College Basketball: Who Will Be Dancing from the Horizon League?

The Shakedown

It's here. It's time. The first day of March will officially kick off the greatest tournament in all of sports.

What was once considered a small conference playing for one bid has evolved over the past few seasons.

With the help of Butler, the Horizon League continues to be a two-team tournament threat.

As we all know, Butler stole the show last year by making it all the way to the National Championship game where they eventually fell to the Duke Blue Devils after a half-court heave rimmed out.

The 2011 Horizon League has had a bit of a different look, but don't let that fool you, this is still a quality conference. This conference is living proof that anything can and will eventually happen. It's truly just a matter of time.

The Breakdown

The Horizon League conference tournament will be held at the high seeds home court. It takes place March 1, 4, 5 and 8.

The field will consist of each team from the ten team conference. Seeded one through ten, the top two seeds will receive double byes.

No. 1 Seed: Milwaukee (18-12, 13-5 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 3

Last Dance: 2006

Tournament Record: 3-3

What's New: Milwaukee is playing great basketball. They won nine of their last ten and are charging into the conference tournament looking for their first bid since 2006.

No. 2 Seed: Butler (21-9, 13-5 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 10

Last Dance: 2010

Tournament Record: 13-10

What's New: Butler is also on a roll. They have won seven straight since dropping three in a row in late January. The Bulldogs are experienced and are poised to claw their way back into the tournament. The double bye will be huge for the Bulldogs.

No. 3 Seed: Cleveland State (24-6, 13-5 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 2

Last Dance: 2009

Tournament Record: 3-2

What's New: Cleveland State has been awesome all year long. We have all heard about their prolific scorer Norris Cole. He alone could cause some damage for the Vikings in this tournament. Last time they were in the dance they knocked off Wake Forest...by 15!

No. 4 Seed: Valparaiso (21-10, 12-6 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 7

Last Dance: 2004

Tournament Record: 2-7

What's New: Valpo could scare some people in this tournament. They have played every team in the conference tough and as we all know they have the legacy of Bryce Drew on their side. Anything can happen!

No. 5 Seed: Detroit (16-15, 10-8 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 5

Last Dance: 1999

Tournament Record: 3-5

What's New: Detroit is a big sleeper for many people in this tournament. If they can get past their first round game, they might be the ones taking on Butler in the conference championship.

No. 6 Seed: Wright State (18-13, 10-8 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 2

Last Dance: 2007

Tournament Record: 0-2

What's New: Wright State has struggled down the stretch. They will really need to pick things up in a hurry if they want to make any kind of run in this tournament. They do have Vaughn Duggins who not only can fill it up in a hurry but has one of the best names in this conference tournament.

No. 7 Seed: Green Bay (14-17, 8-10 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 4

Last Dance 1996

Tournament Record: 1-4

What's New: Green Bay is trying to claw their way back to Horizon League prominence. They have pretty much been an afterthought since the early to mid-'90s and I don't see that changing this year, although I think they will win one conference tournament game.

No. 8 Seed: Loyola (16-14, 7-11 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 5

Last Dance: 1985

Tournament Record: 9-4

What's New: Loyola is looking for their first bid in over 25 years. The Ramblers program deserves a little bit of respect for having a National Championship on the books, but they have a huge hill to climb if they want to dance this season.

No. 9 Seed: Youngstown State (9-20, 2-16 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 0

Last Dance: Never

Tournament Record: 0-0

What's New: Youngstown State needs a miracle, nothing new here.

No. 10 Seed: U-Illinois Chicago (7-23, 2-16 Horizon League)

Tournament Appearances: 3

Last Dance: 2004

Tournament Record: 0-3

What's New: They did beat Illinois. This proves that if anyone is going to pull of a miracle it would be them.

THE TAKEDOWN

Let the games begin. Here is how I see the Horizon League tournament playing out:

First Round:

No. 3 Cleveland State 75 No. 10 UIC 66

No. 7 Green Bay 70 No. 6 Wright State 68

No. 4 Valparaiso 75 No. 9 Youngstown State 68

No. 5 Detroit 77 No. 8 Loyola 69

Second Round:

No. 3 Cleveland State 74 No. 7 Green Bay 73

No. 4 Valparaiso 78 No. 5 Detroit 72

Semi-Finals:

No. 2 Butler 76 No. 3 Cleveland State 63

No. 4 Valparaiso 68 No. 1 Milwaukee 64

Horizon League Championship:

No. 2 Butler 79 No. 4 Valparaiso 67 

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPION: Butler Bulldogs (23-9, 9 seed in NCAA tournament)

Please feel free to pick your conference tournament champion for each tournament as I publish them in the next few days, and post it in the comments section. I will be keeping a log of people's picks and will do an article about the person who correctly picks the most conference champions.