NCAA Basketball: 3 teams to watch in first week of 2023 conference tournaments

Detroit Mercy Titans, Horizon League

Is this going to be the last hurrah for one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history? We could know as soon as Tuesday night when the Detroit Mercy Titans begin their run in the Horizon League Tournament.

Antoine Davis is one of the greatest scorers the sport has ever seen. The 24-year-old was just crowned Horizon League Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Despite everyone clamping down on Davis on defense, he can’t be stopped.

This season, Davis is averaging 28.1 points per game. He’s been even better down the closing stretch of the season, averaging 34 points per game during the final eight games of the regular season.

There’s a chance Davis could surpass Pete Maravich and become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer during the Horizon League Tournament. But he would need to play in at least two games to get it done – even Davis doesn’t seem likely to have a 64-point game in his arsenal this week.

There’s a chance Davis doesn’t get two opportunities. As has been the case for much of Davis’ career with the Titans, the team has disappointed, despite its star guard’s exploits. Detroit Mercy enters the tournament as a No. 8 seed, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne in a first-round game on Tuesday evening.

Should Detroit Mercy survive the opener, it will hit the road to face a yet-to-be-determined team, as the Horizon League reseeds. It could be the top seed in the conference, Youngstown State.

(Update: They beat IPFW on Tuesday night, 81-68. Davis scored 38 points, putting him within 25 of the record. They will play Youngstown State on Thursday night.)

Unless the Titans get invited to a lower-tier tournament, this week may bring the end of one of the most illustrious NCAA Basketball careers ever, unless Detroit Mercy takes the Horizon.