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Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship 2016 Bracket and Schedule

By Zac Snyder

Mar 11, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; A detailed view of the bench before the game between the Wright State Raiders and the Milwaukee Panthers during the championship game of the Horizon League tournament at the Nutter Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; A detailed view of the bench before the game between the Wright State Raiders and the Milwaukee Panthers during the championship game of the Horizon League tournament at the Nutter Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oakland Golden Grizzlies and Detroit Titans play for the Horizon League’s auto bid to the NCAA Tournament in the conference tourney at Joe Louis Arena.

For four days the home of the Detroit Red Wings will be the home of the Horizon League as the Joe plays host to the conference’s men’s basketball tournament.

This is the first time since 2002 that the Horizon League will have a single-site tournament and the first of a five year commitment the league has made to Detroit. The first two will be played at Joe Louis Arena before moving to the new Red Wings arena in 2018.

Detroit is a great location fit for the Horizon League with the city in the midst of a resurgence, a central location for member schools and two schools of local interest, Oakland University and the University of Detroit, to help draw crowds.

Valparaiso finished the conference season with a three-game lead atop the standings to claim the number one seed for the conference tournament. The Oakland Golden Grizzlies earned the number two seed thanks to a season-sweep of Wright State to break a tie.

That’s a big advantage for OU given the format that has the top two seeds receiving double byes directly to the semifinals. Teams seeded three through ten have to win four games to claim the tournament title while the top two seeds need only win twice.

The schedule is as follows:

Saturday, March 5 – First Round
12:00 p.m. – Game 1: (9) Cleveland State vs. (4) Green Bay
2:30 p.m. – Game 2: (8) Northern Kentucky vs. (5) Milwaukee
5:00 p.m. – Game 3: (10) UIC vs. (3) Wright State
7:30 p.m. – Game 4: (7) Youngstown State vs. (6) Detroit

Sunday, March 6 – Second Round
1:00 p.m. – Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
3:30 p.m. – Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner

Monday, March 7 – Semifinals
7:00 p.m. – Game 7: (1) Valparaiso vs. Game 5 winner
9:30 p.m. – Game 8: (2) Oakland vs. Game 6 winner

Tuesday, March 8 – Championship
7:00 p.m. – Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner

All first and second round games will be streamed online via ESPN3. The Semifinals will be televised on ESPNU and the championship will be on ESPN.

Next: March 2016 Detroit Sports Calendar

A variety of ticket options are available online through the league’s tournament webpage.

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