INDIANAPOLIS – It’s officially the start of #HLMBB play this week as all 10 teams will be in action on Saturday to start the Horizon League season.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• Wright State enters Horizon League play ranked No. 13 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, jumping up four spots after an impressive 79-72 win at Toledo to end the non-conference slate.
• The Raiders have been the most balanced team during the non-conference season as they rank second in the HL in points per game and have had five different players total 20 points or more in a game. WSU also leads #HLMBB in rebounding and has had four separate players grab 10 or more boards in a game. As a team, Wright State shoots 45.5 percent from the floor, good for third in the HL and is first in turnover margin.
• Preseason Player of the Year Antoine Davis of Detroit Mercy continues to lead the HL in scoring and ranks third in the NCAA as he is averaging 25.3 points per game. In addition, he is top 50 in the country in free throw percentage (91.5), 3-pointers per game (3.18) and steals per game (2.18).
• IUPUI’s Marcus Burk is behind Davis in scoring ranked 56th in the country with 18.6 points per contest, while ranking 33rd in 3-pointers per game at 3.15 and shooting 43.2 percent from long range, good for 35th in the country.
• Dantez Walton continues to do big things for Northern Kentucky as he is now the only qualifying player to rank top-5 in the HL in points (18.4), field-goal percentage (.540) and rebounds (7.2) and has won three #HLMBB Player of the Week honors this season. Oakland’s Hill-Mais is just behind Walton as he ranks seventh in scoring (15.6) and third in FG% (.530) and is grabbing more rebounds with 7.6 per game, good for fourth in the HL.
• Milwaukee has a dynamic duo in Darius Roy and Te’Jon Lucas as they both rank top-15 in the Horizon League in points, combining for 30.6 points per game, and also top-10 in assists, totaling 7.6 assists per game.
• Amari Davis of Green Bay is a four-time winner of the #HLMBB Freshman of the Week honor and ranking in the top 10 nationally among freshmen at 15.9 points per game and leads the HL shooting 56.8 percent from the floor.
• UIC’s Tarkus Ferguson continues to do a little bit of everything for the Flames as he leads the HL in assists per game at 4.8, leads the team in scoring and is 10th in the HL at 14.6 and is second in his team in rebounds at 4.7.
• The Phoenix continue to be one of the best offensive teams in the country as they are 11th in the NCAA in scoring offense at 82.6 points per game, while also ranking 11th in assists per game at 17.4 and shooting 37.8 percent from behind the arc to rank 31st in the NCAA.
• The Norse are one of the best in defending the three as they hold opponents to a 26.7 3-point field goal percentage, ranked 14th in the nation.
• Youngstown State continues to hit the offensive glass as the Penguins are 18th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game with 13.5 and 32nd in total rebounds per game at 40.9. Naz Bohannon is leading the charge on the glass grabbing 3.8 offensive boards per game, 23rd in the NCAA.
• The HL had four players tabbed on the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List as Davis, Oakland’s Xavier Hill-Mais, Loudon Love of Wright State and Northern Kentucky’s Jalen Tate were tabbed on the list. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I mid-major player.
RESULTS
| Date | Game | Recap |
| Wednesday, Dec. 18 | DePaul 73, Cleveland State 65 | |
| Illinois State 67, UIC 66 | ||
| Youngstown State 73, Binghamton 55 | ||
| Syracuse 74, Oakland 62 | ||
| Green Bay 126, Concordia-Chicago 64 | ||
| Thursday, Dec. 19 | Northeastern 74, Detroit Mercy 61 | |
| Friday, Dec. 20 | UIC 76, UC Irvine 67 | |
| Fresno State 95, IUPUI 64 | ||
| Saturday, Dec. 21 | West Virginia 75, Youngstown State 64 | |
| Wright State 79, Toledo 72 | ||
| Fairfield 61, Oakland 59 (OT) | ||
| Green Bay 85, Northern Illinois 84 | ||
| Detroit Mercy 81, SIUE 55 | ||
| East Tennessee State 80, Cleveland State 55 | ||
| Wisconsin 83, Milwaukee 64 | ||
| UNC Greensboro 67, Northern Kentucky 50 |
#HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nike #HLMBB Player of the Week
JayQuan McCloud | Green Bay | Senior | Guard | North Chicago, Ill.
McCloud had the best game of his career on Saturday, pouring in a career-high 32 points in his team’s 85-84 win on the road at Northern Illinois. McCloud buried a career-high six 3-pointers and went for 8-for-9 from the free throw line, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists. The Phoenix went 2-0 on the week, behind McCloud’s 23.5 points per game and a 15-for-17 effort at the charity stripe. The sharp-shooting senior only needed 21 minutes to get 15 points in his team’s record-breaking win over Concordia-Chicago, where they scored a program record 126 points. McCloud played limited minutes, with the game well in hand, but he was asked to play 37 minutes at NIU just three days later. He now ranks eighth in HL in scoring with 15.5 points per game.
Nike #HLMBB Freshman of the Week
Tanner Holden | Wright State | Freshman | Guard | Wheelersburg, Ohio
Holden turned in a career afternoon on Saturday against Toledo, tallying 27 points and 17 rebounds as Wright State closed out the non-conference schedule with a 79-72 victory at Toledo. During his career afternoon against Toledo, he scored 20 of his 27 in the second half and finished the afternoon 9-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free throw stripe. Holden started his week with a 19-point effort against Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday night. For the week, Holden averaged 23.0 points and pulled down 12.5 rebounds while going a combined 17-of-20 from the floor and 12-of-19 from the free throw line.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live Stream |
| Saturday, Dec. 28 | Youngstown State at IUPUI | Noon | ESPN+ |
| Milwaukee at Northern Kentucky | 1 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Green Bay at Wright State | 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Detroit Mercy at Oakland | 3 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Cleveland State at UIC | 4:12 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Monday, Dec. 30 | Youngstown State at UIC | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| Milwaukee at Wright State | 7 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Cleveland State at IUPUI | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Green Bay at Northern Kentucky | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Detroit Mercy at Gonzaga | 9 p.m. | WCCSports.com |
