Horizon League Announces Pairings, Times for 2006 Men's Basketball Championship
Feb. 25, 2006 ###
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Defending champion University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee holds the top seed for the 2006 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, which begins Tuesday (Feb. 28) with first-round games at campus sites. From there, action moves to the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee, Wis., for second-round games on Friday (Mar. 3) and semifinals on Saturday (Mar. 4), with Saturday's doubleheader slated for a national audience via ESPNU.
Tuesday's three-game schedule begins at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) when (#7 seed) Wright State University (13-14 overall / 8-8 Horizon League) visits (#6 seed) University of Illinois at Chicago (15-14 / 8-8) and (#8 seed) Cleveland State University (10-17 / 5-11) plays at (#5 seed) University of Detroit Mercy (8-8 / 15-15). The third game has (#9 seed) Youngstown State University (7-20 / 4-12) at (#4 seed) Loyola University Chicago (17-10 / 8-8), with the tip-off time of that contest still to be determined. Loyola's women's team hosts Cleveland State in the first round of the Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday evening, with the Loyola-YSU men's game as the nightcap of a doubleheader.
Regular-season champion UW-Milwaukee hosts the next two rounds as the top seed, and also has a bye into the semifinals along with #2 seed Butler University. UWM won its third consecutive regular-season crown with a 12-4 League ledger as part of a 19-8 overall mark, while Butler finished 11-5 in the circuit and 18-11 overall following a 73-71 loss at Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 25).
UW-Milwaukee looks to repeat its 2005 performance when the Panthers defeated Detroit 59-58 in the final and eventually advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. First-year UWM coach Rob Jeter relies on the senior trio of forwards Joah Tucker and Adrian Tigert plus guard Boo Davis, while Butler coach Todd Lickliter's roster features senior forward Brandon Polk and guard Bruce Horan.
UW-Green Bay carries the #3 seed into the tournament, based on an 8-8 League record as part of a 14-15 season mark after a 76-72 victory at Cleveland State on Saturday. The Phoenix will face the winner of the UIC-WSU game at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time / 4:30 p.m. Central) on Friday, with a berth in the semifinals on the line. The winner meets Butler at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern time / 3:30 p.m. Central).
The other semifinal features host UW-Milwaukee against the winner of that 8 p.m. game, with tip-off time scheduled for 7 p.m. (Eastern / 6 p.m. Central). Both semifinals will air nationally on ESPNU.
The higher-remaining seed earns the right to host the championship game, scheduled for 9 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday night (Mar. 7). The Horizon League's automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament is on the line in that contest, which airs live on ESPN.
UW-Green Bay claims the third seed at the top of an unprecedented five-way tie for third place in the final League standings. In its 27-year history, the Horizon League had never finished with more than three teams tied for any position, but UWGB's 5-3 mark against the other four 8-8 teams (Loyola, Detroit, UIC, and Wright State) gives the Phoenix that first-round bye. Wright State had stood third until Saturday but fell to seventh with a 69-66 overtime loss at UIC, putting the Raiders 3-5 in that quintet of 8-8 teams.
Loyola, Detroit and UIC each posted a 4-4 record in the five-team group, but Loyola went 3-1 in the smaller group featuring LU, UDM and the Flames---sweeping UIC and splitting with the Titans---to capture the #4 seed. Detroit's 2-2 mark (splitting with both teams) puts the Titans fifth and UIC (1-3) sixth.
Six of the bottom seven seeds all remained uncertain until the Ramblers' 87-84 overtime victory at Youngstown State on Saturday night closed the 72-game Horizon League regular-season schedule. That result capped a thrilling final day in which two games went to overtime and a third was decided with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Tuesday's line-up features a pair of re-matches as Loyola and Youngstown State switch venues for their second meeting in four days, while Wright State comes to the UIC Pavilion for the second time in 76 hours.
The top seed has won 12 of the first 26 League Championships, but only one of the last four. UWM achieved that feat in 2005 after the second seed won the previous two (UIC in 2004, UW-Milwaukee in 2003) and UIC claimed the 2002 crown after entering the tournament as the #6 seed.
Streaming video with audio of all first- and second-round tournament games is available free, live on the Internet via Horizon League All-Access. For more information on this service, log on to the official Horizon League web site at www.horizonleague.org.
2006 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
First Round -- Tuesday, February 28 (games played at home of higher-seeded teams)
Second Round -- Friday, March 3 (at Milwaukee, Wis. / U.S. Cellular Arena)Game 4: Game 3 winner vs. (#3 seed) UW-Green Bay (8-8 / 14-15) 5:30 p.m. ET www.horizonleague.orgGame 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner 8 p.m. ET www.horizonleague.org
Semifinals -- Saturday, March 4 (at Milwaukee, Wis. / U.S. Cellular Arena)Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. (#2 seed) Butler (11-5 / 18-11) 4:30 p.m. ET ESPNUGame 7: Game 5 winner vs. (#1 seed) UW-Milwaukee (12-4 / 19-8) 7 p.m. ET ESPNU
Championship -- Tuesday, March 7 (at home of higher remaining seed)Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner 9 p.m. ET ESPN
Horizon League Regular-Season Standings
(through games of Feb. 25)
Horizon League OverallTeam W L Pct. W L Pct.1. UW-Milwaukee 12 4 .750 19 8 .7042. Butler 11 5 .688 18 11 .5793. UW-Green Bay 8 8 .500 14 15 .4834. Loyola 8 8 .500 17 10 .6305. Detroit 8 8 .500 15 15 .5006. UIC 8 8 .500 15 14 .5177. Wright State 8 8 .500 13 14 .4818. Cleveland State 5 11 .316 10 17 .3709. Youngstown State 4 12 .250 7 20 .259
Note: UW-Green Bay receives #3 seed based on 5-3 record versus other four teams tied at 8-8 (2-0 vs. Loyola, 1-1 vs. Detroit, UIC and Wright State). Loyola, Detroit and UIC all posted 4-4 records in that group, with Wright State's 3-5 mark giving the Raiders the #7 seed.
Loyola gains the #4 seed based on a 3-1 record versus Detroit and UIC. Detroit's 2-2 record in that group puts the Titans as the #5 seed, with UIC at #6 based on a 1-3 record.
