Horizon League Announces Pairings, Times for 2007 Men's Basketball Championship

Feb. 24, 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Regular-season co-champion Wright State University carries the top seed into the 2007 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, which begins Tuesday (Feb. 27) with first-round games at campus sites. From there, action moves to the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, for second-round games on Friday (Mar. 2) and semifinals on Saturday (Mar. 3), with Saturday's doubleheader slated for a national audience via ESPNU.

Tuesday's three-game schedule begins at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) when (#8 seed) University of Detroit Mercy (11-18 overall / 6-10 Horizon League) visits (#5 seed) Youngstown State University (13-16 / 7-9). YSU hosts a Championship game for the first time since joining the League in 2001, facing the Titans at the Beeghly Center.

Other first-round action has fourth seed University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (16-14 / 7-9) hosting ninth-seeded Cleveland State University (10-20 / 3-13) at the Resch Center, while seventh seed University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (9-21 / 6-10) visits sixth seed University of Illinois at Chicago (13-17 / 7-9) at the UIC Pavilion. Both of those games are set for 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. Eastern).

Wright State hosts the next two rounds as the top seed, and also has a bye into the semifinals along with #2 seed and 15th-ranked Butler University. WSU earned a share of the League's regular-season crown for the first time since joining the circuit in 1994-95, posting a 13-3 League ledger as part of a 21-9 overall mark. Butler matched the Raiders' loop record and set a League record with 26 regular-season victories, bringing a 26-5 overall mark into the tournament. Wright State gained the #1 seed by virtue of a tie-breaker, sweeping the regular-season series against third-seeded Loyola University Chicago, while Butler split two games with the Ramblers.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood leads the Raiders, joining the freshman tandem of guards Todd Brown and Vaughn Duggins for first-year WSU coach Brad Brownell. Wood leads the League in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per contest. Backcourt play is also critical to Butler's success, with juniors A.J. Graves and Mike Green combining for more than 32 points per contest while junior forward Pete Campbell leads the League in three-point shooting.

Loyola carries the third seed despite having a seven-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 52-51 loss to cross-town rival UIC. Senior guard Blake Schilb, the League's Preseason Player of the Year, paces Loyola (20-9, 10-6) which was picked as the favorite in the League's preseason poll. Schilb averages 16.1 points and 4.21 assists per contest.

Loyola faces the winner of the UIC/UWM contest in Friday's first game, beginning at 6 p.m. (Eastern time), while the winners of Tuesday's other match-ups meet in the nightcap at approximately 8 p.m. Both of those games can be viewed over the Internet through the services of the Horizon League Network.

The top two teams make their Championship debuts in Saturday's semifinals, with Butler taking the court against the Loyola/UIC/UW-Milwaukee survivor at 5 p.m. (Eastern time). Host WSU begins its quest for its first-ever League Championship at 7 p.m. in the other semifinal. Both of those games 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 (Mar. 7). The Horizon League's automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament is on the line in that contest, which airs live on ESPN as part of "Championship Week."

UW-Green Bay owns the fourth seed after sweeping both Youngstown State and UIC in the regular-season series. The Penguins and Flames split their two contests, but Youngstown State's 72-57 victory over top seed Wright State on Thursday (Feb. 22) gives YSU the fifth seed. UW-Milwaukee earns the seventh seed by virtue of a 73-69 triumph over Wright State on Jan. 21. The Panthers split two regular-season meetings with Detroit, each winning in overtime at home.

The top seed has won 13 of the first 27 League Championships, but only two of the last five. UWM won the title on its home floor in each of the last two years, but the eighth-seeded Panthers face an uphill battle in their attempt to become the first team to win three consecutive crowns since Xavier University captured four straight titles from 1986-89.

Streaming video with audio of all first- and second-round tournament games is available free, live on the Internet via the Horizon League Network. For more information on this service, log on to the official Horizon League web site at www.horizonleague.org.

2007 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Schedule

First Round -- Tuesday, February 27
(games played at home of higher-seeded teams, available on HLN)
Game 2: (#7 seed) UW-Milwaukee (9-21 / 6-10) at (#6 seed) UIC (13-17 / 7-9), 8 p.m. ET
Game 2: (#8 seed) Detroit (11-18 / 6-10) at (#5 seed) Youngstown State (13-16 / 7-9), 7 p.m. ET
Game 3: (#9 seed) Cleveland State (10-20 / 3-13) at (#4 seed) UW-Green Bay (16-14 / 7-9), 8 p.m. ET

Second Round -- Friday, March 2
(at Dayton, Ohio / Ervin J. Nutter Center, available on HLN)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. (#3 seed) Loyola (20-10 / 10-6), 6 p.m. ET
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. ET

Semifinals -- Saturday, March 3
(at Dayton, Ohio / Ervin J. Nutter Center, available on ESPNU)
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. (#2 seed) Butler (26-5 / 13-3), 5 p.m. ET
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. (#1 seed) Wright State (21-9 / 13-3), 7 p.m. ET

Championship -- Tuesday, March 6
(at home of higher remaining seed, available on ESPN)
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. ET

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