The Horizon League men's basketball conference tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1980. The winner of the tournament is designated the Horizon League Tournament Champion and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The finals of the tournament are typically among the first held before the field for the NCAA tournament is announced.
| Horizon League men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Horizon League |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Indiana Farmers Coliseum |
| Current location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Played | 1980–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Oakland (1) |
| Most championships | Butler Bulldogs (7) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN+ |
| Official website | https://horizonleague.org/tournaments/?id=63 |
| Host stadiums | |
| Roberts Municipal Stadium (1980–1983) Campus locations (1981, 2003–2015, 2019–present) Frederickson Fieldhouse (1981) Riverfront Coliseum (1981, 1992) Mabee Center (1982, 1985) UIC Pavilion (1984, 1999–2000) Market Square Arena (1986–1988, 1993) University of Dayton Arena (1989–1991) Hinkle Fieldhouse (1994, 2004, 2008–2010) Nutter Center (1995–1997, 2001, 2007) Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (1998) CSU Convocation Center (2002) U.S. Cellular Arena (2003–2006, 2011) Athletics–Recreation Center (2012–2013, 2015) Resch Center (2014) Joe Louis Arena (2016–2017) Little Caesars Arena (2018–2019) Indiana Farmers Coliseum (2020–present) | |
History and tournament format
editThrough 2002, the entire tournament was hosted at a single venue. From 2003 through 2015, all first-round matches were played at the home court of the higher-seeded team involved. Hosting rights for the quarterfinals and semifinals were awarded to the winner of the regular season championship. The championship game was played at the home arena of the higher remaining seed. This format rewarded the regular-season champion and runner-up with a double-bye into the semifinals. The regular-season champion received the added benefit of home-court advantage in the semifinals, plus a home-court final if it won its semifinal.
Beginning in 2009, the Horizon League secured an entitlement sponsorship of its men's and women's basketball tournaments with Speedway SuperAmerica, a major gas and convenience store chain throughout the midwest United States, officially changing the name of the tournaments to "The Speedway Horizon League Men's/Women's Basketball Championship".
From 2016 to 2019, the Horizon League tournament was held in Detroit under a five-year deal, beginning at Joe Louis Arena, adding the women's tournament in 2017 (with both events marketed under the title Motor City Madness), and moving to the newly-opened Little Caesars Arena beginning in 2018.[1][2][3][4]
However, the contract with Detroit was ended a year early;[5] the league reopened bidding for the men's and women's tournaments in 2018, with the new contract taking effect with the 2019–20 season.[6] On January 25, 2019, the conference announced that Indianapolis would host the men's and women's semifinals and final from 2020 to 2022, with Indiana Farmers Coliseum as the venue.[7] In 2022, the deal was extended through 2026.[8]
Horizon League tournament champions
edit| 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 |
| Oral Roberts | 2 | 1980, 1984 |
| UIC | 2 | 2002, 2004 |
| Valparaiso | 2 | 2013, 2015 |
| Dayton | 1 | 1990 |
| Loyola | 1 | 1985 |
| Northern Illinois | 1 | 1996 |
| Oakland | 1 | 2024 |
| Oklahoma City | 1 | 1981 |
| Duquesne | 0 | |
| IU Indianapolis | 0 | |
| La Salle | 0 | |
| Marquette | 0 | |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 0 | |
| Robert Morris | 0 | |
| Saint Louis | 0 | |
| Youngstown State | 0 |
- Notes
- Current conference members in bold.
Horizon League Tournament all-time standings
editCurrent members
edit- Through 2020 tournament finals
| School | Record | Winning pct | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 33–37 | .471 | 3 |
| Wright State | 28–24 | .538 | 3 |
| Green Bay | 24–25 | .490 | 2 |
| Milwaukee | 23–20 | .535 | 4 |
| Cleveland State | 19–23 | .452 | 3 |
| Northern Kentucky | 10–3 | .769 | 3 |
| Oakland | 7–9 | .438 | 0 |
| Youngstown State | 7–21 | .250 | 0 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 2–2 | .500 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | 1–2 | .333 | 0 |
| IUPUI | 0–5 | .000 | 0 |
Former members
edit| School | Record | Winning pct | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 30–25 | .545 | 7 |
| Loyola | 25–32 | .439 | 1 |
| Xavier | 24–10 | .706 | 6 |
| UIC | 24–25 | .490 | 2 |
| Evansville | 15–12 | .556 | 3 |
| Valparaiso | 8–6 | .571 | 2 |
| Oral Roberts | 7–6 | .538 | 2 |
| Saint Louis | 7–8 | .467 | 0 |
| Northern Illinois | 5–2 | .714 | 1 |
| Dayton | 5–4 | .556 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City | 5–4 | .556 | 1 |
| Duquesne | 1–1 | .500 | 0 |
| Marquette | 0–2 | .000 | 0 |
| La Salle | 0–3 | .000 | 0 |
Horizon League Tournament results
edit| Year | Champion | Seed | Score | Runner-up | Seed | Tournament MVP | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Oral Roberts | 2 | 103–93 | Loyola | 1 | Calvin Garrett, Oral Roberts | Roberts Municipal Stadium – Evansville, IN |
| 1981 | Oklahoma City | 2 | 82–76 | Xavier | 1 | Anthony Hicks, Xavier | Opening round: campus locations Semifinals: Frederickson Fieldhouse – Oklahoma City, OK Championship: Riverfront Coliseum – Cincinnati, OH |
| 1982 | Evansville | 1 | 81–72 | Loyola | 3 | Brad Leaf, Evansville | Mabee Center – Tulsa, OK |
| 1983 | Xavier | 2 | 82–76 | Loyola | 1 | Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola | Roberts Municipal Stadium – Evansville, IN |
| 1984 | Oral Roberts | 1 | 82–76 | Xavier | 3 | Sam Potter, Oral Roberts | UIC Pavilion – Chicago, IL |
| 1985 | Loyola | 1 | 89–83 | Oral Roberts | 3 | Alfredrick Hughes, Loyola | Mabee Center – Tulsa, OK |
| 1986 | Xavier | 1 | 74–66 | Saint Louis | 2 | Byron Larkin, Xavier | Market Square Arena – Indianapolis, IN |
| 1987 | Xavier | 3 | 81–69 | Saint Louis | 4 | ||
| 1988 | Xavier | 1 | 122–96 | Detroit | 6 | ||
| 1989 | Xavier | 3 | 85–78 | Evansville | 1 | Tyrone Hill, Xavier | University of Dayton Arena – Dayton, OH |
| 1990 | Dayton | 2 | 98–89 | Xavier | 1 | Negele Knight, Dayton | |
| 1991 | Xavier | 1 | 81–68 | Saint Louis | 3 | Jamie Gladden, Xavier | |
| 1992 | Evansville | 2 | 95–76 | Butler | 3 | Parrish Casebier, Evansville | Riverfront Coliseum – Cincinnati, OH |
| 1993 | Evansville | 2 | 80–69 | Xavier | 1 | Market Square Arena – Indianapolis, IN | |
| 1994 | Detroit | 4 | 72–63 | Evansville | 2 | Andy Elkins, Evansville | Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN |
| 1995 | Green Bay | 3 | 73–59 | Wright State | 8 | Jeff Nordgaard, Green Bay | Nutter Center – Dayton, OH |
| 1996 | Northern Illinois | 3 | 84–63 | Detroit | 5 | Chris Coleman, Northern Illinois | |
| 1997 | Butler | 1 | 69–68 | UIC | 3 | Kelsey Wilson, Butler | |
| 1998 | Butler | 3 | 70–51 | Green Bay | 4 | Jon Neuhouser, Butler | Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena – Green Bay, WI |
| 1999 | Detroit | 1 | 72–65 | Butler | 2 | Rashad Phillips, Detroit | UIC Pavilion – Chicago, IL |
| 2000 | Butler | 1 | 62–43 | Detroit | 3 | Mike Marshall, Butler | |
| 2001 | Butler | 1 | 53–38 | Detroit | 2 | LaVall Jordan, Butler | Nutter Center – Dayton, OH |
| 2002 | UIC | 6 | 76–75 (OT) | Loyola | 5 | Cedrick Banks, UIC | CSU Convocation Center – Cleveland, OH |
| 2003 | Milwaukee | 2 | 69–52 | Butler | 1 | Clay Tucker, Milwaukee | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI |
| 2004 | UIC | 2 | 65–62 | Milwaukee | 1 | Armond Williams, UIC | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI |
| 2005 | Milwaukee | 1 | 59–58 | Detroit | 3 | Joah Tucker, Milwaukee | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI |
| 2006 | Milwaukee | 1 | 87–71 | Butler | 2 | Adrian Tigert, Milwaukee | |
| 2007 | Wright State | 1 | 60–55 | Butler | 2 | DaShaun Wood, Wright State | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Nutter Center – Dayton, OH |
| 2008 | Butler | 1 | 70–55 | Cleveland State | 2 | Mike Green, Butler | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN |
| 2009 | Cleveland State | 3 | 57–54 | Butler | 1 | Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State | |
| 2010 | Butler | 1 | 70–45 | Wright State | 2 | Matt Howard, Butler | |
| 2011 | Butler | 2 | 59–44 | Milwaukee | 1 | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI | |
| 2012 | Detroit | 3 | 70–50 | Valparaiso | 1 | Ray McCallum, Jr., Detroit | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Athletics–Recreation Center – Valparaiso, IN |
| 2013 | Valparaiso | 1 | 62–54 | Wright State | 3 | Erik Buggs, Valparaiso | |
| 2014 | Milwaukee | 5 | 69–63 | Wright State | 3 | Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals: Resch Center – Green Bay, WI Championship: Nutter Center – Dayton, OH |
| 2015 | Valparaiso | 1 | 54–44 | Green Bay | 2 | Alec Peters, Valparaiso | Opening round: campus locations Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship: Athletics–Recreation Center – Valparaiso, IN |
| 2016 | Green Bay | 4 | 78–69 | Wright State | 3 | Jordan Fouse, Green Bay | Joe Louis Arena – Detroit, MI |
| 2017 | Northern Kentucky | 4 | 59–53 | Milwaukee | 10 | Lavone Holland II, Northern Kentucky | |
| 2018 | Wright State | 2 | 74–57 | Cleveland State | 8 | Grant Benzinger, Wright State | Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI |
| 2019 | Northern Kentucky | 2 | 77–66 | Wright State | 1 | Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky | Opening round: campus locations Semifinals, Championship: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI |
| 2020 | Northern Kentucky | 2 | 71–62 | UIC | 4 | Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky | Opening round: campus locations Semifinals, Championship: Indiana Farmers Coliseum – Indianapolis, IN |
| 2021 | Cleveland State | 1 | 80–69 | Oakland | 3 | Torrey Patton, Cleveland State | |
| 2022 | Wright State | 4 | 72–71 | Northern Kentucky | 3 | Grant Basile, Wright State | |
| 2023 | Northern Kentucky | 4 | 63–61 | Cleveland State | 3 | Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | |
| 2024 | Oakland | 1 | 83–76 | Milwaukee | 6 | Trey Townsend, Oakland |
Postseason appearances
editHorizon League members past and present have made several Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four appearances. Charter member Loyola also won the 1963 NCAA tournament.
Current tournaments
edit| Season | NCAA Tournament | National Invitation Tournament | College Basketball Invitational | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team (seed) | Finish | Team (seed) | Finish | Team (seed) | Finish | |
| 1980 | Loyola | First round | Tournament not held | |||
| 1981 | ||||||
| 1982 | Evansville (10) | First round | Oral Roberts | First round | ||
| 1983 | Xavier (12) | Preliminary round | ||||
| 1984 | Oral Roberts (11) | First round | Xavier | Quarterfinals | ||
| 1985 | Loyola (4) | Sweet 16 | Butler | First round | ||
| 1986 | Xavier (12) | First round | ||||
| 1987 | Xavier (13) | Second round | St. Louis | Second round | ||
| 1988 | Xavier (11) | First round | Evansville | First round | ||
| 1989 | Evansville (11) | Second round | St. Louis | Runner-Up | ||
| Xavier (14) | Second round | |||||
| 1990 | Xavier (6) | Sweet 16 | St. Louis | Runner-Up | ||
| Dayton (12) | Second round | Marquette | First round | |||
| 1991 | Xavier (14) | Second round | Butler | First round | ||
| 1992 | Evansville (8) | First round | Butler | First round | ||
| 1993 | Xavier (9) | Second round | ||||
| Evansville (14) | First round | |||||
| 1994 | Xavier | Quarterfinals | ||||
| Evansville | First round | |||||
| 1995 | Green Bay (14) | First round | ||||
| Xavier (11) | First round | |||||
| 1996 | Green Bay (8) | First round | ||||
| Northern Illinois (14) | First round | |||||
| 1997 | Butler (14) | First round | ||||
| 1998 | UIC (9) | First round | ||||
| Detroit (10) | Second round | |||||
| Butler (13) | First round | |||||
| 1999 | Detroit (12) | First round | Butler | Quarterfinals | ||
| 2000 | Butler (12) | First round | ||||
| 2001 | Butler (10) | First round | Detroit | Semifinals | ||
| 2002 | UIC (15) | First round | Butler | Second round | ||
| Detroit | First round | |||||
| 2003 | Butler (12) | Sweet 16 | UIC | First round | ||
| Milwaukee (12) | First round | |||||
| 2004 | UIC (13) | First round | Milwaukee | First round | ||
| 2005 | Milwaukee (12) | Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2006 | Milwaukee (11) | Second round | Butler (8) | First round | ||
| 2007 | Butler (5) | Sweet 16 | ||||
| Wright State (14) | First round | |||||
| 2008 | Butler (7) | Second round | Cleveland State (6) | First round | Valparaiso (4) | Second round |
| 2009 | Butler (9) | First round | Green Bay (2) | First round | ||
| Cleveland State (13) | Second round | |||||
| 2010 | Butler (5) | Nat'l Runner-Up | Green Bay (3) | Second round | ||
| 2011 | Butler (8) | Nat'l Runner-Up | Cleveland State (2) | Second round | ||
| Milwaukee (5) | First round | |||||
| 2012 | Detroit (15) | First round | Cleveland State (6) | First round | Butler | Semifinals |
| Valparaiso (7) | First round | Milwaukee | First round | |||
| 2013 | Valparaiso (14) | First round | Detroit (6) | First round | Wright State | Semifinals |
| 2014 | Milwaukee (15) | First round | Green Bay (4) | First round | ||
| 2015 | Valparaiso (13) | First round | Green Bay (5) | First round | ||
| 2016 | Green Bay (14) | First round | Valparaiso (1) | Runner-Up | ||
| 2017 | Northern Kentucky (15) | First round | Oakland (7) | Second round | Green Bay | First round |
| Valparaiso (7) | First round | UIC | First round | |||
| 2018 | Wright State (13) | First round | Northern Kentucky (7) | First round | ||
| 2019 | Northern Kentucky (14) | First round | Wright State (7) | First round | ||
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 2021 | Cleveland State (15) | First round | ||||
| 2022 | Wright State (16) | First round | Cleveland State (7) | First round | Purdue Fort Wayne (16) | First round |
| 2023 | Northern Kentucky (16) | First round | Youngstown State (8) | First round | Cleveland State (9) | First round |
| Milwaukee (11) | Quarterfinals | |||||
Defunct tournaments
edit| Season | CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament | Vegas 16 | The Basketball Classic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Finish | Team | Finish | Team | Finish | |
| 2009 | Tournament not held | Tournament not held | ||||
| 2010 | ||||||
| 2011 | Valparaiso | First round | ||||
| 2012 | ||||||
| 2013 | Youngstown State | Second round | ||||
| UIC | Second round | |||||
| Green Bay | First round | |||||
| 2014 | Valparaiso | First round | ||||
| Wright State | Second round | |||||
| Cleveland State | First round | |||||
| 2015 | Cleveland State | Second round | ||||
| Oakland | First round | |||||
| 2016 | Oakland | Runner-Up | ||||
| 2017 | Tournament not held | |||||
| 2018 | UIC | Runner-Up | ||||
| 2019 | Green Bay | Runner-Up | ||||
| 2020 | Tournament not held | |||||
| 2021 | ||||||
| 2022 | Detroit Mercy | First round | ||||
| Youngstown State | Quarterfinals | |||||
Broadcasters
editTelevision
editRadio
edit| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Westwood One | Wayne Larrivee | Will Perdue |
| 2012 [20] | Dave Ryan | Pete Gillen | |
| 2011[21] | Wayne Larrivee | ||
| 2010[22] | |||
| 2009[23] | Mark Champion |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "Moving Horizon League tourney to Detroit is all about branding". The Detroit News. MediaNews Group. May 7, 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ Paul, Tony (January 25, 2019). "Motor City 'Sadness': Horizon League pulls plug on hoops tourneys in Detroit". The Detroit News. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Paul, Tony (May 7, 2015). "Moving Horizon League tourney to Detroit is all about branding". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- ^ Potter, Bill (July 5, 2016). "Horizon League Announces 2017 Little Caesars Motor City Madness Updates". Horizon League. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Paul, Tony (March 13, 2019). "'Beyond compare': Horizon League commish raves about four-year run in Detroit". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "Horizon League Announces Bid Process for #HLMBB and #HLWBB Tournament" (Press release). Horizon League. October 12, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- ^ "Horizon League Announces Indianapolis as Future Site for #HLMBB and #HLWBB Championships" (Press release). Horizon League. January 25, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- ^ "Indianapolis to Remain Home of Horizon League Basketball Championships as HL and ISFC Extend Partnership" (Press release). Horizon League. September 20, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "Championship Week Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Schedule - ESPN Press Room U.S." 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1 | ESPN MediaZone". Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/02/28/championship-week-presented-by-dick%e2%80%99s-sporting-goods-schedule/?s-sporting-goods-schedule/
- ^ "Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4 | ESPN MediaZone". Espnmediazone3.com. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "ESPN Press Room". www.espnmediazone.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009.
- ^ "Vikings Face Butler In Horizon League Title Game - CLEVELAND STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". Csuvikings.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "What to Watch: College basketball lovers rejoice". www.mysanantonio.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.
- ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "Milwaukee Athletics - Men's Basketball". Uwmpanthers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wiml/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/champnotes.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Horizon League Championship Highlights: Detroit 70 – Valparaiso 50 | Westwood One SportsWestwood One Sports". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ "We've Moved!".
- ^ http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1267859867;start=all [dead link]
- ^ http://images.westwoodone.com/images/pdf/pressreleases/2009NCAAChampionshipWeek.pdf [permanent dead link]
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