On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Never Made The Tournament Club, 2/22/22: Contenders brace for the final push--Mid-Major Madness

Fort Wayne: The Mastodons have a lot going for them. They’ve won seven straight and surged to the No. 2 spot in the conference. Jarred Godfrey is having a magical senior season. Their competition in the conference has not exactly excelled. However, the Horizon League conference tournament is notoriously unpredictable, and there are no less than seven teams that could reasonably make a run to the tournament bid. Still, this is a major upswing for our prehistoric friends.

GL: Going back to 2012, of the 19 teams that made the tournament for the first time, only five were a number one seed in their conference tournament. Eight two-seeds and four four-seeds broke through in that time, so someone a bit in the periphery can rise up and take it, including the aforementioned four teams, especially UC Riverside, that tempted us early on.

Speaking of which, Tristan, you’ve got to be excited that PENGUINSZN might be back in earnest this year after a couple of years off.

TJ: Youngstown State is my spirit animal. Unfortunately, I’ve watched Cleveland State and I regret to inform you they are good.

GL: Remember the CSU 7-foot benchwarmer that guarded the inbounds pass with the entire team doing jumping jacks with him to seal a win against Fort Wayne last year? You know they’re coming to him with the game on the line.

March Madness bid tracker 2022: Conference tournament champions, automatic bids, more--heatcheck CBB

Conference No. 1 seed At-large contenders AQ or bust

Horizon Cleveland St.
Cleveland St.
Oakland
Wright State
Fort Wayne
NKU
Youngstown St.
Detroit
UIC
Milwaukee
Robert Morris
Green Bay
IUPUI