| 2009–10 Horizon League men's basketball season | |
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| League: | NCAA Division I |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Pixels: | 150px |
| Duration: | December 3, 2009 through February 27, 2010 |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Tv: | Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN, CBS Sports, Horizon League Network |
| Season: | Regular Season |
| Season Champs: | Butler Bulldogs |
| Season Champ Name: | Champions |
| League Champs: | Brad Stevens, Butler |
| League Champ Name: | Coach of the Year |
| Second Place: | Wright State Raiders |
| Mvp: | Gordon Hayward, Butler |
| Top Scorer: | Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay |
| Finals: | Tournament |
| Finals Link: | Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament |
| Finals Champ: | Butler |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Wright State |
| Finals Mvp: | Matt Howard, Butler |
| Seasonslistnames: | Basketball |
| Prevseason Year: | 08–09 |
| Nextseason Year: | 10–11 |
The 2009–10 Horizon League men's basketball season marked the 30th season of Horizon League basketball.
In the preseason, Butler was the conference favorite - returning all players from their regular season HL championship team. Butler received all but three first-place votes in the preseason poll of HL coaches, media, and sports information directors. Wright State received the one first place vote, capturing second in the preseason poll, and defending HL Tournament champion Cleveland State claimed two first place votes, finishing third.[1] The preseason player of the year was 2009 HL MVP Matt Howard of Butler.[2] Also in the preseason, one HL player was named to both the John R. Wooden Award preseason candidate list and the Naismith Award preseason candidate list: Gordon Hayward of Butler.[3] [4]
| Rank | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butler (43) | 455 | |
| 2 | Wright State (1) | 398 | |
| 3 | Cleveland State (2) | 324 | |
| 4 | Milwaukee | 314 | |
| 5 | Green Bay | 273 | |
| 6 | Detroit | 209 | |
| 7 | Youngstown | 197 | |
| 8 | Valparaiso | 137 | |
| 9 | Illinois-Chicago | 126 | |
| 10 | Loyola-Chicago | 97 |
Preseason Player of the Year
HL Players of the Week
Throughout the conference season, the HL offices name a player of the week.
| Week | Player of the week |
|---|---|
| November 16[5] | Todd Brown, Wright State |
| November 23[6] | Eli Holman, Detroit |
| November 30[7] | James Eayrs, Milwaukee |
| December 7[8] | Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay |
| December 14[9] | Gordon Hayward, Butler |
| December 21[10] | Gordon Hayward, Butler |
| December 28[11] | Sirlester Martin, Youngstown State |
| January 4[12] | Shelvin Mack, Butler |
| January 11[13] | DeAndre Mays, Youngstown State |
| January 18[14] | Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay Chase Simon, Detroit |
| January 25[15] | Norris Cole, Cleveland State |
| February 1[16] | Chase Simon, Detroit |
| February 8[17] | Trevon Harmon, Cleveland State |
| February 15[18] | Gordon Hayward, Butler |
| February 22[19] | Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay |
| March 1[20] | Anthony Hill, Milwaukee |
| Honor | Recipient(s) | School | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year[21] | Gordon Hayward | Butler | Guard/Forward | Sophomore |
| Coach of the Year | Brad Stevens | Butler | Head Coach | 3rd |
| Newcomer of the Year | Brandon Wood | Valparaiso | Guard | Sophomore |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ronald Nored | Butler | Guard | Sophomore |
| Woody Payne | Detroit | Guard | Senior | |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Walt Gibler | Loyola | Forward | Sophomore |
| All Horizon League First Team | Gordon Hayward | Butler | Guard/Forward | Sophomore |
| Rahmon Fletcher | Green Bay | Guard | Junior | |
| Norris Cole | Cleveland State | Guard | Junior | |
| Shelvin Mack | Butler | Guard | Sophomore | |
| Matt Howard | Butler | Forward | Junior | |
| All Horizon League Second Team | Vaughn Duggins | Wright State | Guard | Junior |
| Brandon Wood | Valparaiso | Guard | Sophomore | |
| Ricky Franklin | Milwaukee | Guard | Senior | |
| Chase Simon | Detroit | Guard | Sophomore | |
| Cory Johnson | Valparaiso | Forward | Junior | |
| All-Newcomer Team | Brandon Wood | Valparaiso | Guard | Sophomore |
| Chase Simon | Detroit | Guard | Sophomore | |
| Cory Johnson | Valparaiso | Forward | Junior | |
| Eli Holman | Detroit | Forward/Center | Sophomore | |
| Xavier Keeling | Detroit | Forward | Junior | |
| All Defensive Team | Ronald Nored | Butler | Guard | Sophomore |
| Woody Payne | Detroit | Guard | Senior | |
| Willie Veasley | Butler | Forward | Senior | |
| D'Aundray Brown | Cleveland State | Guard | Junior | |
| Vaughn Duggins | Wright State | Guard | Junior |
Matt Howard of Butler was named the tournament MVP.[22]
| Horizon League All-Tournament Team[23] | Player | School | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Howard | Butler | Forward | Junior | |
| Shelvin Mack | Butler | Guard | Sophomore | |
| Gordon Hayward | Butler | Guard/Forward | Sophomore | |
| Ronald Nored | Butler | Guard | Junior | |
| N'Gai Evans | Wright State | Guard | Junior |