Sports: Men’s Basketball vs. Milwaukee | Photo By Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
With the conference schedule well underway for Horizon League basketball, several teams and players have already started to emerge as the best of the best in the Horizon League.
With teams around the conference looking stronger than ever, a few of these teams and players have started to get some national recognition, winning some games over big teams and leading the nation in some statistics.
As every Horizon League basketball team has played at least five conference games this season, these are my picks for the standout players in the Horizon League for Men’s and Women’s Basketball.
Men’s Basketball: Oakland wants Moore
At the beginning of the Basketball season, it was the Milwaukee Panthers, Cleveland State Vikings, and the Wright State Raiders (WSU) that looked like the scariest teams in Men’s Basketball.
But, thanks to the recent play of Jalen Moore and Jamal Cain, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (OAK) have taken control of the HL standings, and look nowhere close to stopping as the last undefeated team in the conference.
Moore is arguably the best player in the nation at setting his teammates up for success, leading the nation in assists per game (APG) at 8.3, and still averaging 15.3 points per game (PPG) for the Golden Grizzlies.
“He just finds tight windows,” Jay Bilas, an analyst for ESPN, said. “The guy is a great passer with incredible speed.”
Cain has almost averaged a double-double for OAK, averaging 19.8 PPG and 9.5 rebounds per game (RPG)
The graduate transfer is third in the Horizon League in PPG, helping an Oakland team that struggled in offense earlier in the year to a 7-0 conference start.
Women’s Basketball: IUPUI scares top-25 teams
While the Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Jaguars (IUPUI) currently sit third in the HL standings for Women’s Basketball, when playing its best basketball, the team is a threat to even top 25 teams.
Led by three-time league player of the year Macee Williams, the Jaguars have played two top 25 teams in Michigan, who currently sits at #11, and Iowa, who currently sits at #15.
IUPUI lost to Michigan 62-67 but took the Wolverines into overtime, giving the BIG-10 opponent a scare. However, they bounced back against Iowa, beating the ranked team 74-73 as a final shot for Iowa bounced off the front of the rim.
What makes this team such a threat is its three best shooters, with Williams dominating in the paint averaging 18 PPG, and shooters Rachel McLimore and Rachel Kent both averaging double-digit PPG.
The Jaguars currently sit 13 in the mid-major top 25 and will look to get a shot in the NCAA tournament this season after being denied last year by WSU women’s basketball.
