Another week of Horizon League action is in the books, and there was plenty to discuss. The league nearly had its first upset of a high-major program when Green Bay forced overtime at Minnesota, but unfortunately
fell just short. Even without an upset, a handful of teams picked up some quality wins. Here is a breakdown of what happened that’s worth noting:
Wins of the week
Milwaukee had a gauntlet of a schedule this past week, having to play at both Indiana and No. 11 Texas Tech. To no surprise, neither of those contests resulted in a victory for Bart Lundy’s squad, but on Nov. 10, the Panthers placed the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference, Little Rock, and picked up a quality win. The score was within three at halftime, but behind a strong second half, led by Amar Augillard’s 25 points and Seth Hubbard’s 18, Milwaukee pulled away for a 92-72 victory.
It was only a matter of time before “The System” claimed its first victim for IU Indianapolis. Ben Howlett’s group once again reached triple digits in scoring, claiming its first win of the season on Nov. 11 121-77 against NAIA IU Columbus. A few days later, the Jaguars went on the road to Eastern Michigan, seeking the program’s first win over a Division I opponent this season. In the game, IU Indianapolis shot 55% from the field, 48% from three as it put up 90 points, which was just enough to squeeze out a 90-83 road win. As has been the case all season, the points and turnovers were aplenty, and the Jaguars remain an entertaining watch every time they play.
Notable results
Doug Gottlieb and Green Bay had an interesting week after dropping both of its games in the first week of the season. On Monday, Nov. 10, the Phoenix defeated Division III Ripon. The Phoenix then headed to Minnesota for games against St. Thomas and Minnesota. Against the Tommies, Green Bay trailed by 24 at halftime and lost 80-61. Late Saturday night, however, Gottlieb’s crew gave Minnesota all it could ask for. Preston Ruedinger scored as time expired in the second half to force overtime, but the Phoenix ultimately fell 72-65. Despite the loss, Green Bay showed some signs of encouragement in year two under Gottlieb.
After an absolutely brutal stretch of games to start the year, Oakland finally got in the win column, throttling Division III Defiance 113-47. The Golden Grizzlies still have to play at UCF this week, and play against Michigan State down the line, but for now, can take a breath of fresh air. After playing at Michigan and Purdue in the first week of the season, Oakland played Houston, and the game went about as expected. Isaac Garrett had 20 points and seven rebounds in the game, and continues to look like a strong piece next to Tuburu Naivalurua in the front court and Greg Kampe continues to await the return of Michael Houge.
Games in weird venues is part of what makes basketball so special, and the Horizon League saw action in an old-fashioned hotel ballroom this week with Feast Week just around the corner. With games on Saturday and Sunday, both Cleveland State and Wright State played in the River Division of the Greenbrier Tipoff. Each team defeated Radford, but fell to Kent State.
Individual performance on the week
The aforementioned Amar Augillard of Milwaukee takes home the honors for best individual performance this week. In a week where the Panthers had to play two extremely tough road games, they needed to pick up a win to feel good, and had a chance to do so against a team picked to win its league in the preseason. Augillard’s 25 points, along with three rebounds and assists, helped lead Milwaukee to a crucial win over Little Rock, avoiding a winless week.
