The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Horizon League men's basketball conference tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1980. The winner of the tournament is designated the Horizon League Tournament Champion and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The finals of the tournament are typically among the first held before the field for the NCAA tournament is announced.
The Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. They play their home games at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and are currently coached by Bart Lundy.
The 2011 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was played Tuesday, March 1 through Tuesday, March 8. The Horizon League Network broadcast the opening rounds, which were played at the home courts of the higher seeds. The quarterfinals and semifinals were broadcast by ESPNU and took place at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, the home court of the #1 overall seed, the Milwaukee Panthers. As Milwaukee defeated Valparaiso in its semifinal match, it secured host status for the championship game against Butler as well; the final was broadcast by ESPN/ESPN3.com. Butler defeated Milwaukee 59–44 in the final, winning its second consecutive Horizon League tournament title and receiving an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA tournament.
The 2005 Horizon League men's basketball tournament took place at the end of the 2004–05 regular season. The better seed hosted each first round match. Milwaukee hosted the second round and semifinals, because they were the top seed overall, as well as the final because they were the highest remaining seed.
The 2004 Horizon League men's basketball tournament took place at the end of the 2003–04 regular season. The better seed hosted each first round match. Butler hosted the second round and semifinals. As the highest remaining seed, Milwaukee hosted the championship game.
The 2003 Horizon League men's basketball tournament took place at the end of the 2002–03 regular season. The better seed hosted each first round match. Milwaukee hosted the second round, semifinals, and championship game.
The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2014, and concluded with the UConn Huskies winning the championship game on April 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 2015 Horizon League men's basketball tournament began on March 3, 2015, with the championship game on Tuesday, March 10. First round games were played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The second round and semifinals were hosted by Valparaiso, because the Crusaders won the regular season conference championship. Since Valparaiso won its semifinal game, it also hosted the championship game. Only eight of the nine teams in the conference played in the Horizon League Tournament, as Milwaukee has been deemed ineligible for postseason play for the 2014–15 season.
The 2015–16 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team represented Oakland University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Grizzlies were led by 32nd year head coach Greg Kampe and played their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena. They finished the season 23–12, 13–5 in Horizon League play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament to Wright State. They were invited to the inaugural Vegas 16 where they defeated Towson and East Tennessee State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Old Dominion.
The 2016 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was the conference tournament for the 2015–16 season of the Horizon League. It was played from March 5 through March 8, 2016 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The winner of the tournament received the Horizon League's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA men's basketball tournament. This was the first Horizon League Tournament since 2002 to be played at a predetermined neutral site.
The 2016–17 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team represented Oakland University (OU) during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Grizzlies were led by 33rd year head coach Greg Kampe and played their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena in Rochester, Michigan as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 25–9, 14–4 in Horizon League play to finish in a share for the Horizon League regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed, they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by Youngstown State. As a conference champion and No. 1 seed who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Clemson in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Richmond.
The 2016 Horizon League women's basketball tournament was a postseason tournament from March 10 through March 13. For the first time every game will be available on an ESPN Network. Rounds 1 & 2 will be on ESPN3, with the semifinals on TWCS and simulcast on ESPN3. The championship will be on ESPNU. As a D2 to D1 transitioning school, Northern Kentucky were ineligible to compete in the NCAA tournament until the 2018 season, so they can not win the conference tournament since the winner received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However Northern Kentucky is eligible to win the regular season title and is eligible to compete in the WNIT or WBI should they be invited. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament.
The 2016–17 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University (NKU) during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Norse, led by second-year head coach John Brannen, played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 24–11, 13–6 in Horizon League play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League tournament, they defeated Wright State, Youngstown State, and Milwaukee to win the Horizon League tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in the school's first year of eligibility after its transition to a Division I school. They lost in the first round to Kentucky.
The 2017–18 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team represented Oakland University (OU) during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Grizzlies were led by 34th-year head coach Greg Kampe and played their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena in Rochester, Michigan as members of the Horizon League.
The 2017–18 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by second-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as first-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley tournament to Missouri State.
The 2017–18 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University (NKU) during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Norse, led by third-year head coach John Brannen, played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 22–10, 15–3 in Horizon League play to win the Horizon League regular season championship. They were upset in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by No. 8 seed Cleveland State. As a regular season league champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Louisville.
The 2022 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was the final event of the 2021–22 men's basketball season for the Horizon League. It was held March 1–8, 2022, with first-round and quarterfinal games played at the home courts of the higher seeds, and all remaining games contested at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The winner, Wright State, received the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The 2022–23 Horizon League men's basketball season began with practices in September 2022 and ended with the 2023 Horizon League men's basketball tournament in March 2023. This wase the 43rd season for Horizon League men's basketball. This was the first season in conference history with 11 teams, as UIC departed for the Missouri Valley Conference following the 2021-22 season.
The 2022–23 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represented the Cleveland State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Vikings, led by first-year head coach Daniyal Robinson, play their home games at the Wolstein Center as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 19–12, 16–6 in Horizon League play to tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League tournament, they defeated Robert Morris and Milwaukee before losing to Northern Kentucky in the conference championship game. The Vikings received an automatic bid to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), where they lost in the first round in overtime to Eastern Kentucky.
