Matt Dudek (@GrizzTalkOU) fills in for Jimmy amid a crazy week in conference play, including the inexplicable sweep of Northern Kentucky and the breakout of Oakland’s Brad Brechting. There was also a shoe thrown by a Detroit Mercy assistant, and a member of the UIC pep band was ejected by refs.

With Jimmy under the weather, Jim Sarow (@JimSarow) fills in and joins Bob to talk about how everything had shaken out in the first half of the Horizon League. That includes the strength of Northern Kentucky’s performance the recent slide Green Bay has experienced. First, though, they talk about the recent announcement that the Horizon League basketball tournament will be held in Indianapolis starting in 2020.

With another week in the books, Bob and Jimmy talk about the current standings, at the top (Northern Kentucky), the bottom (Cleveland State) and the middle (many teams). Plus, they discuss the importance of having a second scoring option, the key to all of the previous conference champs. And, of course, there’s a recap of the Oakland-Detroit Mercy game.

Topics:

Matt Dudek (@GrizzTalkOU) fills in for Jimmy this week talking with Bob about the third week of conference play. They talk about Northern Kentucky’s key win against Wright State and the favorable games the Norse have to look forward to next week. Also, Detroit Mercy sits at the top of the Horizon League, while Oakland looked impressive against Green Bay, setting up a very exciting Metro Series game at Calihan Hall.

The second week of the Horizon League slate is completed, and while Green Bay sits as the only undefeated team, Bob (@BobMcDonald) and Jimmy (@PantherU) open with trying to figure out what’s going on at their schools, Cleveland State and Milwaukee. This leads the inevitable reference by Jimmy to Applebee’s (because of CSU’s Tyree Appleby, of course). Also discussed are Oakland’s upset win against Northern Kentucky, and the upcoming match-up with the Phoenix.

Bob and Jimmy ring in the New Year by recording the first episode of 2019 live on YouTube. They get into the first games of the Horizon League schedule, including 2-0 showing by both Oakland and Detroit. They also take fan questions, including about expansion and the conference tournament post-Motor City Madness.

Karic Jones (@Karic_Jones) fills in for Jimmy, as he and Bob discuss the wrapping up of the non-conference schedule. Includes is the surprising performance of IUPUI, which is poised to start the HL schedule as one of the top two teams, and Wright State, who has struggled since the win against Toledo. Also, with Karic on board this episode, they’ll talk in-depth about Mike Davis and Detroit Mercy’s better-than-expected start and prospects for the conference slate.

Amid another dismal week for the Horizon League in non-conference play, Bob apologizes for unwittingly jinxing Green Bay last episode, taking full blame for the Phoenix losing by nearly 30 to Bowling Green. Bob and Jimmy also look into what’s happening at Wright State, where the Raiders are under .500 and lost the last six straight games against D1 teams.

With the sudden departure of Mike Thomas as athletic director at Cleveland State, Bob (minus Jimmy) discusses the move with Matthew Johns of the Reserve News (@TheReserveMedia) and what CSU is looking for in a successor. Also, Bob and Matthew discuss Green Bay’s win over Belmont and the potential for the Phoenix to compete for the conference crown. Plus, how does IUPUI’s Camron Justice stack up against the top Horizon League players? Finally, Mike Davis may be putting together a better season at Detroit Mercy than most has expected.

As the non-conference schedule continues, more Horizon League teams are notching wins against Division I opponents. Among the other victories Bob and Jimmy discuss are IUPUI’s win against ACC opponent Boston College and Wright State’s convincing win against Toledo. They also talk about if the roster blueprint that Oakland has used over the years will net the same results as Wright State and Northern Kentucky.