YOUNGSTOWN — Win two games, host two games.

That is the guaranteed scenario for the Youngstown State University men’s basketball team. If the Penguins win their last two regular-season games this week — both in Wisconsin — they can host two games next week in the Horizon League Tournament.

YSU (16-13, 9-7 Horizon) is in a three-way tie for third in the league standings. Wright State and Northern Kentucky, as the top two seeds, have earned double byes to the league semifinals March 9 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

YSU, Green Bay (14-15, 9-7) and UIC (14-15, 9-7) are in the tie for third. Milwaukee (12-16, 7-9) and Oakland (12-17, 7-9) are two games behind the threesome.

Those five teams are jockeying for home games in the Horizon first round on March 3. The league quarterfinals are March 5.

Enter Detroit Mercy, currently ninth in the league standings. The Horizon League learned Tuesday afternoon that Detroit Mercy’s appeal to the NCAA was not granted and the Titans are not eligible for postseason play.

The Titans were ruled ineligible before the season because the team’s Academic Progress Report standards were below the minimum mandated by the NCAA. Detroit Mercy had appealed the ruling.

A win for YSU on Thursday at Green Bay (tipoff at 8 p.m.) would ensure a third or fourth seed for YSU and two home games. On Saturday, YSU is at Milwaukee, starting at 8 p.m. The Penguins lost against Milwaukee in overtime on Jan. 23 in Youngstown.

The Penguins could drop as far as the seventh seed, which means YSU would play on the road in the first round. YSU is 6-3 at home and 3-4 on the road in Horizon League games.

“If you take care of what you’re supposed to do, other teams can’t control your destiny as far as the conference tournament,” said YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun, whose team will have its first winning season since the 2012-13 season when the Penguins were 18-16 and went to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Invitational. “I think anybody can beat anybody anywhere, as we’ve seen all year long.”

The Penguins have averaged 95.7 points in their last three games against Green Bay. YSU beat the Phoenix 98-94 in overtime on Jan. 25 in Youngstown.

Green Bay is led by one of the best players in the Horizon League in JayQuan McCloud who averages 17.3 points per game with 131 assists, and shoots 84.9 percent from the foul line.

Amari Davis, one of the best freshmen in the league, averages 16.1 points per game and shoots 51.8 percent from the floor. Kameron Henderson averages 10.9 points, while P.J. Pipes puts in 9.5 points.

YSU had its most complete game of the year last Thursday in a dominating 88-70 win over Wright State, and came back from a 16-point deficit to lose by two to Northern Kentucky on Saturday.

Calhoun said his team showed its maturity in the last couple of minutes against NKU in one of the few games this season in which YSU held a team under 70 points and lost. Defense is a must on Thursday against an offensively-gifted Green Bay team.

“We’ve got to build some walls,” Calhoun said. “We’ve got to contest shots. We’ve got to have active hands. We’ve got to close out plays. Then, we’ve got to get out and run. On the road, you’ve got to get some easy baskets.”

Darius Quisenberry, who had a career-high 41 points against Wright State, said a tournament-like approach is a must for the Penguins.

“Going into this, it feels like a championship game,” he said. “You have to approach it that way.”

Defense, rebounding on both ends, along with driving to the basket for a score or free throws, are the things YSU has to do to be successful. It’s been the Penguins’ calling-card all season.

“Our defense fires our offense,” Quisenberry said. “We really lock in on defense and slow them down. They’re a really fast-paced team. They really get up and down and score a lot of points. If our defense is really locked in and we’re attentive to the scout and things like that, our offense will be perfect.”