Scores

Thursday, January 19

Valparaiso 69, Loyola-Illinois 48

Butler 57, Illinois-Chicago 49

Friday, January 20

Cleveland State 78, Green Bay 68

Youngstown State 68, Milwaukee 66

Saturday, January 21

Detroit 69, Wright State 53

Valparaiso 60, Illinois-Chicago 55

Butler 63, Loyola-Illinois 57

Sunday, January 22

Cleveland State 83, Milwaukee 57

Youngstown State 77, Green Bay 47

Last week, the Milwaukee Panthers looked to be the emergent team in the Horizon League, but the view of the Horizon – and the small-h horizon – has substantially changed in the course of one week, giving this conference a very old and familiar feeling.

Milwaukee entered the past week with a 6-1 league record and the profile of an ascendant club which also owned the confidence based on a proven ability to rise above the competition. Milwaukee won the Horizon League’s regular-season title by pulling out a couple of typically tough games on the final weekend of the season. The Panthers were the team that came the closest to knocking Butler out of the NCAAs and preventing the Bulldogs from making their second – and far less probable – run to the NCAA national championship game against Connecticut. Milwaukee was not a downmarket team in the league making a surprising push. This was not a young group of untested players. This was not a team unused to adversity; Milwaukee got punched in the mouth plenty of times last season before getting off the canvas to steal the league title. This was not a team that was expected to falter in these backyard brawls. Maybe the occasional stumble was foreseeable, but not a two-game downturn.

Well, hello downturn.

Milwaukee fell in each of its two outings this past week. The Panthers were nudged by a single bucket at Youngstown State, dropping a decision to the most surprising team in the conference. Youngstown State has revitalized itself after years spent in the bottom rungs of the Horizon. The Penguins have made good use of the adversity they’ve faced, and they’re now a mid-tier team in the league without any question. Their program has made – and now consolidated – substantial gains.

Milwaukee then traveled to Cleveland State with a chance to wipe away the taste of that bitter defeat to YSU. However, things only got worse for coach Rob Jeter’s crew. The Panthers were walloped by the homestanding Vikings in an out-and-out laugher. It’s now CSU which holds the Horizon lead at 7-2 alongside Valparaiso, which took care of business in two games this week. A certain team named Butler – ever heard of it? – is right there at 6-3, tied with Milwaukee.

Remember that bumper-car dynamic at the end of a cluttered 2011 Horizon season? It’s baaaa-aaaaaack.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer