The Horizon League has been a compelling league to follow all season. The race for the top seed in the conference came down to two teams, and wasn't settled until the last week in February as the Valparaiso Crusaders and Green Bay Phoenix both gave it their all, and the Crusaders finally won the regular season title.
The tournament itself strongly rewards regular season play, as the Crusaders and Phoenix both get a double bye into the conference semi-finals, to be played on Saturday, March 7. Also, the 3rd and 4th seeds get a bye in the first round, meaning they only have to win 3 games to win the conference tournament. Absent from this years tournament are the Milwaukee Panthers, as they received a one year postseason ban last April due to Academics. Here are the final standings from the regular season.
The games begin on March the 3rd as the Titans will host the Penguins at 7 PM EST, and the Flames will host the Raiders at 8 PM EST. The winner of the early game will face Cleveland State on Friday, while the winner of the late game plays Oakland on Friday.
When it comes to projecting a possible champion, there are always several dilemmas. Valparaiso has beaten their potential semi-final opponent in Cleveland State both times this year, but the total margin of victory between the two games is 5 points. If they make it to a final against Green Bay, they split the regular season series.
Meanwhile, the Green Bay Phoenix played the third seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies in their regular season finale and crushed them by a final score of 83-63. They had lost to the Grizzlies back in January on the road, but this game will take place in Green Bay, giving the Phoenix a strong advantage to make it to the final.
In the bracketology from March 3, VAVEL USA's resident bracketologist Matthew Evans has placed the Valparaiso Crusaders into the tournament as a #13 seed to face Utah in the second round. He also shows the Green Bay Phoenix as a team to watch, but outside of the next eight out. In order for Green Bay to win the tournament, they will have to win those final two games and most likely need to defeat Valparaiso on their home court. This writer projects they will do just that and move into the NCAA tournament in shocking fashion.