Jerry Palm, of CBS Sports, also thinks Wright State would play in the First Four as a No. 16 seed in his latest update Wednesday. Brian Bennett, of The Athletic, had the same prediction.
Wright State won the Mid-Continent Conference championship in 1993 and was a No. 16 seed in its first NCAA tournament appearance. It lost 97-54 to No. 1 seed Indiana in Indianapolis in the first round. In its last two appearances as the Horizon League champion, Wright State was a No. 14 seed. It lost 79-58 to No. 3 Pittsburgh in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2007 and 73-47 to No. 3 Tennessee in Dallas in 2018.
Since 2001, when the Midwestern Collegiate Conference turned into the Horizon League, the conference has never had a champion get a No. 16 seed. Last year’s Horizon League tournament champion, Cleveland State, was a No. 15 seed.
The 2019 champion, Northern Kentucky, was a No. 14 seed. NKU received a No. 15 seed in 2017. Green Bay was a No. 14 seed in 2016. Valparaiso received a No. 13 seed in 2015 and a No. 14 in 2013. Milwaukee was a No. 15 seed in 2014. The last single-digit seed was No. 8 Butler in 2011.
Wright State last played at UD Arena on Dec. 13, 1997, losing 94-63 in the last Gem City Jam, the series that brought together the Dayton area’s two Division I teams. Wright State and Dayton played five times at UD Arena and three times at the Nutter Center between 1988 and 1997.
About the Author
