History:
The Horizon League has a rich NCAA Tournament history, highlighted by Butler’s back-to-back appearances in the title game in 2010 and 2011. The 2011 squad was the last team to win an NCAA Tournament game until 2024, when Oakland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Kentucky by four in a 13-vs-4 game. They followed that up by taking the eventual Final Four squad of North Carolina State to overtime in the second round.
Returning Champion:
As I just mentioned, Oakland won the tournament as the #1 seed, avoiding a 1-vs-7 upset against Cleveland State by three.
Format:
All 11 teams make it, with seeds 1-5 receiving first-round byes. One unique feature is that the Horizon reseeds after every round. For example, for as long as Robert Morris is in the tournament, they will play the lowest remaining seed.
Contenders:
Robert Morris is the top seed after a 23-8 (15-5) regular season. According to the NET, the best squad is #3 seed Milwaukee (21-10, 14-6). Milwaukee owns a non-conference Quadrant 2 win over Akron. Also at the top are Cleveland State (20-11, 14-6) and Youngstown State (19-12, 13-7) to go along with high-scoring Purdue Fort Wayne (19-12, 12-8). It should come as no surprise that this is a wide-open conference.
The Horizon is the 19th-ranked conference and should be able to avoid a #16 seed unless there is a major upset winner.
Sleeper:
Oakland (14-17) challenged themselves in the non-conference, playing five Quadrant 1 games. In the Diamond Head Classic, they defeated Loyola-Chicago before losing to Oregon State in overtime in the title game. The Golden Grizzles swept Milwaukee but were swept by Robert Morris in close contests.
How it should play out:
Firstly, I won’t completely ignore the 4-27 campaign for broadcaster-turned-head coach Doug Gottlieb at Green Bay. The Phoenix aren’t traditional powers (they have 20+ losses in three of their last four campaigns), but they were coming off an 18-14 season.
I like Purdue Fort Wayne, though to pick them means I am confident they can beat Youngstown State on the road in the quarterfinals (the quarterfinals are played at campus sites). Hence, I have to scratch them.
I like Milwaukee’s path the best, but this is a crapshoot.
Winner:
Milwaukee.