GAME NOTES: The 2015 Horizon League Tournament is set to tip off on Tuesday night, as the Detroit Titans host the Youngstown State Penguins in first-round action at Calihan Hall.

Fifth-seeded Detroit finished the regular season three games under .500 overall at 14-17 and was 7-9 versus the rest of the league. However, the good news for the Titans is that they were 9-6 on their home floor, which bodes well for them on Tuesday.

As for the Penguins, they finished at the bottom of the standings with a mere two wins in 16 opportunities. They did play better in non-conference play, but closed out the regular season with three straight defeats and seven in the last eight outings overall.

Youngstown State is one of two teams in the league, the other being relative newcomer Oakland, that has never won the conference tournament. Detroit has turned the trick three times though, the most recent celebration coming in 2012 when it defeated Valparaiso in the title game, 70-50.

From a series standpoint, Detroit won both meetings during the season, the first coming in overtime at the end of January (93-87) and the other an 83-70 final in Ohio the following month. With the two victories, the Titans pushed their lead in the all-time series to 29-9.

The winner of this meeting will take on fourth-seeded Cleveland State on Friday in the second round.

Victories have been few and far between for the Penguins in conference play this season, and the problem seems to be a defense that has been far too forgiving. In those 16 Horizon League battles YSU surrendered 77.6 ppg, allowing foes to convert 47.1 percent of their field goal tries and 37.4 percent behind the 3-point line. Averaging only a shade over two blocked shots per game was a clear sign that the interior for the Penguins was not all that aggressive.

From an offensive standpoint, the Penguins generated only 68.9 ppg as Marcus Keene produced 14.6 ppg, thanks to his 41.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. As the top perimeter threat for YSU, he attempted more than half of all his field goal tries from behind the 3-point line. Balancing the scales was Bobby Hain who, in addition to posting 13.6 ppg, was also the top man on the glass with 6.1 rpg, which explains why he tried only 18 times to make good from out on the perimeter. Still, as a group, the Penguins managed to connect on 38.4 percent of their shots from long distance.

As the only player to have started all 31 games for the Titans, it is only fitting that Juwan Howard Jr. gets most of the attention. As one of the top scorers in the league this season, Howard Jr. produced 17.8 ppg over the long haul, hitting his 3-point tries (.423) at a rate similar to his field goal shooting overall (.438). He also did well at the free-throw line with an impressive 85.7 percent accuracy, making it dangerous to send him to the charity stripe in crucial situations. He also accounted for 4.0 rpg and 2.5 apg while filling up his stat line.

Paris Bass, the only other double-digit producer for the Titans with 12.5 ppg, came off the bench quite a bit, but that didn't stop him from clearing a team- high 5.8 rpg and logging a team-best 32 blocked shots. As a unit, Detroit shot just under 40 percent beyond the arc as it put up 71.1 ppg, although giving up another 70.9 ppg didn't allow for many mistakes.

It might be tough for one team to defeat another three times in a single season, but seeing as how Detroit is at home and has a top-flight player in Howard Jr., it doesn't appear to be impossible for the Titans.