CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 15. Up next: The Horizon League Tournament.
The Horizon League tournament gained a ton of popularity when Oakland, led by Trey Townsend and Jack Gohlke, stunned Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Robert Morris, last year’s champion, was unable to replicate that, but they did lose by just nine to Alabama, proving that this league’s best are far from a free win.
This year, Wright State took the regular-season crown, winning the conference by two games. They were far from the only competitive team in the league, though, with Robert Morris, Green Bay, Detroit Mercy, and Oakland all staying on Wright State’s tail all year long.
If you’re the three seed, which is Detroit Mercy, you might as well pack your bags, because this conference hasn’t seen that seed win since 2012. In the last 10 tournaments, the one seed has won three times (including the last two), the two seed has won three times, and the four seed has won four times. That’s right, the four seed has won this tournament the most often of any seed. Will Oakland continue that? Find out below.
2026 Horizon League Conference Awards
Player of the Year: DeSean Goode, Robert Morris
Freshman of the Year: Michael Cooper, Wright State
Transfer of the Year: DeSean Goode, Robert Morris
Coach of the Year: Clint Sargent, Wright State
First Team:
- G: Michael Cooper, Wright State (13.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG)
- G: Ryan Prather Jr., Robert Morris (15.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG)
- G: Corey Hadnot, Purdue Fort-Wayne (20.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG)
- G: Donovan Oday, Northern Kentucky (18.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG)
- F: DeSean Goode, Robert Morris (15.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG)
Second Team:
- G: TJ Burch, Wright State (11.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.6 SPG)
- G: CJ O’Hara, Green Bay (14.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.1 SPG)
- G: Orlando Lovejoy, Detroit Mercy (15.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.6 SPG)
- G: Brody Robinson, Oakland (17.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.3 SPG)
- F: Cris Carroll, Youngstown State (17.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG)
2026 Horizon League Tournament Simulation
Play-In – Monday, Mar. 2
10. Cleveland State (10-21, 6-14), vs. 11. IU Indy (7-24, 3-17) – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
IU Indy’s strategy of trying to play fast and score as many as possible did not work as planned. Yes, they had the 4th best tempo in college basketball, but allowed the second most points at 87.9 a game. These two teams surprisingly split the two regular-season matchups, with IU Indy winning the most recent one. With that being said, the gap between the two teams feels too big to give IU Indy the benefit of the doubt.
Ariel’s pick: 10. Cleveland State
First Round – Wed., Mar. 4
1. Wright State (20-11, 15-5), vs. 10. Cleveland State – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Not much to say here. Cleveland State lost seven straight to end the season. There was a point in time where Cleveland State actually beat this Wright State team, but the way Cleveland State ended the season, it’s hard to imagine them getting the momentum to pull off the shocker.
Ariel’s Pick: 1. Wright State
2. Robert Morris (21-10, 13-7), vs. 9. Youngstown State (15-16, 8-12) – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Robert Morris ended the season red hot, winning seven straight. Cris Carroll of Youngstown State scored 31 in their overtime loss to RMU earlier this season, and unless he ups that to 40, then Robert Morris will stay hot and move to the quarterfinals.
Ariel’s Pick: 2. Robert Morris
3. Detroit Mercy (15-14, 12-8), vs. 8. Milwaukee (12-19, 8-12) – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Detroit Mercy swept Milwaukee in the regular season thanks to two 18+ performances by TJ Nadeau. Expect a third one in this one.
Ariel’s Pick: 3. Detroit Mercy
4. Oakland (15-15, 13-7), vs. 7. Northern Kentucky (16-15, 10-10) – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Oakland had a tough February, going 3-5. Northern Kentucky actually had a better month, going 4-4. Oakland swept the regular season, and in all honesty, the difference comes down to coaching, which Oakland has a big upper hand in with Greg Kampe. The Grizzlies move on.
If there were to be a first-round upset, though, this would be the game.
Ariel’s Pick: 4. Oakland
5. Green Bay (17-14, 12-8), vs. 6. Purdue Fort-Wayne (17-14, 11-9) – 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Don’t let the seeds confuse you; this Green Bay team is much better than PFW. In their two matchups, Green Bay won by 18, then 17. While this one might be a little closer, Green Bay should still get it done.
Ariel’s Pick: 5. Green Bay
Second Round – Sun., Mar. 8
4. Oakland vs. 5. Green Bay – 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+
This is one of the stranger formatted brackets, with only one game in the quarterfinals before jumping straight to the semis as a way to reward the higher seeds. Is there anything better than a Doug Gottlieb vs. Greg Kampe coaching matchup? This will probably be the most exciting matchup of the entire tournament, but as they did on Feb. 20, Green Bay will pick up a huge win and advance to the semis.
Ariel’s Pick: 5. Green Bay
Semifinals – Mon., Mar. 9
1. Wright State vs. 5. Green Bay – 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
The first time these two teams played, in December, Wright State won by 28. The second time, in February, Wright State won by 8. Can Green Bay continue to chip away and pull off the upset? It’ll be hard to imagine that Green Bay’s defense will improve from those two showings, and if that’s the case, Wright State’s depth will be too much for this Green Bay team.
Ariel’s Pick: 1. Wright State
2. Robert Morris vs. 3. Detroit Mercy – 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2
These games are when the best players have to show why they’re the best, and Robert Morris has two players, Ryan Prather Jr. and Desean Goode, who absolutely embody that. When these two teams played in late February, Prather scored 29 points, and Prather grabbed 12 rebounds to give them an 11-point win. Expect them to do the same and send Robert Morris to the championship game for the second straight year.
Ariel’s Pick: 2. Robert Morris
Championship – Tue., Mar. 10
1. Wright State vs. 2. Robert Morris – 7 p.m. on ESPN
Sure, a one vs. two in the final is boring from a lack of upsets standpoint, but seeing the two best teams in the conference face off for a chance at glory is always satisfying. We haven’t seen a back-to-back winner since Northern Kentucky in 2019-2020, while Wright State looks to continue the streak of one seeds winning the tournament.
These two teams played twice in the month of February. Round one went to Robert Morris, winning by 6 at home. Round two surprisingly also went to Robert Morris, beating them by 13 on the road. After a slow start at Robert Morris, Andy Toole has turned this program around and will be sending the Colonials to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 2009-2010.
Ariel’s Pick: 2. Robert Morris