# 2022–23 Horizon League men's basketball season

The 2022–23 Horizon League men's basketball season began with practices in September 2022 and ended with the 2023 Horizon League men's basketball tournament in March 2023. This wase the 43rd season for Horizon League men's basketball. This was the first season in conference history with 11 teams, as UIC departed for the Missouri Valley Conference following the 2021-22 season.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

* On March 2, 2022, Milwaukee fired head coach Pat Baldwin after five seasons with the team. On March 18, the Panthers hired Division II Queens head coach Bart Lundy to be their next head coach.
* On March 22, 2022, Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates left the team to become the head coach at Missouri. On April 5, the Vikings hired Iowa State assistant coach Daniyal Robinson to be their next head coach.
* On January 31, 2023, Green Bay fired head coach Will Ryan after three seasons and a 2–19 start. Assistant coach Freddie Owens was named interim head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Horizon record | NCAA Tournaments |
| Cleveland State | Daniyal Robinson | Iowa State (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (.000) | 0–0 (.000) | 0 |
| Detroit Mercy | Mike Davis | Texas Southern | 5 | 45–69 (.395) | 34–35 (.493) | 0 |
| Green Bay | Will Ryan | Wheeling | 3 | 13–42 (.236) | 12–28 (.300) | 0 |
| Green Bay | Freddie Owens (interim) | Green Bay (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (.000) | 0–0 (.000) | 0 |
| IUPUI | Matt Crenshaw | Ball State (asst.) | 2 | 3–26 (.103) | 1–16 (.059) | 0 |
| Milwaukee | Bart Lundy | Queens | 1 | 0–0 (.000) | 0–0 (.000) | 0 |
| Northern Kentucky | Darrin Horn | Texas (asst.) | 4 | 57–32 (.640) | 38–18 (.679) | 1 |
| Oakland | Greg Kampe | Toledo (asst.) | 38 | 657–495 (.570) | 91–58 (.611) | 0 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Jon Coffman | IPFW (asst.) | 9 | 138–113 (.550) | 72–64 (.529) | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 13 | 200–193 (.509) | 123–91 (.575) | 2 |
| Wright State | Scott Nagy | South Dakota State | 7 | 131–63 (.675) | 84–30 (.737) | 2 |
| Youngstown State | Jerrod Calhoun | Fairmont State | 6 | 71–85 (.465) | 45–50 (.474) | 0 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2022–23 season.
* Records are prior to 2022–23 season.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches poll

2022-23 Horizon League Preseason Coaches Poll :
| Rank | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| T1. | Purdue Fort Wayne (17) | 394 |
| T1. | Northern Kentucky (15) | 394 |
| 3. | Wright State (3) | 329 |
| 4. | Oakland (2) | 321 |
| 5. | Youngstown State (1) | 291 |
| 6. | Detroit Mercy (2) | 268 |
| 7. | Cleveland State | 188 |
| 8. | Robert Morris | 163 |
| 8. | Milwaukee | 132 |
| 10. | Green Bay | 111 |
| 11. | IUPUI | 49 |

### Preseason All-Horizon League

| First team | Second team |
| Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy | Trevon Faulkner, Northern Kentucky |
| Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky |
| Jalen Moore, Oakland | Kahliel Spear, Robert Morris |
| Jarred Godfrey, Purdue Fort Wayne | Trey Calvin, Wright State |
| Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State | Amari Davis, Wright State |
Preseason Player of the Year: Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy

## Regular season
### Player of the Week awards

| Week | Player of the Week | Freshman of the Week |
| 1 | Trey Calvin, Wright State | John Lovelace, Jr., Youngstown State |
| 2 | Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | Vincent Brady II, IUPUI |
| 3 | Marques Warrick (2), Northern Kentucky | Brandon Noel, Wright State |
| 4 | Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State | Isaiah Jones, Detroit Mercy |
| 5 | Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy | Vincent Brady II (2), IUPUI |
| 6 | Dwayne Cohill (2), Youngstown State | A'lahn Sumler, Northern Kentucky |
| 7 | Trey Calvin (2), Wright State | Armon Jarrard, IUPUI |
| 7 | Dwayne Cohill (3), Youngstown State | Armon Jarrard, IUPUI |
| 8 | Jalen Moore, Oakland | Vincent Brady II (3), IUPUI |
| 9 | BJ Freeman, Milwaukee | Brandon Noel (2), Wright State |
| 10 | Antoine Davis (2), Detroit Mercy | Brandon Noel (3), Wright State |
| 11 | Antoine Davis (3), Detroit Mercy | Vincent Brady II (4), IUPUI |
| 11 | BJ Freeman (2), Milwaukee | Vincent Brady II (4), IUPUI |
| 12 | Kahleil Spear, Robert Morris | Armon Jarrard (2), IUPUI |
| 13 | Antoine Davis (4), Detroit Mercy | DJ Jackson, IUPUI |
| 14 | Antoine Davis (5), Detroit Mercy | Brandon Noel (4), Wright State |
| 15 | Antoine Davis (6), Detroit Mercy | DJ Jackson (2), IUPUI |
| School | POTW | FOTW |
| Cleveland State | 0 | 0 |
| Detroit Mercy | 6 | 1 |
| Green Bay | 0 | 0 |
| IUPUI | 0 | 8 |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 0 |
| Northern Kentucky | 2 | 1 |
| Oakland | 1 | 0 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | 0 | 0 |
| Wright State | 2 | 4 |
| Youngstown State | 3 | 1 |

### Conference matrix

| | CSU | DET | GB | IUPUI | MKE | NKU | OAK | PFW | RMU | WSU | YSU |
| vs. Cleveland State | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Detroit Mercy | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Green Bay | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. IUPUI | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Milwaukee | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Northern Kentucky | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Oakland | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Wright State | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. Youngstown State | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – |
| Total | 14–6 | 9–11 | 2–18 | 2–18 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 15–5 |

### Early season tournaments

The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early season tournaments in which teams from the Horizon League will participate.
| Team | Tournament | Location | Dates | Finish |
| Cleveland State | Turkey Slam – Cleveland State Regional | Cleveland, OH | November 16–23 | N/A |
| Detroit Mercy | Paradise Invitational | Boca Raton, FL | November 17–21 | 3rd |
| Green Bay | Jamaica Classic | Montego Bay, Jamaica | November 18–20 | 4th |
| IUPUI | Big Easy Classic | New Orleans, LA | November 23–25 | 4th |
| Milwaukee | Cream City Classic | Milwaukee, WI | November 26–28 | 1st |
| Northern Kentucky | Gulf Coast Showcase | Estero, FL | November 21–23 | 8th |
| Oakland | Nassau Championship | Nassau, Bahamas | November 25–27 | 8th |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Cancún Challenge | Campus sites Cancún, Mexico | November 15–23 | 2nd |
| Robert Morris | Hostilo Hoops Community Classic | Savannah, GA | November 21–22 | 4th |
| Wright State | Vegas 4 | Henderson, NV | November 21–23 | 2nd |
| Youngstown State | Navy MTE | Annapolis, MD | November 18–20 | 2nd |

## Postseason
### Horizon League tournament

The conference tournament will be played from February 28 to March 6, 2023. The first round and quarterfinals are hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals are held at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Teams are seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary. The top five teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals and the bracket is re-seeded after every round.
The Horizon League does not use a fixed bracket tournament system, and pairings are re-seeded after the first and second rounds.
| First round Tuesday, February 28 | First round Tuesday, February 28 | First round Tuesday, February 28 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 2 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 2 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 2 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 |
| | | | 1 | Youngstown State | 71 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Detroit Mercy | 81 | 8 | Detroit Mercy | 66 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 68 | | | | 1 | Youngstown State | 63 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Northern Kentucky | 75 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Northern Kentucky | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Oakland | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 4 | Northern Kentucky | 63 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Cleveland State | 61 |
| | | | 2 | Milwaukee | 87 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Wright State | 77 | 7 | Wright State | 70 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Green Bay | 57 | | | | 2 | Milwaukee | 80 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Cleveland State | 93 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Cleveland State | 75* | | | | | | |
| 6 | Robert Morris | 67 | 6 | Robert Morris | 70 | | | | | | |
| 11 | IUPUI | 64 | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime period

### NCAA Tournament

The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 16 | Midwest | Northern Kentucky | — | lost to (1) Houston 63–52 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |

### National Invitation Tournament

Youngstown State received an automatic bid to the 2023 National Invitation Tournament as the team with the best regular season record who failed to win the conference tournament.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| − | Oklahoma State | Youngstown State | lost to (1) Oklahoma State 69–64 | − | − | − | − |

### College Basketball Invitational

Both Cleveland State and Milwaukee accepted bids to the 2023 College Basketball Invitational after finishes as runner-up and semifinalists in the conference tournament, respectively.
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 9 | Cleveland State | lost to (8) Eastern Kentucky 91–75 (OT) | − | − | − |
| 11 | Milwaukee | defeated (6) Stetson 87–83 (OT) | lost to (3) Charlotte 76–65 | − | − |
| Bids | W-L (%): | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 1–2 (.333) |

## National awards
### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| | Wooden | Cousy | Henson |
| Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy | Y | Y | Y |
| Jarred Godfrey, Purdue Fort Wayne | | | Y |
| Trey Townsend, Oakland | | | Y |
| Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | | | Y |

### Midseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
| Player | Wooden | Naismith | Naismith DPOY | Robertson | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar | Olson |
| Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy | Y | Y | | Y | Y | | | | Y | |

## Conference awards

2023 Horizon League Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy |
| Coach of the Year | Jerrod Calhoun, Youngstown State |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ahmad Rand, Milwaukee |
| Sixth Player of the Year | Trevon Faulkner, Northern Kentucky |
| Freshman of the Year | Brandon Noel, Wright State |
| Reference: ||||
2023 Horizon Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Defensive Team | Freshman Team |
| Tristan Enaruna, CSU Antoine Davis, DET Jalen Moore, OAK Trey Calvin, WSU Dwayne Cohill, YSU | BJ Freeman, MKE Marques Warrick, NKU Trey Townsend, OAK Jarred Godfrey, PFW Kahliel Spear, RMU | Jlynn Counter, IUPUI Sam Vinson, NKU Enoch Cheeks, RMU Adrian Nelson, YSU Brandon Rush, YSU | Deante Johnson, CSU Deshon Parker, CSU Ahmad Rand, MKE Sam Vinson, NKU Kahliel Spear, RMU | Vincent Brady II, IUPUI DJ Jackson, IUPUI Elijah Jamison, MKE Brandon Noel, WSU John Lovelace Jr., YSU |