No surprises. That's what Detroit and Youngstown will have between them heading into tonight's Horizion League second-round game at Valparaiso University.
The guard play of both teams of both teams is quite good, each going with a three-guard starting set.
Detroit's Ray McCallum (6-foot-1), Jason Calliste (6-2) and Chase Simon (6-7), and YSU's Blake Allen (6-1), Kendrick Perry (6-0) and Ashen Ward (6-3) all average more than 10 points each outing.
However, the backcourt play edge goes to YSU with the propensity to shoot the 3 - averaging 38.4 percent.
It's a good trendsetter for the sixth-seeded Penguins (16-14) as they face the third-seeded Titans (19-13) at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, when YSU dominated seventh-seeded Green Bay - winners of eight of its last 10 coming into the first-round game - the Penguins quickly dispatched the Phoenix by shooting 8 of 12 from 3 in the first half and shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Not that YSU will shoot that well tonight, but it better come close in order to hang with perhaps the most talented team in the Horizon League in Detroit.
The Titans shot nearly 57 percent from the floor in Saturday's 76-74 victory at YSU. Detroit had to hold off the Penguins most of the second half.
Defense. Defense. Defense.
YSU can't let Detroit shoot 57 percent again, not if the Penguins expect to advance to Saturday's semifinal against second-seeded Cleveland State.
Interestingly enough, if YSU holds an opponent under 70 points, it is 16-4. However, if the Penguins can't do that, they are 0-10.
The Penguins were quick to bounce back from Saturday's loss en route to the 77-60 win over Green Bay Tuesday.
"I told them after practice on Sunday, I am so freaking proud of you guys," YSU coach Jerry Slocum said after Tuesday's win. "I cannot tell you. We were jacked and ready. Their attention span was to detail. I went home and I said I've never been feeling more confident or feeling more good about a game coming up because those dudes were locked. Those kids deserve a lot of credit for having that kind of focus. I am very happy and proud of them."
Now, with the Penguins having a chance to advance the deepest in the tournament since YSU advanced all the way to the 1998 Mid-Continent Conference title game against Valparaiso, it's imperative for the Penguins to stick to their credo.
"Our guys are kind of figuring it out and trusting each other," Slocum said. "At this time of the year, it's whatever it takes. That's been kind of our theme and our mantra the last three days.
"I don't care if you're a starter and get five shots, 12 shots. I don't care if you get 9 minutes or 25 minutes, whatever it takes is what we have to do to win and advance."