YSU, Milwaukee to battle for top of the Horizon League
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The stakes couldn't be higher.
Two weeks remain in the regular season, and the Horizon League's top four teams all sit within a game of each other. The two tied at the top will battle for sole possession of No. 1 on Thursday night as Youngstown State welcomes Milwaukee to the Beeghly Center (7 p.m., ESPN+, 570 AM WKBN).
"This was something we set out for at the beginning of the season," YSU guard Dwayne Cohill said. "A lot of people didn't think we would be here, but we always believed in ourselves and in our hard work. So I'm glad that our work is showing and that we've gotten to this point, but we're not done yet. I just can't wait to see what happens."
YSU (20-7) and Milwaukee (18-8) each sit at 12-4 in Horizon League play, while Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky each are 16-11 overall and 11-5 in conference play. NKU and Cleveland State battle each other Sunday in Cleveland, while Milwaukee hosts the Vikings on Feb. 25. Both Milwaukee and NKU also have to face Purdue Fort Wayne (15-12, 7-9 Horizon League), too.
The Penguins, meanwhile, round out their conference slate with Green Bay (3-24, 2-14 Horizon League), Robert Morris (12-15, 7-9 Horizon League) and IUPUI (4-23, 1-15 Horizon League).
Of the opportunity to clinch a regular season league title, YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said, "This is what college basketball is all about; it's why you go to school. ... These kids will look back at this one day, and you want them to have great memories. That's really what the college experience and college basketball are about. It's a fun time of year, you're finishing the regular season, you're getting ready for the tournament, for March Madness. So we have to be ready to go."
Milwaukee enters having won four of its last five games, the lone loss a stunning 80-79 overtime loss to Green Bay on Feb. 6. In its first matchup with the Panthers, YSU fell 88-75 in Milwaukee. The Panthers went 12-for-25 from 3-point range that night, while YSU was just 4-of-21.
The key to slowing the Panthers down in round two begins in transition, according to Calhoun.
"I think they're elite (in transition offense). They're top 30 in the country in offensive pace. They get out, they run, they get stops, they have good athletes and they push it. They run a lot of quick-hitting actions to get you in a middle pick-and-roll and try to attack you to create the advantage," he said.
And, he added, Milwaukee features a lot of balance offensively. Guard BJ Freeman averages 16.8 points per game, while Kentrall Pullian is adding 10.6 points per game and Markeith Browning II is scoring 10.4 points per game.
Down low, Ahmad Rand, an Oregon State transfer, is scoring 7.9 points, but more so makes his presence felt defensively. He leads Milwaukee with 57 blocks this season. As a team, Milwaukee swats 5.8 shots per game, the highest mark in the Horizon League by far and fourth best in all of Division I.
"They're a very physical team," said Cohill, who stands four points away from scoring his 1,000th point in a Penguins uniform. "They're long and athletic. ... You know they're coming. They don't want you to get an easy shot at the rim, they want to make the night hard for you. So you just have to be calm with that physical mindset, and you have to be ready to go from the jump. The first time, they got us and they caught us slipping. But this time, we'll be ready."
In a similar vein, Calhoun said preparation at this point in the season is more about staying mentally sharp than it is physically ready. Off of that, the Penguins were off Monday and went light on Tuesday -- an hour of practice plus some film.
"This is really more about mental (prep) this time of year, it's not a whole lot of practice time," Calhoun said. "You have to be mentally locked in. You're not going to reinvent the wheel, (because) you are who you are. You have to execute, you have to focus and be ready to play."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com