Horizon League Tournament Opening Odds Favor Wright State (-115) and Northern Kentucky (+170)
- The 2020 Horizon League Tournament takes place Mar. 3rd to 10th
- Wright State and Northern Kentucky are the prohibitive favorites to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament
- Check out our prediction on who will be punching their ticket to the big dance from the Horizon Conference
The Horizon League conference tournament runs from March 3rd to 10th. First-round and quarterfinal games take place at on-campus sites while the semifinals and finals will be at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
Wright State (25-6, 15-3 Horizon) captured its first regular-season title and the number-one seed in the tournament with a 64-62 win over second-place Northern Kentucky (21-9, 13-5 Horizon) earlier this week.
The Raiders are now odds-on favorites to win the conference tournament, with the Norse again second. As shown in the bracket underneath the odds table, both teams receive a double-bye to the semifinals. Third-seeded Green Bay received a bye to the quarterfinals while the rest of the field will have to win four straight games to win the tournament.
2020 Horizon Conference Tournament Odds
| Team (Seed) | Odds |
|---|---|
| Wright State (#1) | -115 |
| Northern Kentucky (#2) | +170 |
| Green Bay (#3) | +900 |
| UIC (#4) | +1000 |
| Youngstown State (#5) | +2000 |
| Oakland (#6) | +2500 |
| Cleveland State (#7) | +6500 |
| Milwaukee (#8) | +8000 |
| IUPUI (#9) | +9000 |
Odds taken March 2, 2020.
2020 Horizon League Tournament Bracket
Wright State or Northern Kentucky?
Wright State won both their meetings with Northern Kentucky this year. Their most recent victory was on the road, where they squeaked by the Norse 64-62. Their first meeting with Northern Kentucky was pure domination, routing NKU 95-63 at home.
Wright State’s offense is spectacular to watch. They average 81.8 points per game, which is fifth-best in the country. They shoot a high percentage as a team (46.2 percent) and work hard on the offensive glass, averaging 12.2 ORPG.
Their rebound advantage comes in large part to their number-one option, Loudon Love. The 6’8 center out of Illinois is averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season.He has 12 double-doubles, including a 20-point and 14-rebound performance in their most recent win over NKU.
Loudon Love. Remember The Name.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 29, 2020
Northern Kentucky plays a more defense-oriented game than Wright State. The Norse have the best defense in the conference giving up just 65.3 points per game this season. Forcing turnovers with quick hands is their game as they averaged 8.1 steals per game this year.
Northern Kentucky only had one bad loss in conference play at the hands of Detroit. Their other losses came to Wright State (twice), at Green Bay, and at home to UIC.
The Norse are led by seniors Dantez Walton and Tyler Sharpe. Walton missed over a month due to a chest injury, but he is still the leading scorer on the team averaging 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Sharpe is averaging 14.9 points and 2.2 assists per game this season.
Dantez Walton SHUT DOWN BB&T with this dunk tonight in our win vs Oakland! @SportsCenter @espn @BleacherReport @overtime #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/m0GDJO5bFi
— NKU Men's Basketball (@NKUNorseMBB) February 7, 2020
Walton could very well be the difference-maker for Northern Kentucky in this tournament. I still believe Wright State has the upper hand with their powerful offense, but Northern Kentucky’s stout defense with a healthy Dantez Walton will be dangerous.
The Best of the Rest
Green Bay and UIC are the two other schools that can compete in this tournament. Youngstown State, Oakland, and Milwaukee had decent seasons but do not have the necessary components to make a run for their conference title.
UIC had an up and down start to the Horizon league play this season. The Flames started 1-4 but rallied back to finish fourth in the conference with a 15-16 record overall and a 10-8 conference record. They had big wins over Northern Kentucky, Green Bay, and most recently Oakland to give them some momentum heading into the tournament.
Another one! @JayquanMccloud nets his 1,000th point in his Green Bay career, and he did it in only 2 years!
Congratulations JayQuan ‼️ pic.twitter.com/09waL1UnWS
— Green Bay Basketball (@gbphoenixmbb) February 28, 2020
Despite their 16-15 overall record, Green Bay is one of the more sneakier good teams in the Horizon. According to KenPom, they have the highest-rated offensive rating in the conference at 105.6.
They average 82.2 points per game and move the ball around really well averaging 16.4 assists per game. Their entire offense is run through senior guard JayQuan McCloud, who has averaged 17.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists this season.
Best Bet
There is not a whole lot of value in taking Wright State at -115 to win, so I am going to look elsewhere. Northern Kentucky’s defense does look appetizing, but I am mesmerized by Green Bay’s ability to score the ball.
In the last month, Green Bay has scored over 90 points in five games. JayQuan McCloud has also been on fire averaging 23.8 points per game in his last five contests. Green Bay finished third which gives them a bye to the quarterfinals where they will most likely play either Cleveland State or Oakland.
Green Bay has beaten Wright State and Northern Kentucky this season, and I believe they have the ability to do it again. This is definitely more of a value play so do not get greedy, but McCloud and the Phoenix will be out to bust Horizon Conference Tournament brackets this week.
Best Bet: Green Bay +900
SBD’s NCAA conference tournament coverage:
With 5+ years of sports journalism under his belt, Ryan Sura may be young, but he's already making his mark. Ryan is the lead NHL editor at SBD, along with managing content for MMA, Boxing, and Racing. He is also the commercial manager, highlighting the best promos at online sportsbooks across US.
