Yahoo Sports
Horizon League basketball tournaments: UDM men, Oakland men and women open at home
The Horizon League men’s and women’s basketball regular seasons wrapped up on Saturday, setting the stage for the conference tournaments beginning Thursday.
With an unbalanced number of games played by all teams, the league went with a formula that weighed winning percentage, games played, home and away wins and strength of schedule to seed the teams for the tournaments, which wrap up March 9 in Indianapolis.
The Oakland men were the big winners, moving up to the No. 3 seed despite a 10-10 record that was fifth in league play. The Golden Grizzlies will host a quarterfinal game on March 2 (7 p.m.) against the second-highest seeded winner from the first round.
TITANS DOWN: Detroit Mercy basketball canceled for second straight week, this for COVID-19 issues
MSU'S TEST: How Spartans flipped the switch to beat Oakland
ANN ARBOR SCARE: Michigan shatters Oakland's zone defense thanks to Hunter Dickinson
Conversely, the Detroit Mercy men — who won 10 of 12 games after taking a four-game pause in January for COVID-19 issues and a “mental health” break — took a bit of a hit in the seeding process. The Titans finished with a 10-6 record, good for a tie for third in the conference, but received the No. 5 seed. Still, UDM will host a first-round game as No. 12 Robert Morris will visit Calihan Hall on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Titans are coming off a weekend sweep of the Colonials, who are in their first season in the conference, with UDM junior Antoine Davis breaking the 20-point mark for the 12th straight game.
On the women’s side, Oakland received the No. 4 seed and will be off until its quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 IUPUI on March 2. The women’s tournament has only 11 teams, as Detroit Mercy ended its season last month after allegations of abuse and NCAA violations against first-year coach AnnMarie Gilbert.
Both tournaments will reseed after every round. All quarterfinal winners will advance to the tournament semifinals on March 8 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, with the finals the next day. The women’s final will be at noon, followed by the men’s final at 7 p.m. No fans will be allowed for any tournament games.
The schedules:
Horizon League men’s tournament
Thursday’s first round
No. 12 Robert Morris at No. 5 Detroit Mercy, 7 p.m.
No. 11 UIC at No. 6 Youngstown State, 8 p.m.
No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne at No. 7 Green Bay, 8 p.m.
No. 9 IUPUI at No. 8 Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Quarterfinals, March 2
Lowest-remaining seed at No. 1 Cleveland State, 7 p.m.
Second lowest-remaining seed at No. 2 Wright State, 7 p.m.
Second highest-remaining seed at No. 3 Oakland, 7:30 p.m.
Highest-remaining seed at No. 4 Northern Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Semifinals, March 8
Semifinal No. 1, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Semifinal No. 2, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Final, March 9
Semifinal 1 winner vs. semifinal 2 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Horizon League women’s tournament
Thursday’s first round
No. 11 UIC at No. 6 Cleveland State, time TBA
No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne at No. 7 Youngstown State, time TBA
No. 9 Robert Morris at No. 8 Northern Kentucky, time TBA
Quarterfinals, March 2
Lowest-remaining seed at No. 1 Wright State, time TBA
Second lowest-remaining seed at No. 2 Milwaukee, time TBA
No. 5 IUPUI at No. 4 Oakland, time TBA
Highest-remaining seed at No. 3 Green Bay, time TBA
Semifinals, March 8
Semifinal No. 1, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Semifinal No. 2, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Final, March 9
Semifinal 1 winner vs. semifinal 2 winner, noon (ESPNU)
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Horizon League basketball tourneys: UDM men, OU men/women open at home
