Tag Archives: Corey Allen

2017-18 Season, Big Ten, Game Previews, Horizon League

Michigan State Basketball: Previewing the Hitachi College Basketball Showcase

District Detroit will host four of the top teams in the state of Michigan inside Little Caesars Arena for the Hitachi College Basketball Showcase. (Header: Lansing State Journal)

DETROIT, Mich. — Fans have been waiting patiently since April for December 16th to roll around, and the wait is finally over.

The Hitachi College Basketball Showcase will be the first-ever college basketball event to be played inside the newly-constructed Little Caesars Arena in District Detroit. Four of the top teams from the state of Michigan will put their talents on display in front of a sold out crowd in the Motor City.

Saturday’s festivities kick off with a match-up that features the Detroit Mercy Titans and the Michigan Wolverines at 12:00pm EST, followed by the Oakland Golden Grizzlies taking on the second-ranked Michigan State Spartans at approximately 2:30pm EST.

All four teams in the event have the opportunity to add a quality non-conference win to their resume, and you can bet that the fans will be treated to high-quality basketball across both games.

Here’s what you need to know in advance of the event.
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2017-18 Season, Awards, Horizon League

College Court Report 2017-18 Preseason Awards: Horizon League

Cameron Morse has been one of the nation’s top scorers over the past two seasons, yet he doesn’t garner much attention outside of the Horizon League from the national media.

CANMORE, Alta. —  The 2017-18 season tips off on November 10th, which means the final month without college basketball is finally upon us.

Fans all across the country are gearing up for another exciting college basketball season, and with the recent scandal involving the FBI and several power conference programs across the NCAA, the level of anticipation is through the roof.

Conference preview pieces are starting to circulate from various media outlets, and conferences are hosting their annual media days and announcing their preseason polls and award winners. It’s always interesting to see how coaches and media rank teams in their respective conferences.

With the season right around the corner, we are starting to release our Preseason Player of the Year awards for each conference, along with three All-Conference teams. Picked at random, we will release two sets of awards each day.

Heading into the 2017-18 season, the Horizon League makeup looks a little bit different than in year’s past. The Valparaiso Crusaders have moved to the Missouri Valley Conference, and in their place, the IUPUI Jaguars accepted an invitation to join the league from the Summit League.

With the departure of the Crusaders, a new program will emerge as the regular season champion. Will it be the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, who welcome a power conference transfer to bolster their back court rotation? Or the UIC Flames, who have a young, but talented roster that’s arguably the deepest in the conference? What about the Northern Kentucky Norse, who won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season?

Only time will tell.

Until then, take a look below at who we’ve tabbed as our Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year, and our Preseason All-Horizon League teams!

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2017-18 Season, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Conference USA, Horizon League, MAAC, MEAC, Ohio Valley, Player Profiles, SoCon, SWAC

Non-Power Five Guards who will be Household Names in 2017-18: Sophomores, Part One

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Detroit Mercy’s Corey Allen is just one of several sophomore guards that all fans should know about heading into the 2017-18 season. (Source: MLive)

CALGARY, Alta. — With over 5,200 players slated to play collegiate basketball in Division I this season, there are talented players from coast to coast. Some of them are household names, while there are plenty of players who people haven’t heard of, but are demanding of your attention.

The majority of fans tend to focus on the power five conferences, turning a blind eye to the smaller programs. When you dig deeper, you’ll see that the non-power five schools have players who could just as easily play for a power conference program.

When it comes to sophomore guards in the NCAA, the list of talented players goes on and on. With so many players, it was nearly impossible to cut the list down to just 10 players without leaving star-calibre players off the list.

Much like we did last season, we have broken down each class into guards and forwards. Then, the list of guards and forwards were broken down even further into multiple parts, as there was too much talent to do it any other way.

Each will have 10 sophomore guards who will become household names in 2016-17, along with five others to keep a flag on as the season progresses.

Continue reading Non-Power Five Guards who will be Household Names in 2017-18: Sophomores, Part One →