The opening week of conference play in the Horizon League has officially passed (more on that here). The teams expected to be competing for the title looked good for the most part, and Detroit Mercy, for the week, emerged from the teams expected to be near the bottom of the conference and is tied atop the standings with Youngstown State. The upcoming week will feature a few more conference matchups and more intriguing non-conference tilts between quality mid-major teams, but no opportunities for a high-major upset.
Below are some of the key games to follow for the week. Note, there are no games on Monday or Friday this week:
Eastern Michigan at Purdue Fort Wayne (5-6, 2-0 Horizon League), Wednesday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
Corey Hadnot II became the league’s leading scorer in the opening week of conference play and led the Mastodons in a huge win over Northern Kentucky. The Norse will look to keep things rolling in this matchup with Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are 2-1 against the Horizon League this season, having taken down Detroit Mercy and Oakland, but fell to IU Indianapolis. Mohammad Habhab had a triple-double in the game against Oakland and will present Purdue Fort Wayne with a tough defensive assignment for the Mastodons if they want to move to 6-0 at home on the season. Eastern Michigan won at Cincinnati, so this matchup will be a good test for the Mastodons as they look to prove themselves as a group that could hang around the top of the Horizon League.
Green Bay (4-7, 0-2 Horizon League) at IU Indianapolis (3-8, 0-2 Horizon League), Thursday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
In a battle of two teams looking to grab their first conference win, the Thursday night matchup at The Jungle should be a fun one. Green Bay had picked up a few wins in the Virgin Islands before nearly taking down Robert Morris in the league-opener. They then lost 86-58 at Wright State on Sunday. The Phoenix have shown signs of immense growth this season, but now it’s about finding consistency. Playing Robert Morris close proves that Doug Gottlieb’s team is capable of being more than a bottom-feeder in the conference, but it’s games like these that it needs to win to avoid sliding to the bottom of the standings. Marcus Hall is back from injury, and this is the lone game of the week for Green Bay, making it critical that they pick up a win. For IU Indianapolis, “The System” turned some heads early on, but things have been trending in the wrong direction as of late. A home game with a Green Bay team struggling to find consistency is a good opportunity for Ben Howlett to get comfortable at the Division-I level.
Toledo at Robert Morris (7-4, 1-1 Horizon League), Saturday, Dec. 13, 1 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
Robert Morris traveled to Wisconsin for games at Green Bay and Milwaukee to open the Horizon League season, and nearly traveled back to Pennsylvania winless. The Colonials overcame an 11-point deficit in three minutes to survive at Green Bay, and lost on a buzzer-beater a few days later. While Robert Morris could easily be 2-0 in league play, a 7-4 record at this point is something Andy Toole can work with after losing nearly all of last season’s team. Toledo has beaten Wright State, Detroit Mercy, and Youngstown State, but just fell at Oakland. DeSean Goode has continued to emerge as a star for the Colonials, and a matchup with a projected middle-of-the-pack MAC team is a perfect opportunity to grab a quality win and stay unbeaten at home.
Oakland (5-5, 1-0 Horizon League) at Northern Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 13, 6 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
Since Michael Houge’s return, Oakland has looked like a brand new team. Between Houge, Tuburu Naivalurua, and Isaac Garrett, Greg Kampe can mix and match rotations while always having a dominant big man on the floor. Brody Robinson has also emerged as one of the better guards in the conference. He has shown that he can dominate a game, scoring on the perimeter, getting to the rim, or setting up his bigs and shooters. The combination of an elite point guard and trio of bigs has helped the Golden Grizzlies right the ship as of late, and a Saturday night road game at Northern Iowa opens the door for a major victory. The Panthers enter the week at 7-2, and while they haven’t played a high-major opponent, they won at UC Irvine and have suffered just two close losses to Wichita State and Tulsa. This game begins a tough three-game stretch for Oakland, which also includes games at Northern Kentucky and versus Michigan State at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit Mercy (4-6, 2-0 Horizon League) at Purdue Fort Wayne (5-6, 1-1 Horizon League), Sunday, Dec. 14, 5 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
As it currently stands, Detroit Mercy is tied for first place in the conference. While that result is unlikely to hold, the Titans have played some good basketball as of late. Orlando Lovejoy is the engine, but TJ Nadeau is coming on as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game. Off the bench, London Maiden has scored in double-figures a few times recently, and Lance Stone recently had 11 points off the bench. Whether the winning ways are sustainable or not, Mark Montgomery’s group has done some good things so far this season. For Purdue Fort Wayne, the game is another opportunity to try to propel itself into the conversation with the league’s top teams. Corey Hadnot II has been impressive so far, and this team could go as far as he can lead it. The Mastodons took down Northern Kentucky to prove they belong with the league’s best, now they’ll look to find consistency and take care of the teams it should handle.
