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2020 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics

Dates

Tuesday, March 3rd (first round); Thursday, March 5th (quarterfinals); Monday, March 9th (semifinals); Tuesday, March 10th (championship)

Format

Modified stepladder bracket with the top two seeds earning byes to the semifinals, the No. 3 seed to the quarterfinals, and seeds four through nine playing for the remaining three quarterfinal berths. Teams are also reseeded throughout the event.

Site(s)

Higher seeds host the first round and quarterfinals. The Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis hosts the semifinals and finals.

TV/Streaming Info

ESPN airs the final, with the semifinals split between ESPN2 and ESPNU. ESPN+ will stream the first round and quarterfinals.

Participants

Nine of the conference’s 10 teams will participate. Last season, only eight qualified. All 10 teams were supposed to play in 2020, but the Detroit Mercy Titans (8-23, 6-12) are ineligible for the postseason due to APR penalties and will not participate.

Downloadable Bracket

Schedule

First Round (Tue., March 3)

ESPN+ ($) will stream all three games.

Game 1: No. 9 IUPUI Jaguars (7-25, 3-15) 59, No. 4 UIC 93
The Flames swept the season series.

Game 2: No. 8 Milwaukee Panthers (12-19, 7-11) 57, No. 5 Youngstown State 63
The season series was a road split.

Game 3: No. 7 Cleveland State Vikings (11-21, 7-11) 59, No. 6 Oakland 80
The Golden Grizzlies swept the season series.

Quarterfinals (Thu., March 5)

ESPN+ ($) will stream both games.

Teams are reseeded.

Game 4: No. 6 Oakland Golden Grizzlies (14-19, 8-10) 63, No. 3 Green Bay 78
The season series was a home split.

Game 5: No. 5 Youngstown State Penguins (18-15, 10-8) 61, No. 4 UIC 67
The season series was a road split.

Semifinals (Mon., March 9)

Teams are reseeded.

Game 6: No. 4 UIC 73, No. 1 Wright State Raiders (25-7, 15-3) 56
The season series was a home split.

Game 7: No. 3 Green Bay Phoenix (17-16, 11-7) 69, No. 2 Northern Kentucky 80
The season series was a road split.

Championship (Tue., March 10)

Game 8: No. 4 UIC Flames (18-17, 10-8) 62, No. 2 Northern Kentucky Norse (23-9, 13-5) 71
The season series was a road split.

10-Year Mayhem Potential

Data from Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter.

Over the past 10 seasons, one of the Horizon’s top two seeds has won the automatic bid six times. The No. 2 has won the last two titles, with the four winning the two before that, results that led to much of the recent tinkering with the tournament format. The No. 1 last won in 2015.

• 1 seed (3): 2010, 2013, 2015
• 2 seed (3): 2011, 2018, 2019
• 4 seed (2): 2016, 2017
• 3 seed (1): 2012
• 5 seed (1): 2014

10-Year NCAA Seeding Record

Years with an NCAA win are in bold.

• 14 seed (3): 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
• 15 seed (2): 2012, 2017
• 5 seed (1): 2010
• 8 seed (1): 2011
• 13 seed (1); 2015

The five and eight seeds are outliers, as they were earned by the Butler Bulldogs, now in the Big East. This year’s Horizon champ is likely to end up on line 14 or 15, like the last four reps.

Last NCAA Tournament Appearances

Northern Kentucky: 2019 (14 seed, 1st Round)
Wright State: 2018 (14 seed, 1st Round)
Green Bay: 2016 (14 seed, 1st Round)
Milwaukee: 2014 (15 seed, 1st Round)
Oakland: 2011 (13 seed, Round of 64, Summit member)
Cleveland State: 2009 (13 seed, 2nd Round)
UIC: 2004 (13 seed, 1st Round)
IUPUI: 2003 (16 seed, 1st Round, Mid-Continent member)

Youngstown State has never qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Detroit Mercy last qualified as a 15 seed in 2012 but will have to wait at least until 2021 to return.

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