2017 Horizon League men's basketball tournament

2017 Horizon League men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2016–17
Teams10
SiteJoe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
ChampionsNorthern Kentucky (1st title)
Winning coachJohn Brannen (1st title)
MVPLavone Holland (Northern Kentucky)
Attendance29,240
TelevisionESPN, ESPNU, ESPN3
← 2016
2018 →
2016–17 Horizon League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Oakland 14 – 4   .778 25 – 9   .735
Valparaiso 14 – 4   .778 24 – 9   .727
Green Bay 12 – 6   .667 18 – 14   .563
Northern Kentucky † 12 – 6   .667 24 – 11   .686
Wright State 11 – 7   .611 20 – 12   .625
UIC 7 – 11   .389 17 – 19   .472
Detroit 6 – 12   .333 8 – 23   .258
Cleveland State 5 – 13   .278 9 – 22   .290
Youngstown State 5 – 13   .278 13 – 21   .382
Milwaukee 4 – 14   .222 11 – 24   .314
† 2017 Horizon League Tournament winner

The 2017 Horizon League men's basketball tournament (also known as Motor City Madness) was the conference tournament for the Horizon League. It was played from March 3 through March 7, 2017 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Northern Kentucky defeated Milwaukee 59-53 in the championship game to win the tournament championship. As a result, Northern Kentucky received the conference's automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the first for the Norse in their first season of Division I eligibility.

Seeds

All 10 teams participated in the tournament. The top six teams receive a bye into the quarterfinals. This was a change from the previous season where the top two seeds received double byes into the semifinals.[1] Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.

Seed School Conference Tiebreaker
1 Oakland 14–4 2–0 vs. Valparaiso
2 Valparaiso 14–4 0–2 vs. Oakland
3 Green Bay 12–6 1–1 vs. Northern Kentucky; 1–1 vs. No. 1 Oakland
4 Northern Kentucky 12–6 1–1 vs. Green Bay; 0–2 vs. No. 1 Oakland
5 Wright State 11–7
6 UIC 7–11
7 Detroit 6–12
8 Cleveland State 5–13 1–1 vs. Youngstown State; 1–1 vs. No. 1 Oakland
9 Youngstown State 5–13 1–1 vs. Cleveland State; 0–2 vs. No. 1 Oakland
10 Milwaukee 4–14

Schedule

Game Time[2] Matchup Score Television[3][4]
First round – Friday, March 3
1 5:30 pm No. 7 Detroit vs. No. 10 Milwaukee 85–60 ESPN3
2 8:00 pm No. 8 Cleveland State vs. No. 9 Youngstown State 84–69 ESPN3
Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 4
3 5:30 pm No. 1 Oakland vs. No. 9 Youngstown State 81–80 ESPN3
4 8:00 pm No. 2 Valparaiso vs. No. 10 Milwaukee 43–41 ESPN3
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 5
5 5:00 pm No. 3 Green Bay vs. No. 6 UIC 79–70 ESPN3
6 7:30 pm No. 4 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 5 Wright State 82–77 ESPN3
Semifinals – Monday, March 6
7 7:00 pm No. 4 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 9 Youngstown State 84–74 ESPNU
8 9:30 pm No. 6 UIC vs. No. 10 Milwaukee 74–68 ESPNU
Finals – Tuesday, March 7
9 7:00 pm No. 4 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 10 Milwaukee 59–53 ESPN
All game times in Eastern Time Zone. Rankings denote tournament seed

Bracket

First round
Friday, March 3 		Quarterfinals
Saturday/Sunday, March 4/5 		Semifinals
Monday, March 6 		Finals
Tuesday, March 7
1 Oakland 80
8 Cleveland State 69 9 Youngstown State 81
9 Youngstown State 84 9 Youngstown State 74
4 Northern Kentucky 84
4 Northern Kentucky 82
5 Wright State 77
4 Northern Kentucky 59
10 Milwaukee 53
2 Valparaiso 41
7 Detroit 60 10 Milwaukee 43
10 Milwaukee 85 10 Milwaukee 74
6 UIC 68
3 Green Bay 70
6 UIC 79

References

  1. ^ "Horizon League revises 2017 league tournament".
  2. ^ "Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Bracket" (PDF).
  3. ^ Sarzyniak, Matt. "Week 17 schedule for 201617". mattsarzsports.com.
  4. ^ Sarzyniak, Matt. "Week 18 schedule for 201617". mattsarzsports.com.