Horizon League Basketball Tournament: Schedule, Odds, Predictions, Analysis

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Oakland's Keaton Hervey, left, grabs a rebound against Michigan State's Mady Sissoko during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 67-54.
(AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Chase Kiddy @chaseakiddy Mar 07, 2024, 7:07 PM
  • The Horizon League Tournament will run March 5-12.
  • Youngstown State (+180) is favored to win the conference.
  • Oakland, the No. 1 seed, is +250.

The Horizon League menโ€™s basketball tournament kicks off on March 5. BetMGM has college basketball odds for this conference tournament and all the other 2024 NCAA conference tournaments ahead of March Madness.ย 

Like many low-major conferences, the league desperately wants to get one of its top seeds into the NCAA Tournament. As a result, the league uses a non-fixed bracket system for its conference tournaments that insulates top seeds against upsets.

Higher seeds host games on campus during the first two rounds. In addition, the game pairings are reseeded after the first and second rounds.

Because of this, itโ€™s much more possible for any of the top three seeds to go the entire tournament without having to play another top team, depending on how many upsets there are.ย 

Horizon League Conference Tournament Schedule

The Horizon League conference tournament runs March 5-12, with the final two rounds played at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

  • Game 1: No. 11 Detroit Mercy at No. 6 Milwaukee (March 5)
  • Game 2: No. 10 IUPUI at No. 7 Cleveland State (March 5)
  • Game 3: No. 9 Robert Morris at No. 8 Purdue Fort Wayne (March 5)
  • Game 4: TBD at No. 1 Oakland (March 7)
  • Game 5: TBD at No. 2 Youngstown State (March 7)
  • Game 6: TBD at No. 3 Green Bay (March 7)
  • Game 7: No. 5 Northern Kentucky at No. 4 Wright State (March 7)
  • Game 8: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed (March 11)
  • Game 9: Middle Seed 1 vs. Middle Seed 2 (March 11)
  • Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (March 12)

Horizon League Conference Tournament Odds

TeamsOdds
Youngstown State +200
Oakland+260
Wright State+275
Purdue Fort Wayne+1200
Green Bay+1200
Northern Kentucky+1400
Milwaukee +2000
Cleveland State+2000
Robert Morris+15000
Detroit Mercy+25000
IUPUI+25000

Horizon League Conference Tournament Prediction

Oakland (+250) will win the Horizon League and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.ย 

The Grizzlies are a combined 3-1 against the other two top seeds in the tournament and will enjoy superior advantages from the reseeding process. I believe +250 is too rich for the fundamentals with the team.

Here are a couple of other notes to keep in mind:

No. 4 Seeds Living Their Best Life

At +275, Wright State is noticeably high in the table for a team that will have to play a top five conference team by the second round.

Online sportsbooks obviously donโ€™t make bid odds decisions off simple trends. However, it is interesting that the Horizon League tournament has been won in each of the last two years by the No. 4 seeds.ย 

Is this a coincidence? Absolutely. Should you think about Wright anyway? Perhaps. After all, the +275 for a No. 4 seed is telling you to take the Raiders seriously.ย 

Green Bay Fades Down the Stretch

The other side of the coin in the Horizon League tournament odds is Green Bay (18-13), which led the conference with a 12-3 record on Feb. 10, but lost four of their last five to end the season.

Green Bayโ€™s status as a mid-table +1200 bet โ€“ tied with No. 8 seed Purdue Fort Wayne โ€“ telegraphs exactly what BetMGMโ€™s traders think of Green Bayโ€™s championship chances. Bettors should probably stay away.

  • 2023-24 Horizon League Standings
    Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Win Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Win Pct.
    Oakland 15 5 .750 20 11 .645
    Youngstown St. 14 6 .700 22 9 .710
    Wright St. 13 7 .650 18 13 .581
    Green Bay 13 7 .650 18 13 .581
    Milwaukee 12 8 .600 17 14 .548
    N. Kentucky 12 8 .600 17 14 .548
    PFW 11 9 .550 20 11 .645
    Clev. St. 11 9 .550 18 13 .581
    Robert Morris 6 14 .300 10 21 .323
    IUPUI 2 18 .100 6 25 .194
    Detroit 1 19 .050 1 30 .032
  • Horizon League Tournament Champions
    Year Champion Runner-Up Score
    1980 Oral Roberts Loyola 103โ€“93
    1981 Oklahoma City Xavier 82โ€“76
    1982 Evansville Loyola 81โ€“72
    1983 Xavier Loyola 82โ€“76
    1984 Oral Roberts Xavier 82โ€“76
    1985 Loyola Oral Roberts 89โ€“83
    1986 Xavier Saint Louis 74โ€“66
    1987 Xavier Saint Louis 81โ€“69
    1988 Xavier Detroit 122โ€“96
    1989 Xavier Evansville 85โ€“78
    1990 Dayton Xavier 98โ€“89
    1991 Xavier Saint Louis 81โ€“68
    1992 Evansville Butler 95โ€“76
    1993 Evansville Xavier 80โ€“69
    1994 Detroit Evansville 72โ€“63
    1995 Green Bay Wright State 73โ€“59
    1996 Northern Illinois Detroit 84โ€“63
    1997 Butler UIC 69โ€“68
    1998 Butler Green Bay 70โ€“51
    1999 Detroit Butler 72โ€“65
    2000 Butler Detroit 62โ€“43
    2001 Butler Detroit 53โ€“38
    2002 UIC Loyola 76โ€“75 (OT)
    2003 Milwaukee Butler 69โ€“52
    2004 UIC Milwaukee 65โ€“62
    2005 Milwaukee Detroit 59โ€“58
    2006 Milwaukee Butler 87โ€“71
    2007 Wright State Butler 60โ€“55
    2008 Butler Cleveland State 70โ€“55
    2009 Cleveland State Butler 57โ€“54
    2010 Butler Wright State 70โ€“45
    2011 Butler Milwaukee 59โ€“44
    2012 Detroit Valparaiso 70โ€“50
    2013 Valparaiso Wright State 62โ€“54
    2014 Milwaukee Wright State 69โ€“63
    2015 Valparaiso Green Bay 54โ€“44
    2016 Green Bay Wright State 78โ€“69
    2017 Northern Kentucky Milwaukee 59โ€“53
    2018 Wright State Cleveland State 74โ€“57
    2019 Northern Kentucky Wright State 77โ€“66
    2020 Northern Kentucky UIC 71โ€“62
    2021 Cleveland State Oakland 80โ€“69
    2022 Wright State Northern Kentucky 72โ€“71
    2023 Northern Kentucky Cleveland State 63โ€“61
  • Most Horizon League Tournament Championships
    Team Championships Years
    Butler 7 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011
    Xavier 6 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991
    Milwaukee 4 2003, 2005, 2006, 2014
    Northern Kentucky 4 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023
    Wright State 3 2007, 2018, 2022
    Detroit Mercy 3 1994, 1999, 2012
    Evansville 3 1982, 1992, 1993
    Cleveland State 2 2009, 2021
    Green Bay 2 1995, 2016
    UIC 2 2002, 2004
    Valparaiso 2 2013, 2015
    Oral Roberts 2 1980, 1984
    Loyola 1 1985
    Dayton 1 1990
    Northern Illinois 1 1996
    Oklahoma City 1 1981

Conference Tournament Previews & Predictions

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About the Author

Chase Kiddy

Read More @chaseakiddy

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.