While not the gauntlet of the Sun Belt, the Ohio Valley Conference tournament provides a stark challenge for those lower seeds looking for a strong March run, with the one and two seeds needing just two wins to find themselves in March Madness.
This year, the main favorites in that arena go to the one-seeded Southeast Missouri and two-seeded SIU Edwardsville, who is looking for its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Beginning on March 5 and going through Saturday, March 8, here is what you should expect from each team heading to Evansville, Ind.:
1. Southeast Missouri (15-5 OVC, 20-11 Overall)
The Redhawks came from behind to take their first-ever outright OVC title, but they should not be underestimated again, with the guard duo of Teddy Washington Jr. and Rob Martin combining for 28.9 points per contest while producing the top offensive efficiency in the league, according to KenPom.
2. SIU Edwardsville (13-7 OVC, 20-11 Overall)
Head coach Brian Barone leads the Cougars into battle behind the efforts of a monstrous 19.2 point per game average from Ray’Sean Taylor as they pursue the program’s first-ever ticket punched to the Big Dance.
3. Tennessee State (12-8 OVC, 16-15 Overall)
The Tigers enter the postseason first in the conference in points per game (78.7) behind the scoring output of Brandon Weston (16.0 points per game), and are vying for their first tourney appearance since 1993-94 after finishing the regular season on a 6-2 tear.
4. Little Rock (12-8 OVC, 18-13 Overall)
Though things may not have gone as expected this year for the Trojans with the multitude of injuries plaguing head coach Darrell Walker’s team, they post far-and-away the most efficient defense the conference has seen in years (96th in KenPom), and the duo of Mwani Wilkinson and Johnathan Lawson provide versatile scoring threats anywhere on the court.
5. Tennessee Tech (10-10 OVC, 15-16 Overall)
The Golden Eagles have highly exceeded expectations this season, with many projecting them as last in the conference coming in, but with the chance to make some noise, Jaylon Johnson and crew don’t want to go home without proving more doubters wrong.
6. Lindenwood (10-10 OVC, 15-16 Overall)
The Lions have made their first-ever OVC tournament in their third year in Division I, and while ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, many would be hard-pressed to see Kyle Gerdeman’s squad go down without a fight as four players average double figures on the season, and the scoring has been known to come from anywhere.
7. Morehead State (10-10 OVC, 15-16 Overall)
It might be harrowing to see such a fall from grace for the Eagles this season, especially after such a hot start to conference play, but finishing up the season on a 1-8 skid, the longtime OVC power is going to need to channel that early season success to prevent an early end to their season.
8. UT Martin (9-11 OVC, 13-18 Overall)
In his first year coaching at the Division-I level, head coach Jeremy Shulman has assembled a squad from scratch and brought them to the postseason, but with greater aspirations than just a day trip to Evansville, the Skyhawks look to use the scoring prowess of Tarence Guinyard (16.2 points per game) and Josue Grullon (12.5 points per game) to prolong their stay in River City.
