The Horizon League men’s tournament bracket is officially here. Wright State has been the team to beat for most of the season, but it will be challenged by a number of teams who pose different challenges and have reasons to believe they can be crowned champions when it matters most.
Below is a key headline for each team entering tournament play.
1. Wright State (15-5, 20-11 overall)
The Raiders have stood alone atop the standings for the better part of the season, led by the league’s top scoring defense. They have been led in scoring in a game by seven different players. Wright State has been and remains the team to beat in the league, having defeated every team besides Robert Morris at least once this season.
2. Robert Morris (13-7, 21-10 overall)
Led by DeSean Goode and Nikolaos Chitikoudis, Robert Morris has been one of the best rebounding teams in the league. Ryan Prather Jr. provides NCAA Tournament experience as the lead guard, and despite a 3-5 start in league play, the others have stepped up as the defending champions enter the league tournament on a eight-game win streak.
3. Detroit Mercy (12-8, 15-14 overall)
In another great turnaround story, Detroit Mercy is also set to host a tournament game, led by senior Orlando Lovejoy in points, assists and steals and senior Legend Geeter in rebounds. The emergence of the underclassmen, sophomore TJ Nadeau and freshman Tyler Spratt, has given the Titans a major boost, propelling the program to its first season of at least 11 league wins since 2012-13.
4. Oakland (12-8, 16-15 overall)
Greg Kampe tested his team in the nonconference more than any team in the league, but the Golden Grizzlies suffered a four-game losing streak late. Still, one of the league’s top scoring offenses possesses a trio of quality bigs and the league’s leader in assists. It’s wacky zone will be a tough task for any team in a tournament format, regardless of the recent struggles.
5. Green Bay (12-8, 17-14 overall)
From the ashes, the Phoenix has risen from 4-28 a season ago, to hosting a game as a top-five seed in the league tournament. Four players average double figures and make up about 70% of the teams scoring. Doug Gottlieb doesn’t go super deep on his bench, but Green Bay has been gritty in finding different ways to win all season.
6. Purdue Fort Wayne (11-9, 17-14 overall)
Guard play wins in March, and Purdue Fort Wayne has one of–if not the best–backcourt trios in the league. Corey Hadnot II leads the league in scoring, and if he and his backcourt running mates Mikale Stevenson and DeAndre Craig Jr. all heat up, there is darkhorse potential for a program still seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
7. Northern Kentucky (10-10, 18-13 overall)
After losing five-straight games from mid-January into early-February, the Norse’s championship hopes were derailed, but it can challenge any team thanks to an offense which is among the league’s best. Donovan Oday is one of the league’s leading scorers, he is joined by Dan Gherezgher, LJ Wells and Kael Robinson in the league’s most explosive four-man scoring punch.
8. Milwaukee (8-12, 12-19 overall)
Bart Lundy’s team entered the season with high expectations as the preseason favorite to win the league, but the championship dreams were slowly wiped away as the Panthers lost numerous key pieces to injuries. Milwaukee has still been one of the league’s top rebounding teams, is well coached and will play extremely tough, making them a difficult out, regardless of injuries.
9. Youngstown State (8-12, 15-16 overall)
Despite having a top-two scoring defense in the league, a season that initially had promise as Youngstown State strives for its first NCAA Tournament berth hasn’t been what Ethan Faulkner hoped. Still, the Penguins have wins over Wright State, Oakland and Green Bay, and with an all-league level talent in Cris Carroll, could play spoiler in tournament play.
10. Cleveland State (6-14, 10-21 overall)
After a five-game win streak fueled by the three ball with wins over Wright State, Green Bay and Oakland, the Vikings went cold, surrendering seven consecutive losses to close the regular season. Dayan Nessah has been a high-point all season, but with his availability in question, it will take unexpected heroics for a Cinderella run in the league tournament.
11. IU Indianapolis (3-17, 7-24 overall)
The Jaguars enter the league tournament with just three conference wins, but two of them were 96- and 103-point efforts to down Robert Morris and Oakland, respectively, proving IU Indianapolis can score with any team. The issue is it also has the second worst scoring defense in the country which will make it extremely difficult to string together multiple wins in tournament play.
