Four Ohio Valley Conference Questions

(St. Louis, MO) – Midnight Madness, Conference Media Days and tip off luncheons are all upon us.  With that in mind, what are the key questions surrounding the Ohio Valley Conference?

1. Can The OVC Become the “Next” Mid Major Conference?

With so much conference realignment the question for Ohio Valley Conference fans is ‘where does that leave our league in the national power struggle?

With the emergence of Southeast Missouri State and the 2013 addition of Belmont, the OVC has never been stronger.  Three teams made post-season appearances (Belmont – NCAA; Eastern Kentucky & Tennessee State – CIT) and the league finished the season with the 16^th best RPI.

Three players from the OVC have legitimate shots at NBA careers.

Add all that up and this is a conference that is starting to make noise nationally.

 

2. Is Belmont’s Championship Streak Over?

Belmont has made three straight NCAA Tournaments, dominated the Atlantic Sun Conference for years and won the OVC title last year, but 2013-14 could be more challenging.

Coach Rick Byrd is used to winning and winning big!  He has been coaching the Bruins for almost three decades and has over 570 career wins in Nashville, but losing co-OVC Player of the Year Ian Clark could be too much to overcome in an improving Ohio Valley Conference.

Don’t go to sleep on the Bruins!  Seniors J.J. Mann (10.5) and Blake Jenkins (9.6) know the Bruin way and 6’9” transfer Drew Windler averaged more than14 points per game for Samford before coming to Belmont and becomes eligible this year. Among the new recruits Byrd is bringing in are the former Tennessee Mr. Basketball Craig Bradshaw AND former Arkansas Mr. Basketball Nick Smith. One wild card in the mix could be red-shirt freshman Caleb Chowbay who averaged 22.5 points per game as a high school senior in Nashville.

 

3. Is The Sun Rising on SEMO?

When Dickey Nutt arrived in Cape Girardeau five years ago no one would have predicted that the Redhawks would be Western Division favorites in the OVC any time soon. All Nutt has done is put his team on the OVC map with increased win totals four years in a row and built a big physical team that can contend for a title.

Last year the Redhawks won 17 games including a win over league power Murray State. This season Nutt returns Player of the Year candidate Tyler Stone and frontcourt running mate Nino Johnson. Stone, a 6’9” senior comes from the Memphis area that Nutt loves to recruit. He averaged 15.5 points and just under eight rebounds per game.

Johnson is a 6’8” junior that outrebounded Stone (8.8) and averaged 11.1 points per game. Added to that front line will be Auburn transfer Josh Langford. The junior was Alabama’s top prep player and becomes eligible in December.

Distributing to all those big athletic players will be the proverbial ‘coach on the floor’ in Dickey Nutt’s son Lucas. The 6’1” senior is one of the premier distributors in the Midwest averaging 5.4 assists a game.

The growing rivalry between SEMO and Murray State will be a fun one to watch and the Racers are used to winning that title. This may be the most intriguing match up to watch in the OVC.

 

4. How Will Eastern Kentucky Handle the “Favorite” Role?

After setting a school record with 25 wins and virtually everybody back the Colonels are the solid choice to rule the Ohio Valley Conference’s Eastern Division. Coach Jeff Neubauer did lose star guard Mike DiNunno, but with guards Glenn Cosey (15.2 with 80 threes) and Corey Walden (13 ppg) manning the back court the Colonels are well positioned to handle the loss.

Both Cosey and Walden were part of the OVC’s all-newcomer team last year. Walden may be the best perimeter defender in the league and Cosey has been called the best outside shooter in the OVC by Lindy’s pre-season magazine.

The Colonels have not won a conference championship since 1979, but with Neubauer’s high pressure defense back stopped by 6’8” Eric Stutz, they are poised to end that drought. Recently USA Today named EKU the 53^rd best team in the country. They finished last season with a school record RPI of 69.

Do Good