Horizon League tournament bracket 2024: Dates, schedule, how to watch, tickets and more

The 2024 Horizon League tournament will be the first out of the gate to predate the upcoming NCAA tournament. 11 teams will be battling for supremacy in the conference for a chance to not only hoist the conference trophy but also to make it to March Madness this year. So, who's coming out on top?

Horizon League tournament bracket 2024

Here's the official bracket for this year's Horizon League tournament:

Horizon League tournament schedule 2024

Tuesday, March 5 (first round)

GAME	LOCATION	GAME TIME	NETWORK
6 Milwaukee vs. 11 Detroit Mercy	Milwaukee	8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT	ESPN+
7 Cleveland State vs 10 IUPUI	Cleveland State	7 p.m. ET	ESPN+
8 Purdue Fort Wayne vs 9 RMU	Purdue Fort Wayne	7 p.m. ET	ESPN+

Thursday, March 7 (quarterfinal)

GAME	LOCATION	GAME TIME	NETWORK
1 Oakland vs lowest remaining seed	Oakland	7 p.m. ET	ESPN+
2 Youngstown State vs. Second lowest-remaining seed	Youngstown State	7 p.m. ET	ESPN+
3 Green Bay vs. Highest-remaining seed	Green Bay	9 p.m .ET/8 p.m. CT	ESPN+
4 Wright State vs. No. 5 Northern Kentucky	Wright State	8 p.m. ET	ESPN+

Monday, March 11 (semifinal)

GAME	LOCATION	GAME TIME	NETWORK
Men's Semifinal No. 1	Indiana Farmers Coliseum	7 p.m.	ESPNU
Men's Semifinal No. 2	Indiana Farmers Coliseum	9:30 p.m.	ESPN2

Tuesday, March 12 (final)

GAME	LOCATION	GAME TIME	NETWORK
Men's Championship	Indiana Farmers Coliseum	7 p.m.	ESPN2

When does the Horizon League tournament start?

Date: March 5-12, 2024

Location: Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, IN

Horizon League tournament 2024 predictions

In the Horizon League tournament, there are not a lot of positive things going for the lower-seeded teams during all rounds. So it would be safe to pick the higher-seeded teams to go on, except a few (via SportsGamblingPodcast).

First round

• #6 Milwaukee vs #11 Detroit Mercy - Milwaukee wins
• #7 Cleveland State vs. #10 IUPUI - Cleveland State wins
• #8 Purdue Fort Wayne vs. #9 Robert Morris - Purdue Fort Wayne wins

Quarterfinals

• #1 Oakland vs. #8 Purdue Fort Wayne - Oakland wins
• #2 Youngstown State vs. #7 Cleveland State - Youngstown State wins
• #3 Green Bay vs. #6 Milwaukee - Milwaukee wins
• #4 Wright State vs. #5 Northern Kentucky - Wright State wins

Semifinals

• #1 Oakland vs. #6 Milwaukee - Oakland wins
• #2 Youngstown State vs. #4 Wright State - Youngstown State wins

Finals

• #1 Oakland vs. #2 Youngstown State

The top two seeds of the Horizon League tournament will most likely face off for the conference championship, and things could be too close to call. But while the Golden Grizzlies are the top seed in the conference, there's an excellent argument for the Penguins to take the title away from them.

For one, Youngstown State is an excellent two-way team: second in both scoring and team defense in the Horizon League. Not only can they score, but they can force teams into difficult scoring situations and take their rhythm right out of the gate. Their offense is bannered by their excellent passing (15.4 assists/game), led by senior guard Brett Thompson's 4.1 dimes per contest.

Executing a half-court offense won't be too much of a problem for the Penguins, especially against an Oakland team that's been middle-of-the-pack in terms of defense all year long. So it could be just a showcase of which is the best team in the Horizon League, a title that arguably belongs to the No. 2 seed Youngstown State squad.

How to watch the Horizon League tournament 2024?

All of the 2024 Horizon League Tournament games will air live on multiple networks: ESPN+, ESPNU, and ESPN 2. ESPN+ will be the place to watch the first two rounds, and then ESPNU will take over for one semifinal game.

The other semifinal game will then be broadcast on ESPN2, and the Horizon League title game will also air on it. These networks can be streamed on SlingTV (via Sporting News).

Horizon League tournament tickets 2024

Tickets for the 2024 Horizon League tournament men's basketball games are available on major outlets, most notably SeatGeek (via USA Today). Not a lot of tickets are available yet, but the website does allow potential buyers to track ticket availability when they need to.

What date does March Madness 2024 start?

The first round of this year's March Madness will begin on March 21. However, the First Four games will be played on March 19 and 20 (via The Arizona Republic).