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Men's Hoops Prepares for First-Place Showdown with Butler

GAME 18

Date:  Jan. 14, 2011 - 9:00 pm

Location: Detroit, Mich.

Arena: Calihan Hall (8,295)

Live stats: http://bit.ly/fOhI0F

TV: ESPNU and ESPN3.com

Series:  Butler leads, 43-27

Last year: BU, 2-0

*Butler 64, @Detroit 62 (ot) (1/10/10)

*@Butler 63, Detroit 58 (2/4/10)

ON TAP

The Detroit Titans welcome in rival Butler in a Friday night game on ESPNU.  The Bulldogs went 18-0 in the Horizon League last season, part of their 25-game winning streak en route to the NCAA Championship game.  Butler has already matched its loss total from a season ago (5).

ABOUT BU

The Bulldogs sit in a four-way tie for first place in the Horizon League along with Detroit, Valparaiso and Wright State.  BU went 2-0 last week, smashing Cleveland State (79-56) on Friday before sneaking past Youngstown State Sunday (84-79).  The Dogs are led by Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year senior Shelvin Mack (14.7 ppg) and big man Matt Howard (17.6 ppg).  Butler is just 2-4 in road games this season (3-0 on neutral floor).

WHO’S NEXT?

It’s Homecoming week on UDM’s campus as the Titans welcome face Valparaiso on Sunday in a 1:00 p.m. tip (FOX Sports Detroit).  Valparaiso will be at Wright State on Friday prior to Sunday’s matinee.

LEADERS OF THE PACK

The Titans will have the tall task of facing potentially two first-place teams this week in Butler and Valparaiso.  Those two teams-- along with Detroit and Wright State-- all carry identical 4-1 records into this week’s action. 

GET THAT OUTTA HERE

 With nine team blocks on Saturday, Detroit is the Horizon League leader in the category with 92 rejections through 17 games (5.2 bpg).  That total ranks 27th in NCAA Division I. 

HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU?

Freshman Ray McCallum has moved up the rankings in assists per game and is now tied for the most per game in the Horizon League (4.6 apg).  In league games, he hands out 5.2 dimes per contest.

NEARING THE CENTURY MARK

Junior LaMarcus Lowe threw aside six shots in the win at UIC Saturday to give him 47 on the season.  He needs just one more to tie his career high (set in 2008-09 at Western Michigan).  He is just five blocks shy of 100 for his career going into this week’s action.

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Several Titans have their names appear among the NCAA Division I leaders in the Jan. 9 report.  As the time of the release, junior Eli Holman had eight double-doubles, which ranked 16th through games of Jan. 9.  He also was 12th in rebounds per game (10.7).  LaMarcus Lowe was 17th in the NCAA with his 2.8 blocks per game clip.

"DIAPER DANDIES"!
Ray McCallum is among the best rookies in all of NCAA Division I, scoring 15.8 points per game through his first 17 games.  That total is 4th among freshmen in the country through Jan. 9.  Listed below are the nine freshmen who are among the top 250 scorers in the country heading into this week.

NCAA D-I Freshman Scoring (through Jan. 9)
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State    17.9 ppg

Brandon Knight, Kentucky    17.7

Terrence Jones, Kentucky    17.6

Ray McCallum, Detroit    15.8

Trey Zeigler, Central Mich.    15.8

Tobias Harris, Tennessee    15.5

DeAndre Kane, Marshall    14.8

Bruce Ellington, So. Carolina    14.8

Eric Ferguson, Ga. Southern    14.8

“D”- TOWN

The Titans lead the Horizon League with a 5.4 blocks per game average.  They are also lead in steals (8.2), are second in rebounding margin (+3.6) and third in field goal percent defense (40.6). 

SCORING IN BUNCHES

Usually known for its defense, Detroit has done nicely on the offensive side of things this year to the tune of 74.6 points per game.  That total is tops in the HL and UDM’s 45.7 field goal percentage ranks second among league schools.

LEADING THE LEAGUE

Eli Holman leads the Horizon League in both offensive (3.7 rpg) and defensive (7.0 rpg) rebounds per game (10.7 total).  He is also easily the top performer in field goal percentage, connecting on 59.1 percent of his shots (75-of-127) and is 5th in blocks (1.4 bpg) and 19th in scoring (11.6 ppg).

LIVE Chat Available for Men's Hoops Opener at New Mexico

Join us for a LIVE CHAT on Nov. 13 as the Detroit Titans men's basketball team opens its regular season at New Mexico! Follow along with Sports Information Director Mitch Wigness during the action.  Login and post comments, questions and answer polls or just follow along for updates.  The chat session begins at 9:15 EST with tip-off at 9:30.

Titans Open Season at #23 in Mid-Major Poll

The Detroit Titan men's basketball team opens at No. 23 in the preseason edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, released Monday.  The poll ranks the top schools from 22 conferences and independents.  Butler, the returning national finalist and preseason Horizon League favorite, tops the poll with Gonzaga a close second.

The CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top 25 is now in its twlefth season of existence.

The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.

Media Day recap

The Detroit Titan basketball teams held their annual "Media Day" function at Calihan Hall Tuesday.  The event allowed the local media an opportunity to interview Titan coaches and athletes and get on the floor with the players to take photography and video. 

The resounding theme of the day was an excitement for what 2010-11 has in store for both the men's and women's programs at UDM.  Hard to argue with that sentiment as both squads are coming off resurgent seasons and are reloaded for another run this year.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clfB6v0gezA 
Women's Basketball (17-14 overall, 14-4 Horizon League last year) notes:
*Head Coach Autumn Rademacher-- who is the reigning HL Coach of the Year-- addressed the crowd and spoke about her team and the outlook for the '10-11 campaign.  Yar Shayok is the leading returner in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg) as she earned the League's Newcomer of the Year award.  She will be looked upon to provide leadership for the program going forward.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u5yJtVmyw0
Men's Basketball (20-14 overall, 9-9 HL last year) notes:
*Head Coach Ray McCallum spoke about the excitement building for his program after a 13-game turnaround last season.  The Titans will open their regular season slate by opening "The Pit"-- the newly-refurbished home for the New Mexico Lobos.  It seats 13,000 and is one of the finer facilities and programs in college basketball.  Coach continued by mentioning the schedule continuing with trips to Syracuse and Mississippi State (all before Thanksgiving).  That schedule should certainly help the Titans as they attempt to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

*The new uniforms are in for the Titans and they look sharp.  The home whites were on display Tuesday, complete with a few new sewn-on features.  The uniforms include last names adorning the back while a "KB" patch is on the front right of the jersey.  The patch is in memory of Kathy Bush, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer this summer.  Bush, an associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Education, was a supporter of the Titan program and provided students with guidance and inspiration.

A photo gallery of the day's action can be found here. 

Monday Musings...

In case you missed it...
*The Horizon League released the Men's Basketball Preseason All-League picks last week, a group that included 10 players-- including Detroit's own Chase Simon and Eli Holman.  But, what about those that just missed the cut?  According to HL's Adam Coppinger, Ray McCallum impressed enough-- before stepping on a college court-- to earn 43 votes, putting him just out of the top 10. 

*Saturday's men's basketball exhibition opener features a halloween costume contest. The five best costumed students will be brought to half court where the crowd will decide who has the best costume.  Students dressed in costumes will receive a free souvenir cup filled with candy.

*The women's soccer team earned the six seed in the upcoming Horizon League tournament.  The Titans will travel to Cleveland State for the first round on Sunday.  The winner advances to the semifinal round at Butler next week.

*The men's team plays at Buffalo Tuesday evening.  UDM has a 5-1-1 record over its last seven contests coming down the home stretch.  The Titans host unbeaten (13-0-1) and nationally-ranked Butler on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were ranked seventh in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll and are one of just three teams in all of NCAA Division I to remain unbeaten-- all three are in the Great Lakes Region.

Accolades Continue to Roll In

Incoming freshman Ray McCallum has been named to Sports Illustrated's list of Top 16 Impact Freshman, in a recent issue of the magazine.  McCallum, a standout a Detroit Country Day High School, was a four-star point guard recruit by rivals.com and is "the highest-ranked player to ever sign with a Horizon League team", according to the article.  Check out the Top 16 here.

Rivals.com tabbed the Titans as its second-place finisher in the Horizon League behind national finalist Butler.  Also garnering honors from the online publication were Eli Holman (First Team) and Ray McCallum (First Team, Top Newcomer).  Read the entire preview here.

The Horizon League will release its 2010-11 Preseason Men's Basketball Poll today at 2:00 p.m.  Viewers can catch a 15-minute show streamed live over the Internet at horizonleague.com.  Also announced will be the Preseason All-League Teams. Detroit is expected to be a solid contender for a conference title, returning the conference's leading rebounder in Eli Holman, the team's leading scorer in Chase Simon and several top newcomers to bolster a squad that won 20 games a year ago.

"Tip It with the Titans" running diary

Fans of the University of Detroit Mercy basketball teams were treated to a show at the "Tip It with the Titans" event held Friday night at Calihan Hall.  The showcase was in conjunction with the first official date of practice for NCAA Division I men's basketball squads.

For the benefit of those who had to miss Friday's event (and whatever excuse you have might not be good enough in my estimation) we've provided a running diary of the night's action... and there was lots of it. You can watch videos at the links provided.

And, I have to say, that before tonight's event even took place, freshman Ray McCallum challenged Graduate Assistant Matt Ryder to a game of H-O-R-S-E earlier in the afternoon.  Sorry Ray, you might have all the accolades coming in, but you didn't know Ryder had the "seated half-courter" and the "literally from the stands" in his repertoire.  If he pulls those out-- you really didn't stand much chance.

4:45 p.m.-  The actual event starts with lots of great food and conversation at the Wine and Cheese event, hosted by UDM Interim President Michael Joseph.  The gathering helped unite Titan supporters prior to another season of basketball in Detroit.

5:32 p.m.-  Just learned that the Titan men's soccer team earned a 2-0 win over Cleveland State at Titan Field!  A decent crowd on hand as well as those folks will begin to trickle over across the parking lot to Calihan Hall for the "Tip It" festivities.

6:01 p.m.-  Performances from the UDM dance and cheer squads with music throughout courtesy of the Titan Pep Band.

6:14 p.m.-  The Titan women's basketball team is introduced over the public address system.  We are soon "treated" to a karaoke rendition of "I Love Rock & Roll" sung to the words "I LOVE BASKETBALL".  The group is led by boisterous head coach Autumn Rademacher, who is certainly not shy behind the microphone. A sight to behold for sure...

6:20 p.m.- Rademacher personally introduces each member of the team and the squad finishes with a dance number.  Not bad for a basketball squad, I'll have to say.  Chanahl, we saw you getting into it...

6:24 p.m.- Coach Rademacher lays down the gauntlet to the crowd with a mission... Come to Calihan Hall, get out of your routine and enjoy some Titan women's basketball.  We won't disappoint. Watch the women's basketball team introduced and Coach Rademacher and her team sing.

6:28 p.m.- Greek organizations on campus compete in a 3-point shootout.

6:38 p.m.-  The official unveiling of the new "made-over" Tommy Titan.  Tommy looks like he's been hitting the gym, has a chiseled chin that George Clooney would be proud of and he has some new duds as well. See the new Tommy Titan unveiled on video.

6:41 p.m.- Another performance from the Detroit Titan Dance Team, the Pep Band and the Cheer Team.

6:45 p.m.-  The lights have dimmed and it's time to introduce the Titan men's team.  Each player is introduced and fires a freebie T-shirt into the stands and hand-delivers a poster to a lucky audience member. See the whole team's introduction.

6:56 p.m.-  Coach McCallum comes out like a bundle of dynamite.  Tell you what, if the teams feed off of our men's and women's coaches and their energy-- BIG things are in store for Titan basketball this season.

7:04 p.m.-  Jason Calliste picks-up the win in the 3-point shoot-out.  He scored 10 out of the four racks to grab bragging rights.

7:11 p.m.-  A couple of good dunks from both John Hoskins and LaMarcus Lowe to start the dunk contest, but Nick Minnerath hammered down a two-handed monster behind his head and I think the rim is still shaking.  Not to be outdone, Ray McCallum gave us a throw-and-catch, 360 with a jersey-pop finish.  A nice dunk that the celebrity judge panel enjoyed. See Minnerath's and McCallum's dunks.

7:15 p.m.- Lowe got teammates involved as Calliste lobbed a pass on the baseline that he hammered through. Minnerath, after several misses, redeemed with a buzzer-beating 180 that was just as powerful as his first.  McCallum kept his spot in the finals with a slam from the baseline. 

7:17 p.m.-  It's Minnerath v. McCallum in the finals.  Minnerath scores a perfect 50 by grabbing a statued Calliste handoff and firing it through the rim.  He also gave it the "it's over" signal as the crowd finished its collective "OOOOHHHHH!". SEE IT HERE! Ray couldn't match the sheer power of Minnerath and Nick probably won't let Ray forget who got the best of it on this night. See all of the dunks here.

7:22 p.m.-  Scrimmage time.  Obviously, not a lot of defense being played.  Despite that, this team can score.  Eli Holman had three nice putbacks and a breakaway jam to lead Coach Jay Smith's squad.  Blake led the Coach Derek Thomas team other squad with a handful of perimeter makes. 

7:34 p.m.-  Calliste gets a little playful ribbing from Coach Carlos Briggs on pressrow.  "You won the three-point contest, didn't you?  I can't tell..."  This coming after a miss on the other end.

7:40 p.m.-  Blake's fourth make from deep gives the White squad a 33-27 lead with a minute left.  That would be the final.  The first of many wins for a Titan team, for sure. See highlights from the scrimmage and Coach McCallum's final address.

7:42 p.m.-  Coach McCallum addresses the crowd and finishes the night off by thanking all in attendance.

All told, a very successful night at Calihan Hall.  You'd be remiss if you didn't get in on the action this season.  The men open the schedule Oct. 30 with an exhibition against Hillsdale College at 4:30 p.m.  The Titan women open their campaign on Nov. 8 with a 7:00 p.m. exhibition against Saginaw Valley State.  Hope to see you there!

See the VIDEO CLIPS and a PHOTO GALLERY from tonight's event.