College basketball betting: The Horizon League tournament is wide open

Senior writer

Sun, 27 Feb 2022, 8:45 am·3-min read

The Horizon League tournament will feature all 12 teams. That’s a noteworthy sentence after the league had attempted to ban Illinois-Chicago from the tournament because the Flames are leaving the conference at the end of the year. The league reversed its decision quickly after the ban was implemented and UIC will participate as the No. 8 seed in the 12-team bracket.

The 2022 tournament begins on March 1 and the conference title game is on Tuesday, March 8. The first two rounds of the tournament will be held at the higher seeds’ home arena while the semifinals and finals are at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

The top four seeds in the tournament get byes while the first round features teams Nos. 5-12 in the conference. Here’s what you need to know to bet on any of the teams and games over the next week.

Standings

1. Cleveland State (15-6 in conference, +210 odds to win at BetMGM)

2. Purdue Fort Wayne (15-6, +500)

3. Northern Kentucky (14-6, +400)

4. Wright State (15-7, +375)

5. Oakland (12-7, +500)

6. Detroit Mercy (10-7, +1200)

7. Youngstown State (12-9, +2200)

8. Illinois-Chicago (9-10, +3300)

9. Milwaukee (8-14, +20000)

10. Robert Morris (5-16, +15000)

11. Green Bay (4-16, +25000)

12. IUPUI (1-16, +50000)

The favorites

Purdue Fort Wayne (+500): The Cleveland State Vikings earned the top seed via tiebreaker after splitting their season series with Purdue Fort Wayne. But we’re putting the Mastodons in the favorite column instead of the Vikings because of the way Purdue Fort Wayne finished the season. While Cleveland State has lost three games in February, Purdue Fort Wayne has won nine in a row since a 75-63 loss to Wright State. Six Mastodons average at least eight points per game and having the No. 2 seed in the tournament isn’t a big deal with the final two rounds at a neutral site.
Wright State (+375): The Raiders secured the final first-round bye because they played more games than the teams in the top three. Wright State played every conference game on its schedule and a loss to Detroit Mercy three games ago ended its chances of a regular-season title. Tanner Holden and Grant Basile combine to average over 38 points per game and each shoots over 50% from the field. Throw in guard Trey Calvin’s 14 points per game on 37% shooting from three and the Raiders have a top three that can carry them to a conference title.

A long shot worth considering

Oakland (+500): The Golden Grizzlies lost six of their last nine regular season games and went from 9-1 in the conference to 12-7 as a result. That means they have to play in the first round of the tournament, but IUPUI has been hapless this season. Oakland has the highest KenPom.com rating of anyone in the Horizon League and could easily make the final. The Grizzlies have four players averaging 12 or more points per game and Jamal Cain leads the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Oakland does need to get hot from three to win the conference tournament, however. The Grizzlies shoot less than 31% from behind the arc as a team.