Team Conference Overall CheeksRank KenPom N KENTUCKY 8-2 13-7 67 74 WRIGHT ST 9-1 15-6 119 121 OAKLAND 6-4 14-9 150 133 WI-MILWAUKEE 5-7 11-12 227 233 IL-CHICAGO 7-3 10-11 233 204 DETROIT 2-8 4-17 302 312 WI-GREEN BAY 5-7 7-15 303 290 IUPUI 4-6 5-14 307 302 CLEVELAND ST 2-8 4-18 317 330 YOUNGSTOWN ST 4-6 4-17 318 318

1. Northern Kentucky (13-7, 8-2)

CheeksRanks (Off: 106.45-93rd, Def: 93.07-53rd, Efficiency: 13.37-67th)

Returning their 3 leading scorers from last years NCAA tournament team the Norse were expected to compete again for the Horizon’s tournament berth and are indeed doing that. Northern Kentucky has a trio of close non-conference losses away from home against Texas A&M, Vermont, and Memphis, while also splitting games against Southern Conference leader East Tennessee State. Inside Horizon play they have gone undefeated on the road including a win at Oakland, but have fallen at home twice with both losses coming against fellow title contenders Wright State and Oakland. They have a balanced attack with an above average offense and defense led by Drew McDonald (16.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg), they rank 11th in the country in 2 point field goal percentage at 57% but struggle from beyond the arc at just 34%, good enough for 217th in the country. A February 16th match up at Wright State looms as an almost must win if they hope to capture the regular season championship and clinch the 1 seed in Detroit for Motor City Madness. The Norse have as good of a shot as any in the conference to lock up the auto bid in Detroit and make it 2 for 2 in tournament appearances since becoming eligible.

2. Wright State (15-6, 9-1)

CheeksRanks (Off: 96.67-243rd, Def: 90.7-33rd, Efficiency: 5.97-119th)

Wright State lost its two top performers from 20-12 squad last year in senior Steven Davis (14.9 ppg) and Illinois transfer Mark Alstork (19 ppg, who is struggling in Champaign). This years team is lead by starter Grant Benzinger (14.4 ppg) and a trio of freshman in Loudon Love (11.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Jaylon Hall (9.1 ppg), and Everett Winchester (8 ppg). Another returning starter Justin Mitchell who was averaging 11.1 ppg and 7.1 rpb left the team in early January for personal reasons and has yet to return to the team, they have gone 5-1 in his absence including wins over Oakland and at Northern Kentucky but it is a factor to look at going forward. They are lead by a great defense that ranks 14th in the country in turnovers forced. Currently in first place and just 3 of 8 remaining games on the road the Raiders look primed to win the conference regular season title and attempt to make their first tournament berth, and third ever, since 2007 under current Clemson coach Brad Brownell.

3. Oakland (14-9, 6-4)

CheeksRanks (Off: 105.07-109th, Def: 103.05-199th, Efficiency: 2.02-150th)

Oakland was widely expected to be the top team in the conference after returning 4 starters from last years regular season title winning team and adding transfer Kendrick Nunn (10.6 ppg at Illinois) to the fold to replace Sherron Dorsey-Walker (13.4 ppg). They tested themselves well in the non-conference by playing Syracuse, Kansas, and Michigan State however they lost all three games with only the Michigan State game having any semblance of competitiveness. They currently sit 4th in the conference standings and already having played all their games against Northern Kentucky and Wright State, going 1-3, it seems unlikely they will be able to defend their conference title. This team is dominated by three players, Kendrick Nunn (26.4 ppg, 37.2 mpg), Martez Walker (17.9 ppg, 37 mpg), and Jalen Hayes (19.3 ppg, 35.8 mpg), but seems to lack depth beyond them as only one other player is averaging more than 5 fga per game. The team struggles on the defensive end allowing opponents to shoot 45.6% from the field which is 271st in the country after ranking 32nd last season. The defense will have to turn it around if this team wants to challenge Wright State and Northern Kentucky for a tournament appearance and avenge last years shocking conference tournament loss to Youngstown State.

4. UW-Milwaukee (11-12,5-7)

CheeksRanks (Off: 94.43-271st, Def: 102.02-181st, Efficiency: -7.59-227th)

Milwaukee returned all but one starter from last years team that finished last in the Horizon at 4-14 but made a shocking run all the way to the tournament finals and began this season with an impressive victory at Iowa State but have been inconsistent with a loss to a D-2 team and another impressive win over Loyola-Illinois and also giving Wright State their sole conference loss. The Panthers are led by two juniors Jeremiah Bell (13.8 ppg) and Brock Stull (13.7 ppg) in coach Pat Baldwin’s first season after last years first year coach LaVall Jordan left for Butler. Milwaukee finishes the year with 4 of 6 games on the road including road trips to Northern Kentucky, Wright State, and Oakland. They may need to win one of those to avoid playing in the opening round in the conference tournament where they hope to have a similar result as last years surprising run and make their first tournament appearance since 2014 when they finished 5th and won the conference tournament.

5. Il-Chicago (10-11,7-3)

CheeksRanks (Off: 91.17-307th, Def: 99.91-152nd, Efficiency: -8.74-233rd)

Last years team finished 17-19 and placed 6th in the Horizon despite not having a single senior on the team, they returned their 6 leading scorers and only lost freshman KJ Santos (7.1 ppg). This years team is dominated by sophomores with 6 of the top 7 scorers being sophomores led by Dikembe Dixson (13.6 ppg) and Marcus Ottey (13.6 ppg). So far this year the Flames have pretty much beating who they should and lost to who the should with no real impressive victories with Milwaukee and NC Central as the best. They are currently 3rd place in the Horizon at 7-3 but are 0-3 against fellow top of the conference teams Northern Kentucky, Wright State, and Oakland with 1 loss against each. With 5 of 8 games remaining at home they should finish in the top 4 of the conference since tying for 4th in the 2007-08 season. This should be a team to keep an eye on next season as they return almost everyone and will be dangerous in the conference.

6. Detroit (4-17, 2-8)

CheeksRanks (Off: 97.54-230th, Def: 113.70-333rd, Efficiency: -16.16-302nd)

Detroit was anticipated to be a little better than they are as they returned their top 3 scorers from last season and added a significant recruit in Jermaine Jackson Jr, who chose Detroit over offers from Auburn, DePaul, and Georgia Tech in part because his father former NBA player Jermaine Jackson played for Detroit with current Detroit coach Bacari Alexander. Detroit’s overall record is better than it looks as they had a very daunting non-conference schedule with games against Michigan, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Toledo, East Tennessee State, Saint Louis and Murray State. They lost all but an impressive road upset against Saint Louis. They have struggled in conference play and sport one the nation’s worst defenses allowing opponents to shoot 47.8% (327th) and allowing 24 free throw attempts per game. There is optimism for the future with their top 3 players all schedule to return next year; junior Kameron Chatman (17.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg), sophomore Corey Allen (15.8 ppg), and freshman Jermaine Jackson Jr (11.6 ppg). Things should be looking up for Coach Alexander’s third season in Detroit.

7. UW-Green Bay (7-15, 5-7)

CheeksRanks (Off: 89.79-320th, Def: 106.01-244th, Efficiency: -16.21-303rd)

This season was expected to be a down year for Green Bay after losing 6 seniors from last years team in addition to Kerem Kanter transferring to Xavier, and the Phoenix look poised to have their first losing season since 2010-11. This season’s team is lead by returning starter senior Khalil Small (18.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg), Marquette transfer junior Sandy Cohen (14.1 ppg), and senoir David Jesperson (7.4 ppg) and sophomore Kameron Hankerson (10.1 ppg) in addition to five frehsman contributing at least 8 minutes per game each. Green Bay is currently tied for 5th in the conference but 5 of their last 6 games are on the road so staying in either 5th or 6th and avoiding a first round Horizon tournament game may be difficult for them. This is an atypical down season for Green Bay but with a lot of freshman the future should be looking up for Coach Linc Darner.

8. IUPUI (5-14, 4-6)

CheeksRanks (Off: 92.29-296th, Def: 108.97-289th, Efficiency: -16.86-307th)

In the Jaguars first season in the Horizon league after leaving the Summit as the replacement for Vaparaiso they were not expected to compete as they lost their top 3 scorers from last years 14-18 team but they have somewhat held their own currently sitting at 4-6 in the conference. They began conference play 4-3 before a recent 3 game slide in the first three games of a 5 game road trip. They are led by seniors Aaron Brennan (12.6 ppg) and Ron Patterson (11.3 ppg). Staying out of the cellar in their first season in a new conference should be their goal for the rest of the season and it will be interesting to see how they settle into the Horizon League as they search for their first winning season since Ron Hunter’s last in 2010-11.

9. Cleveland State (4-18, 2-8)

CheeksRanks (Off: 90.85-309th, Def: 109.19-291st, Efficiency: -18.33-317th)

Cleveland State changed head coaches prior to this season ending Gary Waters tenure at 11 years with 1 NCAA tournament appearance, they replaced him with former Western Kentucky and Georgia head coach Dennis Felton. Last years top scorer sophomore Rob Edwards (16.5 ppg) transferred to Arizona State leaving coach Felton with not much to work with in his first season at the helm. Freshmen Tyree Appelby (10.7 ppg) and Stefan Kenic (8.7 ppg) have produced so far and should continue to shine for the Vikings for the next few years. One stat that really stands out for them is they are 31st in the country at three point attempts per game at 25 per game but are shooting just 31% on them which ranks 320th nationally. With two games left against Wright State and one each against Northern Kentucky and Oakland a last place finish for the new coach seems like a very strong possibility.

10. Youngstown State (4-17,4-6)

CheeksRanks (Off: 93.85-278th, Def: 112.50-321st, Efficiency: -18.65-318th)

Another team with a first year head coach after firing Jerry Slocum after 12 years the Penguins hired Jerrod Calhoun, who led Fairmont State to a D-2 title appearance in 2017, to try to lead the team to its first NCAA tournament appearance ever after joining D-1 in the 1981-82 season. They returned both standouts from last years team, that upset #1 seed Oakland in the conference tournament, in Cameron Morse and Francisco Santiago however Santiago was playing on a torn ACL early in the season and further injured his knee and has so far been limited to 8 games this season. Morse (14.5 ppg) and sophomore Braun Hartfield (14.3 ppg) are leading the team now who after growing pains in the new system, going 0-11 in D-1 non-conference play with a 7 point loss their closest game, have rebounded to start 4-6 in conference play. They began a surprising 3-0 in conference with wins over Cleveland State, Milwaukee, and Green Bay and have been more competitive in conference games than in the non-conference things are looking up for the new coach and they seemed poised to score a few more victories down the stretch and hope to spring another upset in the conference tournament this year.