INDIANAPOLIS – The college basketball season has officially begun with six #HLMBB teams in action last week and three more expected to begin their seasons this week.
#HLMBB NEWS & NOTES
• UIC has started the season with three-straight victories against Northern Illinois, Central Michigan and Valparaiso. The Flames came back from 22 points down in the second half to earn the win over NIU. It is the first 3-0 start for the Flames since 2001-02.
• Northern Kentucky started the season with a hard fought victory over Ball State at home, 74-73. Trevon Faulkner led the way with 17 points as five Norse players finished in double figures, while Adrian Nelson posted a double-double with 10 points and 19 rebounds.
• Purdue Fort Wayne claimed a victory at home in its debut as a member of the Horizon League against Southeastern Louisiana in overtime, 67-63. Jalon Pipkins scored a team-high 18 points with five rebounds and Bobby Planutis chipped in 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
• Jalen Moore has made an immediate impact for the Golden Grizzlies through their first five games of the season. The JUCO transfer is averaging 15.2 points, 5.0 assists and 2.8 steals including a 21-point, nine-rebound performance against No. 25 Michigan that saw Oakland take the Wolverines to overtime.
• Green Bay opened up the season with a pair of Big Ten opponents as reigning Freshman of the Year Amari Davis and Josh Jefferson leading the Phoenix as both are averaging 13.0 points per game.
• The Vikings opened up their 2020-21 campaign at Toledo in a hard-fought game with Jayson Woodrich scoring a team-best 13 points, followed by Craig Beaudion with 12 points, while Deante Johnson fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
• This week, three teams are scheduled to start their seasons with Wright State taking on Marshall on Thursday, Detroit Mercy opening up at Michigan State on Friday and Milwaukee traveling to Kansas State on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
• Wright State has been selected as the #HLMBB favorites after capturing its first outright regular season title with a 15-3 HL record last season. The Raiders are led by Preseason Player of the Year Loudon Love who was named the Player of the Year last season and was tabbed to the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, given to the top center in men’s college basketball.
• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis once again comes into this season as one of the biggest offensive threats in the country. He enters the 2020-21 season as the active career leader in scoring average at 25.2 points per game and second in 3-pointers made per game at 3.88. He was named to the Preseason All-HL First Team and the Jerry West Award watch list, recognizing the top shooting guards in the country.
• Many predict Youngstown State to take a big leap forward this season as they were picked to finish second in the #HLMBB Preseason Poll after finishing 10-8 in League play last season. The Penguins were the only team to place multiple players on the preseason all-League teams with Darius Quisenberry earning first team and Naz Bohannon being tabbed on the second team.
• IUPUI’s Marcus Burk looks to lead the Jags this season as he was named to the preseason All-League first team after being named to the All-Horizon League Second Team in 2019-20 finishing second in the points during League play with just over 23 points per game while hitting 2.7 3-pointers per contest.
RESULTS
| Date | Game | |
| Wednesday, Nov. 25 | Xavier 101, Oakland 49 | |
| Northern Kentucky 74, Ball State 73 | ||
| Minnesota 99, Green Bay 69 | ||
| Purdue Fort Wayne 67, Southeastern Louisiana 63 (OT) | ||
| UIC 66, Northern Illinois 61 | ||
| Thursday, Nov. 26 | Toledo 80, Oakland 53 | |
| Friday, Nov. 27 | Bradley 74, Oakland 60 | |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | UIC 74, Central Michigan 72 | |
| Sunday, Nov. 29 | No. 25 Michigan 81, Oakland 71 (OT) | |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Purdue 93, Oakland 50 | |
| No. 4 Wisconsin 82, Green Bay 42 | ||
| Toledo 70, Cleveland State 61 | ||
| UIC 66, Valparaiso 50 |
#HLMBB PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nike #HLMBB Player of the Week
RayQuawndis Mitchell | UIC | Junior | Guard | Atlanta, Ga.
Mitchell shined in his first two games with the Flames as he averaged a team-best 17.5 points per game including hitting eight 3-pointers as the Flames start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2007-08. In UIC’s season opener against Northern Illinois, Mitchell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds remaining to give the Flames a 61-60 lead after trailing by 22 points in the second half en route to the 65-61 victory. Mitchell tied for the team-high with 12 points thanks to 4-for-10 shooting from long distance. The junior followed that performance with a game-high 23 points in the Flames’ 74-72 win over Central Michigan. The Atlanta native was 6-for-10 shooting, including a blistering 4-for-5 from 3-point range. For the week, Mitchell shot 43.5 percent from the field including an impressive 53.3 percent mark from 3-point range (8-15). Mitchell added seven total rebounds, three assists and one block and a steal in the two wins.
Nike #HLMBB Freshman of the Week
Marques Warrick | Northern Kentucky | Freshman | Guard | Lexington, Ky.
Warrick made his collegiate debut in the starting five for the Norse on Wednesday and helped lead NKU to a season-opening win against Ball State, 74-73. The Lexington, Ky. native tallied 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 35 minutes of action. He also only had one turnover in the contest, posting an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live Stream |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Northern Kentucky vs. Tennessee Tech | 6 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Wright State vs. Marshall | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Detroit Mercy at Michigan State | 5 p.m. | Big Ten Network |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | UIC at Ball State | 2 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Green Bay vs. Eastern Illinois | 3 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Wright State vs. Miami (OH) | 4 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Oakland at Oklahoma State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Cleveland State at Ohio | 2 p.m. | |
| Tuesday, Dec. 8 | Detroit Mercy vs. Kent State | 7 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Milwaukee at Kansas State | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Green Bay at Marquette | 9 p.m. |
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