The 2011 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was played Tuesday, March 1 through Tuesday, March 8. The Horizon League Network broadcast the opening rounds, which were played at the home courts of the higher seeds. The quarterfinals and semifinals were broadcast by ESPNU and took place at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, the home court of the #1 overall seed, the Milwaukee Panthers.
As Milwaukee defeated Valparaiso in its semifinal match, it secured host status for the championship game against Butler as well; the final was broadcast by ESPN/ESPN3.com. Butler defeated Milwaukee 59–44 in the final, winning its second consecutive Horizon League tournament title and receiving an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA tournament.
Seeds
All Horizon League schools played in the tournament. Teams were seeded by 2010–11 Horizon League season record, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. The top 2 teams received a bye to the semifinals.
Schedule
GameTime*Matchup#Television First Round – Tuesday, March 117:00 PM#10 UIC at #3 Cleveland StateHLN2 7:00 PM#7 Green Bay at #6 Wright StateHLN38:00 PM#9 Youngstown State at #4 ValparaisoHLN47:00 PM#8 Loyola at #5 DetroitHLN Quarterfinals – Friday, March 458:30 PM #3 Cleveland State vs. #6 Wright StateHLN/ESPN3.com66:00 PM #4 Valparaiso vs. #5 DetroitHLN/ESPN3.com Semifinals – Saturday, March 576:00 PM #3 Cleveland State vs #2 ButlerESPNU/ESPN3.com88:30 PM#4 Valparaiso at #1 MilwaukeeESPNU/ESPN3.com Championship Game – Tuesday, March 899pm #2 Butler at #1 MilwaukeeESPN/ESPN3.com *Game Times in ET. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.
Bracket
First round games at campus sites of lower-numbered seeds Second round and semifinals hosted by #1 overall seed (Milwaukee) Championship game hosted by highest remaining seed
Honors
Matt Howard of Butler was named the tournament MVP for the second successive year.
Horizon League All-Tournament Team Player School Position Year Matt Howard Butler Forward Senior Shelvin Mack Butler Guard Junior Shawn Vanzant Butler Guard Senior Anthony Hill Milwaukee Forward Senior Brandon Wood Valparaiso Guard Junior
References