Conference tournament season is here!
One of the first to get underway is the Horizon League, which will begin on Tuesday, February 28th.
Youngstown State finished as the regular season champion. Milwaukee grabbed the No. 2 seed and Cleveland State is the No. 3 seed. Northern Kentucky and Oakland, who finished as the No. 4 and No. 5 seed, also have a first round BYE but will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Let’s take a look at the tournament odds, schedule, prediction, and dark horse pick.
Horizon League Tournament odds
Horizon League Tournament standings and bracket
Here is a look at the standings and bracket for the Horizon League Tournament.
Horizon League Tournament schedule (Dates, Time, Channel)
The Horizon League Tournament will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The Quarterfinals will begin on Thursday, March 2nd. The semi-finals will take place on Monday, March 6th, and the Championship Game will be on Tuesday, March 7.
The first two rounds will take be broadcast on ESPN+. The two semi-final games will be shown on ESPN U and ESPN 2. The Championship Game will be shown on ESPN and ESPN 2.
Horizon League Tournament prediction and pick
As boring as it may be, I think the No. 1 seed Youngstown State is the obvious choice to win the Horizon League Tournament. Not only is it the best shooting team in the conference, but the Penguins are one of the best shooting teams in the country.
They rank 14th in the country in effective field goal percentage heading into the tournament.
They also do a great job not turning the ball over, ranking 32nd in college basketball in turnovers per possession.
Their defense has been suspect at times, but even if they struggle on their own side of the court, no team can keep up with their shooting for an entire game.
I’ll back the Penguins to get it done.
Horizon League Tournament dark horse
Wright State at +650 is an intriguing dark horse option, mainly because it is the only team that can compete with Youngstown State in the shooting department. Heading into the tournament, they rank 38th in effective field goal percentage.
They’re also a better defensive team than the Penguins, coming in at 143rd in defensive efficiency.
They struggle in the turnovers and rebounding departments, which is why Youngstown State is rightfully favored. They also have a not so favorable seeding, sitting at No. 7 which means the Raiders will need to play in the first round against Green Bay.
With that being said, I don’t hate them as a dark horse at +650.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.