Busting Brackets
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Horizon League Basketball: Youngstown State rises in latest power rankings

By Tristan Freeman

Dec 22, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Youngstown State Penguins players talk during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Youngstown State Penguins players talk during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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Horizon League Basketball Michael Diggins Illinois-Chicago Flames (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Horizon League Basketball Michael Diggins Illinois-Chicago Flames (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

10. Green Bay Phoenix – 2-9 (1-1)

The Pheonix has just one D-I win as well but it came at home against Robert Morris in a 70-58 victory, led by 23 points from leading scorer Emmanuel Ansong. He, along with breakout transfer guard Donovan Ivory (10.6 ppg) is the lone double-digit scorer on the roster, with four others averaging between 5.0-8.7 ppg.

Green Bay has arguably the second-worst offense in the Horizon League (IUPUI) at 60.6 ppg but has one of the better defenses and solid depth. The lack of frontcourt size limits their potential in the conference but Ansong is good enough to win them a few games in league play.

9. UIC Flames (4-7 (0-2)

The Flames got a couple of recent victories against MAC opponents, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. Those are solid wins that will hopefully provide momentum but they have to be in the bottom tier due to their earlier home losses to both Oakland and Detroit, which sets them back in the standings.

The senior-led Illinois-Chicago squad has an All-Horizon League player in Damaria Franklin (16.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg), who has three games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. Zion Griffin and point guard Kevin Johnson (11.1 ppg and 6.0 apg) are the key supporting role players but the team overall has a big flaw in its three-point shooting at 29%, good for bottom-30 nationally. Now on pause, they look to do better on the road, with potentially five straight games away from home coming up.