The Horizon League officially released the 2016 Little Caesar’s Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship bracket on Sunday and Northern Kentucky, which secured the No. 8 seed on Saturday, will face No. 5 Milwaukee on Saturday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. at historic Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Northern Kentucky finished eighth in the league standings after posting a 9-20 regular-season record, including a 5-13 mark in league play. The Norse exceeded their preseason selection by two spots in their inaugural campaign as members of the Horizon League.
NKU and Milwaukee (19-12, 10-8 Horizon League) split the season series, with both teams holding serve on its home court. The Panthers claimed the first meeting between the two teams, 76-67, but the Norse staked 75-71 win after storming back from 11 down with 11 minutes to play when the teams met a month later.
Valparaiso won the regular-season for the fourth time in the last five years and earned the No. 1 seed. Oakland garnered the two-seed and will receive a double-bye into the semifinals with Valpo.
The other first round games feature No. 4 Green Bay versus No. 9 Cleveland State, No. 3 Wright State versus No. 10 UIC and No. 7 Youngstown State versus No. 6 Detroit.
Winners of the first round games will meet in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
This marks NKU’s first appearance in Motor City Madness and the program’s second postseason tournament in the last two years, after gaining eligibility for postseason conference championships last year.
Ticket options for Motor City Madness can be found at http://motorcitymadness.horizonleague.org/tickets.
2016 Little Caesars Men’s Basketball Championship
Saturday, March 5 – First Round
12:00 p.m. – Game 1: (9) Cleveland State vs. (4) Green Bay
2:30 p.m. – Game 2: (8) Northern Kentucky vs. (5) Milwaukee
5:00 p.m. – Game 3: (10) UIC vs. (3) Wright State
7:30 p.m. – Game 4: (7) Youngstown State vs. (6) Detroit
Sunday, March 6 – Second Round
1:00 p.m. – Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
3:30 p.m. – Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Monday, March 7 – Semifinals
7:00 p.m. – Game 7: (1) Valparaiso vs. Game 5 winner
9:30 p.m. – Game 8: (2) Oakland vs. Game 6 winner
Tuesday, March 8 – Championship
7:00 p.m. – Game 9: Championship Game
From NKU Athletics