The halfway mark of the Horizon League season is here, and less than four games separate first from eighth place. A handful of teams have a legit shot to win the league in the regular season, and there
has been no shortage of upsets, which means anything could happen in the postseason. Additional upsets could throw a wrench in the regular-season title race, and it’s truly a league that is entirely up for grabs at this point. Below is a brief mid-season update for each of the league’s 11 teams.
Wright State (8-2)
Preseason poll: No. 7
Entering the season, Wright State didn’t have a ton of returning production, nor did it hit the portal as hard as other teams in the Horizon League. The Raiders have also played four of their first 10 league games without leading scorer Michael Cooper. Despite the injury, Wright State had not lost in league play since the opener on Dec. 3, until a home loss to Cleveland State on Jan. 21.
For Clint Sargent’s team, balance has been the key to the 8-2 start. Along with Cooper, Michael Imariagbe, TJ Burch and Solomon Callaghan are each averaging double figures. Each of the four, as well as Andrea Holden have been Wright State’s leading scorer in a game at least once. Guard play is always critical in a championship push, and once Cooper is back at full capacity, the Raiders’ backcourt is as capable as any of making a run. Up front, the veteran Imariagbe is the anchor. He’s second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding, but he’s been aided by the youthful duo of Kellen Pickett and Dominic Pangonis, each of whom has shown major promise. Holden is also wreaking havoc all over the court, leading the league with 2.8 steals per game, making a strong case for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Between the trio of guards averaging double figures and a frontcourt that gets after it defensively while adding some scoring punch, Wright State is built to win a league championship.
Oakland (8-3)
Preseason poll: No. 2
No Horizon League team played a tougher out-of-conference schedule than Oakland, and at the midway point of league play, that has been apparent. The Golden Grizzlies currently sit about where people expected–near the top of the conference standings, contending for a championship. Oakland was uncharacteristically dominated by IU Indianapolis at home, but otherwise, Greg Kampe’s group has taken care of business, with its other two losses being to first-place Wright State.
The trio of Tuburu Naivalurua, Isaac Garrett and Michael Houge has been tough to handle for opposing frontcourts, all three of which average double figures and pose a physical challenge to box out. Naivalurua was the preseason Player of the Year in the conference and is averaging 13.9 points, but with the additions of Garrett, who is averaging 14.7 points, and Houge, adding 13.1 points per contest, he hasn’t had to put up gaudy numbers to win every game. Naivalurua, Garrett and Houge have each had high-scoring games, but also games where they take a backseat offensively and do the dirty work to contribute to winning. Commanding the trio and the rest of the offense is Brody Robinson, who has been outstanding running the point. He ranks top five in the league in scoring and first in assists. His 35-point game against Wright State was the most eye-popping stat for the senior guard, but he has excelled in being disruptive on the perimeter and getting easy looks for his bigs and shooters. Oakland certainly poses the largest threat to the league-leading Raiders, but could be without Garrett for a few games.
Purdue Fort Wayne (7-3)
Preseason poll: No. 5
Purdue Fort Wayne did not play as many ranked opponents as Oakland, but trips to Grand Canyon, Ohio State, Utah, Saint Louis and Notre Dame made for a nonconference schedule which taught Jon Coffman plenty about his group. The Mastodons snagged the league’s lone win over a high-major with a road win against Notre Dame, but surrendered its next two league games to fall to 2-3 in the league. Since then, Purdue Fort Wayne has won five-straight to surge into third place in the league.
Backcourt production has been the motor for the Mastodons this season, and could be the reason why the program goes dancing for the first time in March. It all starts with the potential player of the year in the league, Corey Hadnot II, who averages a league-best 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals. Alongside him are Mikale Stevenson, averaging 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists, and DeAndre Craig Jr. who averages 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The trio has shown the ability to completely take over games, notably against Milwaukee on Jan. 18 when it combined for 73 points, 14 rebounds, 17 assists and six steals. Purdue Fort Wayne will get a chance for redemption against Oakland on Jan. 28, and have two looks at the league-leading Wright State in the final month of the regular season. Its backcourt is capable of leading a tournament push and potential upset bid, it will come down to how it performs down the stretch.
Green Bay (7-4)
Preseason poll: No. 11
In easily the best turnaround within the league–maybe even the country–Green Bay has risen from the cellar of the conference to third place at the midway mark. The nonconference portion of the season was hit or miss for the Phoenix. Doug Gottlieb’s team grabbed wins over UMass and Iona in the Virgin Islands, and nearly stole a win over a high-major in a close loss at Minnesota. It started 0-2 in Horizon League play, but since the Dec. 7 loss at Wright State, Green Bay has seemed to find its footing.
Not only did Gottlieb add a ton of basketball experience to his staff, he hit on a few key pieces in the portal, while seeing jumps from his returners. Marcus Hall averages a team-high 13.5 points, but C.J. O’Hara and Carnegie Mellon transfer Justin Allen have been equally as important, averaging 13.3 and 12.9 points, respectively. Preston Ruedinger is the straw that stirs the drink. The senior point guard is averaging 11.1 points and sits at third in the league with 5.3 assists per game. The 29–year-old Ramel Bethea has provided a nice interior presence as well, averaging 1.3 blocks per game, good for third in the conference. After a great start in the league, the Phoenix fell at home to Oakland and at Youngstown State, but bounced back with a win against Robert Morris on the road on Jan. 24, avenging an early season loss. Remaining consistent will be the key for Green Bay, but it’s shown tremendous growth from a season ago and is in position to make a run at a title.
Northern Kentucky (6-5)
Preseason poll: No. 6
No team has more wins on the season than Northern Kentucky and it was atop the league standings for some time. The reason the Norse finds itself at fifth in the league standings at the halfway mark is because it is 0-4 against the teams above it. Despite the struggles against top teams, Northern Kentucky is within striking distance to make a push for a championship.
Offensively, the Norse has been as good as any team in the league, clocking in at second in total points per game with 84.6. Donovan Oday leads the team in scoring–and is third in the league–with 17.9. Just behind him, sitting at sixth in the league, is Dan Gherezgher with 16.4. Having an explosive backcourt is a recipe for success, but to further bolster the explosive offense, both Kael Robinson and LJ Wells average better than 14 per contest, placing them at 14th and 15th in the league in scoring, respectively. To take the next step and make a run in March, Northern Kentucky must clean things up defensively. In its five league losses, the Norse have scored no less than 77 points, indicating that the offense will be there night-in, night-out, it just needs to tighten up defensively. It will have one more shot at each of the four teams above it in the standings and even if it doesn’t win the regular season, Northern Kentucky is dangerous in the league’s auto-bid race.
Robert Morris (5-6)
Preseason poll: No. 4
After having to overhaul essentially the entire roster in the offseason, Andy Toole’s defending-champion Colonials have certainly had their moments of promise throughout the first half of the conference slate, but also some slip-ups, namely a loss to last-place IU Indianapolis. Still, Robert Morris has remained competitive in most games and could be a dark-horse in the league’s postseason.
Ryan Prather Jr., as the lone rotational returner from last season, and IU Indianapolis transfer DeSean Goode have been the constants for the Colonials. Goode averages a near double-double with 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while Prather has contributed 14.8 points and 3.7 assists. The two give Toole a nice punch in both his back and frontcourts, but where the additional production will come from on a nightly basis has been the question mark. Nikolaos Chitikouids has been the No. 3 in a handful of games, but the Colonials are still seeking some consistency from their “other guys”. Robert Morris owns wins over Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee, and still has multiple opportunities against Wright State and a game against both Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne coming up. A regular-season repeat championship is a long-shot right now, but come league tournament time, having a coach that’s won it before is a luxury the Colonials have, and many teams don’t.
Milwaukee (5-6)
Preseason poll: No. 1
While the preseason-favorite title does hold some meaning, for this Milwaukee team, it’s somewhat misleading. When comparing the Panthers’ opening-night starting lineup to that in its most recent game against Youngstown State, just two players who started game one were active. The injury-bug has decimated a roster that was built to contend.
After losing veteran-returner John Lovelace Jr. for the season in a late-offseason practice, then leading scorer Seth Hubbard was lost for the season before league play officially began, additional responsibility shifted to the frontcourt and Amar Augillard to pick up the slack. Augillard has averaged a solid 13.4 points per game and Danilo Jovanovich has taken a huge leap forward in the frontcourt, both of which kept Milwaukee afloat. However, an injury to Jovanovich and his preseason all-league running mate up front, Faizon Fields, have further pushed the Panther train off the tracks. Guys like Josh Dixon, Isaiah Dorceus and Sekou Konneh have had bright moments in increased opportunities, but with the destruction to Milwaukee’s core via injury, the preseason championship expectation may need revision.
Detroit Mercy (5-6)
Preseason poll: No. 9
Detroit Mercy has now fallen below .500 in league play, but even with a losing record, the growth in Mark Montgomery’s second season at the helm has been tremendous. When the Titans took down IU Indianapolis at The Jungle on Jan. 17, the program surpassed its league win total from all of last season. While Detroit Mercy hasn’t fared overly well in the win-loss column against the league’s top teams, competitive games against the contenders is also a sign of major improvement for the program.
Two returners have been the key cogs for the Titans, with TJ Nadeau and Orlando Lovejoy leading the team in scoring. The sophomore Nadeau, started 16 of the 32 games in 2024-25 and moved into a full-time starting role this season. He’s responded with a jump in scoring up to a team-leading 13.7 points per game. The veteran Lovejoy’s scoring actually took a hit this season, but partially due to increased offensive support. He’s averaging 12.8 points along with four assists and two steals, both of which lead the team. Playing five of its final nine games on the road, Montgomery’s group will be an underdog for most of the season that remains, but it has lost just one league game by double-figures, so is dangerous as it looks to add to its strong turnaround effort.
Cleveland State (3-7)
Preseason poll: No. 8
In year one of the Rob Summers era, he opted to construct his roster nearly entirely via the transfer portal, with no returners from the 2024-25 team. As expected, the lack of continuity has made for an uphill climb in both the nonconference and the league. The Vikings, however, have had some flashes of where the program could go under Summers, most notably the recent road win over Wright State, which is first in the league at the halfway point.
Dayan Nessah has been the standout for Summers. In the past two games–wins over Youngstown State and Wright State–the Swiss forward tallied a combined 57 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and five blocks. He is one of seven Vikings averaging better than 20 minutes per game, and one of four averaging double-figures, with Tre Beard, Jaidon Lipscomb and Chevalier Emery also falling under that umbrella. As was evident in the win at Wright State, Cleveland State can play with the league’s top teams when it’s on, so the Vikings pose a threat to play spoiler down the stretch as postseason play approaches.
Youngstown State (3-8)
Preseason poll: No. 3
Early in the season, it felt like America was going to be treated to a Penguin waddling the sidelines of an NCAA Tournament venue. Youngstown State impressed in the nonconference and opened Horizon League play 2-0, including a win over now first-place Wright State. It proceeded to lose seven-consecutive league games.
The expected star was Cris Carroll and he’s been good, averaging an efficient 17.5 points. Issues for Ethan Faulkner’s team have been grounded in who’s going to produce besides Carroll. Bryson Dawkins and Rich Rolf are also averaging double figures but with just three players hitting double-figures on a nightly basis offense has been hard to come by. Turning the ball over nearly 13 times per game has certainly not been helpful for a struggling Penguins team either. A recent win over Green Bay snapped the skid and with games remaining against Cleveland State and IU Indianapolis–which join Youngstown State in the bottom three slots in the standings–there’s opportunities to get right in a sense, but it’s hard to see the inaugural NCAA Tournament berth that looked possible early on coming to fruition at this point.
IU Indianapolis (2-9)
Preseason poll: No. 10
By far the most polarizing team in the league is IU Indianapolis. It is alone in last place but just handled Oakland on the road, proving it can be a threat to any team in the league. Ben Howlett has made some waves nationally with his coaching style that features pressing the whole game, hockey subs and getting up an absurd number of shots. It’s certainly been fun to watch, but hasn’t translated to consistent winning yet.
A top-30 scoring offense in the nation, and first in the country is the first thing to notice about the IU Indianapolis, which is averaging 85.9 points per game. What’s holding the Jaguars back? The defense is ranked 364th out of 365 teams in the country, allowing 89.7 points per game. Kyler D’Augustino and Finley Woodward are near the top of the league in points and assists, respectively, which have been the key statistics in an offense which can explode any night, as was evident in its 103-point showing at Oakland. Given the inability of this IU Indianapolis team to play well enough to win defensively on a consistent basis, the chances of it putting together five-consecutive wins in a league tournament are next to nothing, but on a good shooting night, which is far more likely, it could definitely knock out a top seed early and should not be taken lightly down the stretch.
