.5 turnovers per game, the second-highest rate among the loop's nine teams (Cleveland State foes averaged 15.9 per outing).

UWM ranks eighth in the League with a 68.1 percent mark at the free-throw line, a mark which could be a factor in a close game.

Panthers keep adding to tradition
Top seed UW-Milwaukee reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth consecutive year (and ninth in school history) with Saturday's 80-66 victory over Loyola. The Panthers captured the regular-season League championship with a 12-4 mark, giving UWM a 52-12 record in the circuit over the past four seasons.

Senior forward Joah Tucker and senior guard Boo Davis each scored 20 points against the Ramblers, with Davis also collecting a season-high ten rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

Tucker reached the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season. The League's Preseason Player of the Year is a member of the First-Team All-League squad for the second consecutive season, currently standing sixth in the League with his 16.5 points-per-game scoring average, one spot ahead of Davis (16.1). Tucker also ranks eighth at 6.2 rebounds per game and is a 47 percent shooter from the field.

Davis and senior forward Adrian Tigert each earned Second-Team All-League honors, with Davis ranking second at 2.96 three-pointers per game (on 39 percent shooting behind the arc).

Tigert rates among the loop leaders in several traditional categories---scoring (12th at 12.9 points per game), rebounding (fourth, 7.3 per outing), and field-goal percentage (fourth at .557). But the veteran center is also an entry in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio, rating fourth among circuit ball-handlers at 1.61 set-ups for every miscue. Tigert averages 2.54 assists per game.

Senior guard Chris Hill tops the team with his 2.82 assists per outing, running the point for the League's highest-scoring offense (73.8 points per game).

Tucker, Davis, Hill and senior forward Jason McCoy have each started all 28 games so far this season. Tigert missed two games (versus Missouri State and UIC in late February) due to a back injury, prompting the only change to coach Rob Jeter's opening line-up this year. Senior Derrick Ford took Tigert's spot in those two contests.

The Panthers' "Big Three" of Tucker, Tigert and Davis combine to average 44.6 points per game, or 60.4 percent of the team's points this season. Jeter relies on a deep bench, however, with 12 Panthers having played in at least 23 games this season and nine averaging more than ten minutes per appearance.

Bulldogs shoot for tourney title
Butler owns the second seed for the League Championship, entering Tuesday's contest with a 19-11 overall mark which includes an 11-5 loop ledger.

The Bulldogs' hopes for a share of the regular-season title ended when Detroit edged Butler 73-71 in Saturday's finale, the Bulldogs' first loss in regulation since Jan. 21. BU is 10-3 during that span, with the other two setbacks coming to Wright State (86-83 in double-overtime on Feb. 11) and Kent State (80-76 in OT as part of BracketBusters presented by eBay, Feb. 18).

BU rebounded from that defeat with a 73-51 victory over UW-Green Bay on Saturday, wth senior guard Avery Sheets scoring a game-high 20 points on seven-of-eight shooting including four tri-lighters. Sheets, a member of Butler's Sweet 16 team in 2003, also registered six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Senior guard Bruce Horan hit just one of nine attempts from three-point range, but extended hs streak to 77 consecutive games with at least one triple, the second-longest run in NCAA history. (Illinois guard Cory Bradford connected in 88 in a row, 1998-2001). Horan leads the League with his 3.47 triples per game this season, and needs nine more points for 1,000 in his career. Horan has made 305 three-pointers in a Butler uniform (second-most in League history), compared to only 12 two-point baskets.

Sheets has already surpassed the 1,000-point mark, entering the title game with 1,052. Sheets also leads the circuit with a 2.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, with 95 helpers and only 35 miscues this season.

Horizon League Player of the Year Brandon Polk is fourth in the circuit, scoring 17.9 points per game including 17 versus UWGB. He also ranks second in field-goal percentage (.574) and has taken over the League lead with a rate of 1.57 blocked shots per game. Polk's presence anchors Butler's defense which allows a League-low 60.9 points per game.

Butler has used the same starting line-up---Horan, Graves, and sophomore A.J. Graves on the perimeter with Polk and junior Brandon Crone up front---in all 30 games this year. Coach Todd Lickliter has only ten players on his roster, with only two reserves---junior guard Julian Betko (16.6) and junior forward Brian Ligon (14.0) averaging more than ten minutes per game.

horizonleague.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030606aab.html

[Class of '83]

Meija's pick:

Wisconsin-Milwaukee 80 Butler 70

www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/exclusives/mejia