Horizon League Basketball: 2022 conference tournament preview and predictions
By Dylan Kelly
Who will cut down the net?
If I was a betting man, which I am, I would put my money on Wright State (+400) to win the Horizon League Conference Title.
Wright State checks all the boxes that I evaluate when breaking down college basketball teams. Starting on the offensive side, they lead the Horizon League in offensive efficiency with a 113.3 rating (all ratings based on Kenpom.com). Tanner Holden and Grant Basile Deserve much of the credit when discussing the Raiders’ offensive production.
Wright State has a strong offensive rebounding percentage of 34.4%, limits turnovers, and has an acceptable team free throw percentage of 75.0%. While offense is their forte, they do have a 102.3 defensive efficiency rating, which is 5th in the conference.
This is not Scott Nagy’s first rodeo. He spent 21 years at the helm for South Dakota State before becoming the coach at Wright State for the 2016-17 season. In his second year at Wright State, Nagy got his team to the NCAA tournament where they then lost in the first round to Tennessee. Despite having strong teams every year since then, Wright State has not been back to the tournament since. It is imperative in March to have a coach with tournament experience, Scott Nagy provides that for this team.
Next. Predicting each conference tournament. dark
The Raiders were shockingly upset by Milwaukee in the conference tournament a year ago in the quarterfinal round. That was a loss that Scott Nagy and his team have not forgotten about. They will come out with a chip on their shoulder in this year’s tournament, and I believe they will come out victorious and clinch the bid to the dance.