The second half of Horizon League play is officially here, and boy, is it exciting. Eighth-place Detroit Mercy is still less than four games behind first-place Wright State in the standings, which shows that this is anybody’s league to win. Another full week of action awaits and below are five key games to monitor the results of, some with title implications, others as your classic “trap game.”
Key games
Oakland (12-10, 8-3 Horizon League) at Purdue Fort Wayne (13-8, 7-3 Horizon League)
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
Amidst a five-game win streak–which could’ve been six had its game Sunday not been postponed–Purdue Fort Wayne will face its toughest test in some time when it hosts Oakland on Wednesday. The Mastodons rest a half game behind the Golden Grizzlies in the league standings entering the week and with a win, would overtake them for outright possession of second place.
Isaac Garrett is expected to miss two weeks for Oakland with an injury, which is certainly an advantage for Purdue Fort Wayne. Jon Coffman’s starting lineup features three talented guards, but it would have certainly been at a huge size disadvantage should Garrett have been good to go. Tuburu Naivalurua and Michael Houge are still a handful, but one less big to match up with is not something the Mastodons will complain about.
As always, the Oakland zone is a tough assignment, but with arguably the best backcourt in the league, a number of guys could fill it up and take charge in breaking the zone. Maximus Nelson could also be a key in this game. The versatile forward stretches the floor and could find a role in the weak spots of the zone Wednesday night to free up his trio of guards.
Seeing how Oakland responds without Garrett and if Purdue Fort Wayne can keep it rolling makes this game a must-see.
Northern Kentucky (14-8, 6-5 Horizon League) at Detroit Mercy (8-12, 5-6 Horizon League)
Friday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
Northern Kentucky has some work to do and would likely need some help, if it wants to make a run at a league title in the regular season. This is the kind of trap game which can make or break championship hopes. The Norse has games at Oakland and at home against Green Bay coming up, but if it’s not careful, Detroit Mercy can play spoiler. Coming off an 87-point performance against Oakland over the weekend, the Titans were clicking offensively and against a Northern Kentucky defense which has been prone to allowing high-offensive outputs, Mark Montgomery’s team could build on that performance with another. Even if Detroit Mercy gets hot, having four players ranked top-15 in the league in scoring is a luxury only the Norse possesses, and it could withstand a Titan avalanche of points, but that is certainly not a risk Darrin Horn wants his team to take. With looming matchups against the league’s best, it would be easy for a team like Detroit Mercy to be overlooked, but this isn’t the same team that won just eight games–four in the league–a season ago.
Wright State (13-8, 8-2 Horizon League) at Milwaukee (9-13, 5-6 Horizon League)
Friday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
League-leading Wright State is making its annual Wisconsin trip this week to play each Milwaukee and Green Bay. Despite Milwaukee being hardly the team it was at the beginning of the season due to injuries, this game has “trap” written all over it. The Panthers don’t pose much of a threat to the regular-season championship the Raiders are chasing at this point. Sunday’s game between Wright State and Green Bay has more championship implications. However, if the Raiders look past Milwaukee, they could give help to those attempting to overtake the No. 1 spot in the standings.
Regardless of whether Danilo Jovanovich or Faizon Fields can go in the frontcourt for Bart Lundy, the Panthers can challenge opposing defenses. Amar Augillard has been fairly consistent as a scorer and other guys, such as Josh Dixon and Stevie Elam, can also provide scoring in bursts. Finding consistency without so many key pieces has been the struggle for Milwaukee, and if Wright State plays to its full capability, it could handle the Panthers from start to finish, but with a well-coached Milwaukee team, the door is always open for an upset.
Wright State (13-8, 8-2 Horizon League) at Green Bay (12-10, 7-4 Horizon League)
Sunday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
In the second game of the week between top-four teams in the league, Wright State will have a chance to separate itself from one of the threats to its league-title quest. After a disappointing two-game stretch where it fell to Oakland handily at home and Youngstown State, Green Bay recovered with a road win at Robert Morris and will now look to make a statement to the Horizon League on Sunday. It’s miraculous that the Phoenix is in a position to be playing in a game with title implications given last season, but it’s earned every right to do so.
Wright State has a group of bigs who have been key in the Raiders’ success to this point, but with a healthy Michael Cooper, the pressure on the Green Bay defense will likely come more from the perimeter. The matchup between the freshman Cooper and Green Bay veteran point guard Preston Ruedinger will be one to keep an eye on to see if the Phoenix can force the young star into uncomfortable situations. Even then, Wright State was successful in his absence, so it will take good games from guys like Marcus Hall, Justin Allen or C.J. O’Hara if Green Bay wants to grab a signature victory.
As is any game with championship implications, a top-four battle in Green Bay this weekend is one of–if not the most–important game of the week.
Northern Kentucky (14-8, 6-5 Horizon League) at Oakland (12-10, 8-3 Horizon League)
Sunday, Feb. 1, 3 p.m. ET, on ESPN+
The weekend-capping game has the chance to be the most entertaining game of the week. Oakland opens the week with the Purdue Fort Wayne backcourt that could go nuclear at any point and closes the week with the Donovan Oday and Dan Gherezgher assignment. Oday and Gherezgher will likely each spend some time on the Brody Robinson assignment, looking to limit the league’s top point guard in his scoring and playmaking pursuits.
The Golden Grizzlies will once again be without Garrett, but Naivalurua and Houge are plenty talented to take over a game even without their frontcourt counterpart. Everybody knows the Norse’s backcourt is top-tier, and the matchup with Robinson will draw attention to that group, but against the Oakland zone, LJ Wells and Kael Robinson will have plenty of opportunities to steal the spotlight as they look to be zone busters, finding weak points and generating easy scoring opportunities.
As Oakland continues to keep pace with Wright State, looking to eventually overtake the Raiders’ No. 1 spot, it has a tough week ahead, facing arguably the two best backcourts in the league. Northern Kentucky will be looking for its first win over a team above it in the standings.
