2025 Horizon League Conference Tournament

Last year, the Horizon League conference tournament ended with the Oakland Grizzlies earning an 83-76 win over the Milwaukee Panthers in the championship. After that, Oakland went on to eliminate the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with Jack Gohlke’s 32-point performance turning him into a legend of the sport. Will the winner of this conference go on to do special things this March? We’ll just have to see. This year, it’s the Robert Morris Colonials that enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but the general consensus is that they will be challenged. Milwaukee is a contender once again, and the Cleveland State Vikings aren’t far behind on the odds board. There are also several other schools in the middle of the standings that will feel like they have a shot.

Overall, this should be a fascinating tournament to follow. Keep reading for our preview and predictions on how this will play out.

 

How to Watch the Horizon League Conference Tournament

When: March 4 – 11

Where: Campus sites; Semifinals and finals at Corteva Coliseum

Format: Seeding based on record in conference; top-five seeds get a bye in the opening round

Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU and ESPN2; Championship Game on ESPN/ESPN2 on Mar. 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Horizon League Conference Tournament Bracket

Horizon League Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Robert Morris Colonials (+240)
2. Milwaukee Panthers (+280)
3. Cleveland State Vikings (+310)
4. Youngstown State Penguins (+750)
5. Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (+650)
6. Oakland Grizzlies (14-1)
7. Northern Kentucky Norse (30-1)
8. Wright State Raiders (16-1)
9. IU Indy Jaguars (200-1)
10. Detroit Mercy Titans (250-1)
11. Green Bay Phoenix (250-1)

(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Horizon League Conference Tournament

Robert Morris enters the tournament as the betting favorite. The Colonials are 23-8 overall and 15-5 in conference play this season, and they also happened to finish the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Robert Morris is one of the best defensive teams in the conference, as KenPom and Bart Torvik have the team second in the Horizon League in adjusted defensive efficiency. However, Milwaukee is the highest-ranked team in Steve Makinen’s VSiN Power Ratings, and KenPom and Bart Torvik also happen to have the Panthers No. 1 in their efficiency rankings. There’s a reason only 40 cents separate these programs on the DraftKings Sportsbook odds board.

Horizon League Conference Tournament Darkhorse

Purdue Fort Wayne, the fifth seed in this tournament, should be taken very seriously. This is the second-ranked Horizon League team in our VSiN Power Ratings. KenPom also has the Mastodons third in his efficiency rankings, suggesting there’s some value in backing them as the fourth team on the odds board.

For as good as Robert Morris is, the team did lose 82-77 in a road game against Purdue Fort Wayne on December 8th. The Colonials also beat the Mastodons by only seven when they hosted them on February 15th. Purdue Fort Wayne also beat Milwaukee twice during the regular season. So, this team has proven that it can beat the elite squads in this league. It helps having Jalen Jackson. The guard is averaging a conference-high 19.2 points per game, as well as 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game this season. He was the recipient of the mid-season Lou Henson Award, which is given out to the top mid-major player in college basketball.

All in all, the Mastodons have the type of player that can get you home at the end of a game. They also play a dangerous brand of basketball, as they’re a top-30 team when it comes to 3PT% (37.4%) and top-50 team in 3PT rate (45.7%). They’re not shy about letting 3s fly and they don’t turn the ball over (13.7%). If they can play a little better defensively for a couple of days — they’re outside the Top 200 in defensive efficiency — they can win this thing.

Players to Watch in Horizon League Conference Tournament

As previously mentioned, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jalen Jackson is a stud. He’s a regular threat to score 20 points, makes good decisions with the basketball and he also plays good defense at the point of attack. Guard Rasheed Bello is another key player for this Mastodons team. Bello, who is averaging 16.3 points per game, is a 43.1% 3-point shooter and can really knock down shots off the dribble.

For Robert Morris, four players average double digits in scoring: Kam Woods, Alvaro Folgueiras, Amarion Dickerson and Josh Omojafo. Woods and Folgueiras are the best of the bunch. Woods is averaging 14.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game this year. While inefficient as a scorer, he’s the type of guy that can get you tough buckets late in a game. Meanwhile, Folgueiras is averaging 14.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He’s a stat-sheet stuffer that makes an impact in every aspect of the game. Several advanced metrics would suggest that Folgueiras is the best player in the conference this year.

Milwaukee, like Robert Morris, has a relatively balanced attack, as Themus Fulks, Jamicael Stillwell, Kentrell Pullian, AJ McKee and Erik Pratt are all averaging at least 11.1 points per game. Fulks is probably the best of the group. Not only is he averaging 14.4 points per game, but he also dishes out 5.9 assists per game and sets the table for this squad. But Stillwell has to be highlighted. He’s averaging 10.8 rebounds per game and is an absolute monster on the glass. Stillwell’s combination of athleticism and motor will be tough for opponents to deal with. He had at least 10 boards in each of the final five games of the regular season. He also had 14 steals over the final four games.

With Cleveland State, Tevin Smith, Tahj Staveskie and Dylan Arnett are the leading scorers. Smith leads the team in points per game (13.8), but all three are capable of coming through on any given night. However, Staveskie is an important player to keep an eye on. This isn’t a great 3-point shooting team, so Staveskie’s 35.9% shooting from deep stands out a bit. He’ll need to knock down some shots over the next week or so.

Some other players that are worth calling out are Wright State’s Brandon Noel, IU Indy’s Paul Zilinskas and Youngstown State’s Gabe Dynes. Noel, the Horizon’s Preseason Player of the Year, is tied with Jackson as the leading per-game scorer (19.2) in the conference, and Zilinskas is averaging 18.2 points per game and knocks down 3.0 triples a night. If Wright State or IU Indy make noise this week, it’ll be because of them. And Dynes is an advanced-stat darling that leads the Horizon League in blocks per game (3.1). Youngstown State has a couple of perimeter players that can lead the way offensively any time they’re out there, but Dynes’ ability to protect the rim and man the middle is huge.

Betting Pick to Win The Horizon League Conference Conference Tournament

I like Robert Morris’ chances of winning this tournament, but I wouldn’t touch the Colonials at their current odds. Instead, I’d roll with the team I mentioned earlier: Purdue Fort Wayne. There’s very little that separates the Mastodons from the betting favorites in the conference, so why not grab them at +650? If Purdue Fort Wayne ends up making the semifinals, the school should have some fans in the stands. Corteva Coliseum is only two hours away from campus.

Makinen Power Ratings for Horizon League

  • Teams playing as underdogs of 6 points or more and having played already in the Horizon League tournament are on an amazing 10-8 SU and 14-4 ATS (77.8%) run against teams that enjoyed a bye! This is one of the few conferences where having a bye has not proven advantageous.
  • Ten of the last 14 Horizon League Tournament semifinal games have gone Under the total (71.4%). Both games went Over in 2024 though, in what was a very high-scoring tourney season for the Horizon, with eight of 10 games overall going Over.
  • Home favorites priced at 5 points or fewer are on an incredible 14-0 SU and ATS (100%) streak in the Horizon League tourney since 2014, including Oakland’s 75-65 win over Purdue Fort Wayne last year.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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