Penguins set for UIC in league tilt
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Jerrod Calhoun has seen the standings. In fact, YSU's head coach has looked at the different seeding scenarios for the Horizon League Tournament, too.
But, he cautions, it's all hands on deck for the matter at hand, and that's hosting UIC tonight in a pivotal game for YSU's chances of earning a top four seed in the league's postseason.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you I haven't (looked at the scenarios)," Calhoun admitted. "But if you start spending more time on scenarios and hoping for other things to happen, you really lose track of what you're trying to accomplish, and that's to worry about your team.
"Of course, you're always going to look at standings, you're always going to look at what other teams have left as far as their schedule, but none of that matters if you don't take care of business."
That begins with a team the Penguins (16-11, 10-7) just topped 12 days ago. On Feb. 5, YSU knocked off UIC, 66-64, in a game that came down to a few final defensive stands by Youngstown State.
The Flames recently knocked off league leader Cleveland State, 76-75, and have won two of their last three since meeting YSU.
Chicago native Damaria Franklin paced the Flames (10-14, 6-9) with 23 points and six rebounds, and has done that pretty much all season. He leads UIC in scoring average at 17.8 points per game, while Kevin Johnson adds 13.3 per game and Zion Griffin, also a Chicago native, averages 10.3 per game.
Franklin and Johnson make up a talented backcourt that Calhoun describes as "dynamic."
He added, "These kids can really, really play. They're as good as anybody in the league, and they've beaten really good teams. We were in a one-possession game with them up there, so that game went to the wire, like most Horizon League games. We've got to be ready to play."
Defensively, YSU will need to lock in on those guards, who have taken the second-most 3-pointers in Horizon League play, 670 to date.
Prior to their first matchup in Chicago, Calhoun said the UIC backcourt is "ball dominant" and plays off a lot of pick and rolls. They also will try to get downhill to draw defenders in to help before kicking out for a trey.
Offensively, YSU used a dominant performance in the paint to come away with the victory. The Penguins outpaced UIC down low, 44-20, as Tevin Olison and Dwayne Cohill combined for 40 points, just six of which came on 3-pointers. Michael Akuchie added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
As for the scenarios at play, Youngstown State finds itself in sixth, but only a game-and-a-half back of the ever-important top four spot, which includes a first-round bye in the Horizon League Tournament, as well as a home quarterfinal game.
YSU trails fifth-place Purdue Fort Wayne by a game, but was swept by the Mastodons in the regular season and so will need them to lose at least two more times than it does in the final four games.
Northern Kentucky (15-10, 11-5) and Wright State (15-12, 12-6), who YSU visits next week, are third and fourth in the league standings, respectively, and also are within reach of the Penguins. YSU already has a head-to-head win over Wright State, while it can even the season series with NKU.
Calhoun says securing a home quarterfinal game and first-round bye is important, but more than anything, he wants his team to be peaking as the regular season ends.
"You want to finish your season strong, first and fourements, and you also want to be playing good basketball at the right time," he said. "So you have to keep getting better; you have to keep winning games."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com