Rewind your brain a year. Playground bully Butler came to Youngstown State to continue their dominance over a school that had a reputation for football prominence, and little basketball hardware to show off.  The Penguins trailed the Bulldogs by eight points before eventually clawing their way back to claim a dramatic and emotional 62-60 win in front of a good crowd last season.  The win was significant in many ways.

First off, it is a well-known fact that Butler did not lose another game until the NCAA Championship Game loss.   But seeded in deeper meaning, that historic win allowed Coach Jerry Slocum to be a better recruiter.  To knock on a door while recruiting with a Butler win in your briefcase usually gets you invited in.  The ramifications of that win will be louder in a couple of years when Fletcher Larson, DJ Cole, and Cale Zuiker hit stride.

Cleveland State rolled into town last Saturday and embarrassed the Penguins in front of a huge audience.  Don’t think the players and coaches have not been chomping at the bit waiting for the chance for redemption in front of a big assembly of fan support this time.  Coach Slocum said after the 20-point setback that his team was not able to handle the moment.  The moment will be just as important, and this team should bounce back.

The puzzle has been coming together since that significant Butler win.  The Penguins had zero players given any preseason accolades, the team was finished to pick in the bottom third, again, and with schools, like Butler, losing so much, it was easy to predict that these Penguins would be in the thick of things heading into the home stretch of the season.

Five Horizon League Players of The Week later, Slocum could be considered for Coach of The Year with the dramatic turnaround.  He will need a strong run to close out the season and says that every game left on the schedule will be a dogfight.

“We have a stretch of three weeks where everyone we play is really good”, said Slocum.  “we have to keep preparing and getting better.”

“Butler will come in hungry after a tough one in Detroit.  This is where the turnaround started for them last year and they will come in here fired up.”

Ironic that virtually nobody would have said at the beginning of the season that Butler needed to win this game to catch YSU with a handful of games left in the regular season.  However, that is the reality.  Five starters have been recognized for their fantastic efforts, a fete never before accomplished in Horizon League history.  It may be the confidence bump this team of Penguins need for a strong stretch run and into March.