Women's Basketball Open's Conference Play at No. 21 Green Bay

College basketball can usually be divided up into three seasons. You have your non-conference, your conference and - if you are good enough - your postseason.

For the Detroit women's basketball team, they went through the non-conference schedule with a 6-5 mark, a record achieved by playing seven road games and not just seven road games spread throughout the months of November and December. Seven straight road games from a meeting with No. 22/25 Michigan State on Nov. 21 to a 68-47 win at the University of Michigan on Dec. 18.

When the Titans play No. 21 Green Bay on New Year's Eve, Detroit should benefit from playing a tough non-conference schedule, one where the 11 teams UDM played have combined for an 84-54 record so far. UDM traveled to Michigan State, played a good mid-major program in Bowling Green and back-to-back games in New Orleans against two tough squads in Saint Joseph's and Tulane.

Has that helped the Titans at all, time will only tell, but something has to be said about a program playing a tough non-conference schedule. How else can a team come back down by 12 points with just six minutes left like Detroit did at Eastern Michigan to pull out a 62-60 victory. Or go into Ann Arbor and completely run a Big Ten team out of its own building, dominating the boards to a tune of a 47-30 advantage, while leading from start to finish in a 67-48 triumph.

Now Detroit will look to start off on the right foot against No. 21 Green Bay on the road on New Year's Eve. It does not get any tougher in the Horizon League then starting with the Phoenix at the Kress Center, but at the same time, I don't think coach Rademacher or the Titans know anything about "an easy task".

Conference play is upon us. Enjoy the season.

Game preview on DetroitTitans.com

Titans Rack-Up Frequent Flier Miles

The Detroit Titan men's basketball team traveled through three different time zones and logged over 5,600 miles in a nine-day span to begin the regular season.  The team started with a 3,000-mile trip to New Mexico on Nov. 13, then traveled back cross-country to play Syracuse three days later.  After a home game on the 19th, UDM packed its bags once again to head to Mississippi State.  Although the Titans were on the wrong side of the scoreboard in each of the road games, the battles tested the mettle of the squad and will help a young roster in measuring itself up against some of the elite schools in Division I.

Some of the highlights of the trip included Terry Tyler paying a visit at UNM, the ESPN3 coverage and a nice New York Times write-up at Syracuse.  Following the trip, the team immediately went into preparation mode for the Legends Classic, a four-team subregional held over three days at Calihan Hall.

UDM is currently in the midst of a season-long five-game homestand.  Come check out the Red, White and Blue on Dec. 1 against Akron and Dec. 4 in the conference opener with Wright State.

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.