Horizon League
March 5-8. All games at Detroit.
kPOY: Kay Felder, Oakland.
The Horizon League tournament begins on Saturday with four first-round games at Joe Louis Arena.
The most famous basketball game in the history of Joe Louis Arena was when the Knicks upset the Pistons 127-123 in a thrilling fifth and deciding game of a first round playoff series in 1984. The original video presentation features Marv Albert and star wipes, and the final buzzer didn’t even go off when the clock hit zero.
It is possible that a game in the Horizon League tournament will be more high-scoring than that. Led by uptempo programs like Green Bay, Oakland, Detroit, and Youngstown State, the Horizon led all conferences in possessions per game this season. And it just so happens that the fast-paced teams are not the best at defense, either, even considering it on a per-possession basis.
Valparaiso is a big favorite here, partly due to a bracket that gives the top seeds a free pass to the semi-finals. But the Crusaders also had a really nice season. They were preseason #35 and are currently #31, losing just five games. along the way and picking up three Tier A wins. But for some reason, they still need two wins to get back to the NCAA tournament.
Qtrs Semis Final Champ 1 Valparaiso 100 100 80.0 59.4 2 Oakland 100 100 68.6 24.6 5 Milwaukee 77.0 47.5 11.2 5.4 3 Wright St. 87.4 48.7 16.2 3.7 4 Green Bay 82.5 41.3 8.0 3.4 6 Detroit 75.6 41.8 14.1 3.2 8 Northern Kentucky 23.0 7.9 0.7 0.1 7 Youngstown St. 24.4 7.4 1.0 0.09 9 Cleveland St. 17.5 3.3 0.2 0.02 10 Illinois Chicago 12.6 2.1 0.1 0.007
Horizon tourney records (Since 1999)
Valparaiso 10- 6
Detroit 23-15
Milwaukee 17-12
Illinois Chicago 15-15
Wright St. 13-16
Cleveland St. 10-16
Green Bay 10-17
Oakland 1- 2
Youngstown St. 4-13