The Horizon League Tournament offers some of the most intriguing matchups in the mid-major scene, and the results could alter the at-large bid picture for the NCAA Tournament.
Horizon League tournament 2015: Bracket, schedule and results
Valparaiso and Green Bay are headed down a possible collision course for the Horizon League’s automatic NCAA bid.
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Valparaiso and Green Bay went toe-to-toe for first place all season, splitting their regular-season series. In the end, the Crusaders took the title and top seed for the tournament. Both teams will be motivated to grab the auto-bid with their at-large bubble hopes dwindling. Green Bay boasts a road win over Miami and one of the country's best players in senior Keifer Sykes, but their resume might not add up in the selection committee's eyes. Either team will likely have to win the tournament to go dancing this year.
Those aren’t the only teams in the tourney, and a couple of the lower seeds could end up crashing the party. Cleveland State is the obvious choice, having swept Green Bay in the regular season. Oakland is another name to watch after beating both Valpo and Green Bay at home.
The format
Milwaukee is ineligible due to APR violations, so eight teams are competing in the tourney. It doesn’t follow the standard eight-team format, though -- the top two seeds get a double-bye into the semifinals, while seeds 3-4 get a single bye into the quarterfinals. The bottom four seeds have to win three games just to make the final round.
The tournament takes place at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting each round. Valparaiso hosts the second round and semifinals due to claiming the top seed. The top remaining seed hosts the championship game.
The teams
Bracket
The Horizon League has a downloadable bracket available here.
Schedule and results (all times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 3 (First round)
No. 5 Detroit 77, No. 8 Youngstown State 67
No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 60, No. 7 Wright State 57
Friday, March 6 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 72, No. 3 Oakland 69
Game 4: No. 4 Cleveland State 70, No. 5 Detroit 53
Saturday, March 7 (Semifinals)
Game 5: No. 2 Green Bay 70, No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 56
Game 6: No. 1 Valparaiso 60, No. 4 Cleveland State 55
Tuesday, March 10 (Championship)
No. 1 Valparaiso 54, No. 2 Green Bay 44
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