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As Northwestern showed us last night with their amazing buzzer beater, it is officially March. The games are getting more dramatic and the stakes are higher, and that is most definitely the case when it comes to conference tournaments. There are 32 automatic bids available to the conference tournament champions, and for the Horizon League, that is the only team that will get to participate in the big dance.
The Horizon League Tournament will take place from Friday, March 3 through Tuesday, March 7 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Oakland will be the favorite of the 10-team field, as they tied Valparaiso for first in the regular season with a 14-4 record in conference play. Oakland went 2-0 against Valpo in the regular season to earn the 1-seed in the tournament.
3-seed Green Bay will also be a team to watch, as they won it all last year as a 4-seed. They beat Wright State 78-69 in the Horizon League Championship, then got promptly blown out 92-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Texas Tech.
I’ll obviously be pulling for Valpo because this Bryce Drew buzzer beater will always give me goosebumps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkMgHADJHms
Now that you know a little bit about the Horizon League Tournament, let’s break down the bracket and schedule for the upcoming games.
2017 Horizon League Tournament Bracket
Horizon League’s Twitter2017 Horizon League Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 3 (First Round)
Game 1 – #7 Detroit vs. #10 Milwaukee at 5:30 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Game 2 – #8 Cleveland State vs. #9 Youngstown State at 8:00 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Saturday, March 4 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3 – #1 Oakland vs. Game 2 Winner at 5:30 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Game 4 – #2 Valparaiso vs. Game 1 Winner at 8:00 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Sunday, March 5 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5 – #3 Green Bay vs. #6 Illinois at Chicago at 5:00 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Game 6 – #4 Northern Kentucky vs. #5 Wright State at 7:30 P.M. ET on ESPN3
Monday, March 6 (Semifinals)
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner at 7:00 P.M. ET on ESPNU
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner at 9:30 P.M. ET on ESPNU
Tuesday, March 7 (Championship)
Game 9 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner at 7:00 P.M. ET on ESPN
