March Madness is nearing and with that, conference tournaments are firing up, and the Ohio Valley Conference is one of the first to start. While this conference is significantly smaller than the SEC, Big Ten and others, we have seen some great performances by OVC teams in the past, so let’s look through the men’s teams fighting for a spot.
The Favorites
Little Rock Trojans: This year was great for Little Rock. Overall, they finished 18-11, but their conference record was 12-4. Even after a very slow start to the season, where they lost four out of their first five games, they made up for that at the end and have a nine game win-streak entering the tournament. There are other competitive teams in this conference, but Little Rock definitely is the team with the most momentum.
Morehead State: Morehead State comes back after a disappointing performance in this tournament last season, when they were the number one seed and expected to make it into the March Madness tournament, but lost in the semifinals to SEMO. They also had a 14-4 conference record, but their overall was 21-10. They did, however, start the season off with a tough schedule, by playing Purdue and Alabama in two out of their first three games. They played tough this season though and are a high scoring team. Off a three game win streak to end the season, they’ll be ready to start the tournament.
UT Martin Skyhawks: UT Martin is the third team in this division to finish 14-4 and had an overall record of 21-10. They are not a team to mess around with, as their offense is amazing. They average 81 points per game and scored 106 earlier this season, when they beat Lindenwood. Their defense is not perfect however, as they allow 76 points per game. If they can keep the offense this red hot and the defense stands up, there’s nobody who can beat them.
Western Illinois Leathernecks: WIU had a great year, finishing just one game behind the trio above with a conference record of 13-5 and their overall record at 20-10. They also were not handed a great start to the season and went against Illinois, Wisconsin and SMU, where they lost big in all three games. They managed to get a real run going in the midseason, where they won nine straight. They also had three big wins to finish the season, so they will be a team to watch out for.
Contenders
Tennessee State Tigers: The Tigers enter the tournament ast the last team above .500 conference record, finishing 10-8. They never had any true winning streaks to bring up, and just won in little spurts, but they did play Oregon pretty close. They also lost their last two games to favorites Little Rock and UT Martin to end the season, so they have some work to do if they want to make a run. They will start the tournament off against Southern Indiana.
SIU Edwardsville Cougars: SIUE just barely managed to finish 9-9, even after losing three to end the season. Overall, they went 16-15 and played teams such as Dayton and Missouri to start the season. While the offense isn’t much to talk about, their defense is solid and they’ve had their moments of winning big so while it will take work, they can make a run. Their first game is against Eastern Illinois.
Long Shots
Eastern Illinois Panthers: EIU finished under .500 at 8-10 in conference play this season, with an overall record of 14-17. Their season was a tough one, as they played Illinois, Loyola-Chicago and Kansas all before conference play started. They held KU within eight points too, so they showed they can play tough against bigger teams. While their end to the season was not perfect, they beat SIUE two games ago, so they will want to repeat that when they play them to start the tournament.
Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana not only had an unimpressive conference record (5-13), but also overall (8-23). They barely managed to sneak their way into the tournament over Tennessee Tech and will be looking to rebound and be the underdog this year. They had a rocky ending, losing five of their last six games, but that win was against Morehead State, so maybe they can have another shining moment like that.
My Prediction: While the OVC is a small conference, it is very competitive, as shown by the top three teams having the same record. This is also a very unpredictable tournament, as last season, Southeast Missouri came out of nowhere from the five seed and won it all. This season, I see UT Martin taking the title. As long as their defense makes a stance, nobody in the tournament stands a chance against their offense.