Horizon League tournament
TUESDAY (all games broadcast live on horizonleaguenetwork.tv)
Game 1 - No. 10 Youngstown State (8-21, 2-16) at No. 3 Green Bay (20-11, 11-7), 7 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 7 Detroit (18-13, 9-9) at No. 6 Valparaiso (15-16, 10-8), 7 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 9 UIC (8-21, 3-15) at No. 4 Milwaukee (18-13, 10-8), 7 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 8 Loyola (14-15, 5-13) at No. 5 Cleveland State (15-16, 10-8), 6 p.m.
FRIDAY (both games broadcast live on horizonleaguenetwork.tv)
AT HINKLE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS
Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
AT HINKLE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS
Game 7 - Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 Wright State (19-11, 12-6), 4:15 p.m., ESPN360.com
Game 8 - Game 6 winner at #1 Butler (26-4, 18-0), 7 p.m., ESPNU (cable)
TUESDAY, MARCH 9
AT HIGHEST-REMAINING SEED
Championship, Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8 p.m., ESPN (cable)
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
G - Brandon Wood, Valparaiso, 6-2 Soph., 17.5 ppg
G - Rahmon Fletcher, Green Bay, 5-10 Jr., 16.6 ppg, 3.1 apg
C - Eli Holman, Detroit, 6-10 Soph., 11.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg
F - Gordon Hayward, Butler, 6-9 Soph., 15.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
F - Matt Howard, Butler, 6-8 Jr., 12 ppg, 5.3 rpg
THE TIMES' BREAKDOWN: The Horizon League does what it can to set up its best teams for postseason tournament success. Not only does it give its top two teams a bye, but it gives a two-round pass into the semifinals on the No. 1 seed's homecourt. So that provides plenty of incentive to perform well during a regular season that is anything but meaningless. While it just seems as if the tournament is automatically played at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse every year, the Bulldogs actually have to earn that right. This year, Butler put together an historic 18-0 Horizon League record and takes a school-record 18-game winning streak into Saturday's semifinals. It would take a near-miraculous effort from any of the 3-10 seeds, and even No. 2 Wright State, to upset Butler. Currently ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll, the Bulldogs are assured an NCAA bid even if they stumble. Horizon officials aren't shedding many tears over that possibility, because it would mean the league would have two NCAA representatives for the third time in four years. As one of three teams with a 10-8 conference record, Valpo fell to the No. 6 seed due to the tiebreaker system. The best thing about that is the Crusaders wouldn't have to face Butler until the championship game.
