INDIANAPOLIS – After claiming a share of the Horizon League regular season title for the first time since 2006-07 last season and advancing to its second-straight tournament championship game, Wright State has been voted the preseason favorite to capture the 2019-20 Horizon League men’s basketball championship. Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the League’s coaches, media and sports information directors.
Davis was named the Preseason Player of the Year coming off one of the best seasons by a first-year player in League history and claiming the HL’s Freshman of the Year honor. He broke the Horizon League’s freshman scoring record and was the first HL freshman to record over 700 points as he averaged 26.1 points per game, good for third in the country. Davis also broke Stephen Curry’s NCAA record for most 3-pointers in a season by a freshman, finishing with 128 triples. He ended the season first in Horizon League games in points at 26.0 per game and also first in 3-pointers per game at 4.0. Davis also became the first Horizon League freshman to earn a spot on the All-Horizon League First Team since Gordon Heyward of Butler in 2008-09.
Wright State captured 28 first-place votes to finish with 350 total points to claim first place in the poll for the second-straight season. WSU is led by Preseason All-League First Team selection Loudon Love, who averaged 15.1 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game last season, and Preseason All-League Second Team selection Bill Wampler, who finished last season averaging 15.0 points and over two 3-pointers per game.
Joining Davis and Love on the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team are Northern Kentucky’s Jalen Tate, Xavier Hill-Mais of Oakland, and UIC’s Tarkus Ferguson.
Tate was an All-Defensive Team selection last season and was also named to the All-Tournament team after helping the Norse capture their second HL tournament title in three seasons. He finished top-20 last season in points (13.5), rebounds (4.4) and assists (4.1), while ranking tied for third in the League in field-goal percentage (.535). Hill-Mais was an all-League first team selection last season and finished fourth in the HL in scoring at 18.3 points per game, tied for third in field-goal percentage at .538 and fourth in rebounds at 7.2. Ferguson was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team in 2018-19 after ranking in the top-10 in the HL and leading the Flames in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes played.
The Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team is represented by five different institutions and led by two All-Horizon League second team selections from a year ago in Wampler and Youngstown State’s Darius Quisenberry. Joining the duo are Green Bay’s JayQuan McCloud, Tyler Sharpe of Northern Kentucky and UIC’s Marcus Ottey.
Quisenberry looks to improve on a freshman campaign for the Penguins that saw him average 16.3 points per game during League play last season, along with 4.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. McCloud averaged 13.7 points per game last season for the League’s highest scoring offense as he shot over .376 from behind the arc and averaged more than two triples per game. Sharpe was also named to the All-Tournament Team last season for NKU and is coming off a season where he scored 14.4 points per game, made 2.6 3-pointers per contest and was top-five in steals. Ottey averaged 14.8 points during his junior campaign last season, just behind his teammate Ferguson, and was also top-10 in field-goal percentage at .492.
Coming in second in the preseason poll with 295 total points and five first-place votes is last year’s tournament champion and co-regular season champions Northern Kentucky led by first-year coach Darrin Horn, followed in third place by UIC with 280 total votes and one first-place vote.
Oakland is fourth in the preseason poll with 229 points and one first-place vote, just ahead of fifth-place Green Bay with 207 total points as both teams advanced to the Horizon League tournament semifinals last season.
In sixth place in the poll is Youngstown State, who earned the No. 6 seed at the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship after riding a six-game winning streak during League play last season, its longest winning streak since 1997-98. Milwaukee came in seventh in the preseason poll with 146 points and returns talented seniors Darius Roy and DeAndre Abram, while Illinois transfer Te’Jon Lucas and USC transfer Harrison Henderson are now eligible after sitting out last season.
Detroit Mercy came in eighth in the poll with 133 points, followed by IUPUI and Cleveland State who will both be led by new head coaches this season in Byron Rimm and Dennis Gates, respectively.
The regular season will start on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with seven teams in action. Horizon League play begins on Saturday, Dec. 28, with all 10 teams in action. All eligible teams will compete in this year’s Horizon League Basketball Championships and eight teams – four men and four women – will look to advance to Indianapolis and #ReachTheHorizon March 9-10 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum located at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center.
2019-20 #HLMBB Preseason Poll Results
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Wright State (28) – 3502. Northern Kentucky (5) – 2953. UIC (1) – 2804. Oakland (1) – 2295. Green Bay – 2076. Youngstown State – 1867. Milwaukee – 1468. Detroit Mercy – 1339. IUPUI – 9210. Cleveland State (1) – 62
Preseason Player of the Year
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Preseason All-Horizon League First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Antoine Davis, Detroit MercyJalen Tate, Northern KentuckyXavier Hill-Mais, OaklandTarkus Ferguson, UICLoudon Love, Wright State
Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
JayQuan McCloud, Green BayTyler Sharpe, Northern KentuckyMarcus Ottey, UICBill Wampler, Wright StateDarius Quisenberry, Youngstown State
