How Many Post Season OVC Teams?

(St. Louis, MO) – Which Ohio Valley Conference teams have a chance at post season play? In a season of transition, the OVC’s March possibilities seem limited. There are four new coaches, rebuilding programs and there will be just one ‘known entity’ when Nashville hosts Music City Madness in early March.

One Team Will Go Dancing

Belmont is the OVC’s marquis program and once again leads the stronger East Division with less than a month left in the season. Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State have had revival type seasons and are staying within shouting distance of the Bruins.

The automatic bid into March Madness is the one ticket an OVC team should expect. No current team has the same type resume Murray State had last year when they were upset in Nashville, and the Racers didn’t go dancing. If the Bruins don’t win in their own home town they won’t be NCAA bound.

Rick Byrd’s team has an RPI of 82 and are 107 in kenpom.com’s latest ranking. That doesn’t demand an at-large bid. This year’s Belmont squad will reach 20 wins, probably win the East, and will go to the National Invitation Tournament if they don’t walk out of Municipal Auditorium with the championship.

No other team is even close to an NCAA bid.

NIT ~ CIT ~ CBI

With three other post-season tournament options, this is where OVC coaches and fans can look forward to playing beyond the early March reunion.

‘The O’ had some great success in these tournaments last season and created quite a stir in some spots. Eastern Illinois and UT-Martin won their first ever post season games (D1 level). Both were eliminated from the College Insider Tournament by the Missouri Valley’s Evansville Purple Aces, but Martin reached the CIT semi-finals.

Murray State went 2 and 1 in the National Invitation Tournament. OVC teams played an additional 13 games and won eight of them. For UT-Martin to reach the CIT semis they had to beat their OVC brethren from Eastern Kentucky. So the league was 8 and 5, but ‘The O’ only suffered four losses to non-OVC teams.

Five teams playing extra games, with more time to practice is a huge benefit to the teams and programs.

Who Will Keep Playing?

Belmont will play extra March basketball. The Bruins are 17-7 with a road win at Marquette (15-8) and a home victory over Horizon leader Valparaiso (19-4), the Bruins will be playing in the NIT even if they get upset at Music City Madness.

But who else from ‘The O’ will be playing beyond Nashville? Assuming the Bruins win the conference tournament, Tennessee Tech (16-7, 8-2) and Tennesse State (15-7, 6-3) appear to be locks to mid-March basketball, and the CIT seems to make the most sense considering the OVC’s success there last season.

Morehead State (12-10), Eastern Kentucky (13-12) and Murray State (12-11) remain hopeful of extra basketball, but they have to earn their way there with several victories.

Four of Murray’s final six regular season games are against teams with poor records and opens the door for a great finish. Matt McMahon’s team has won four of their last five games and other than a game at Eastern Illinois (on February 25), they play five games against teams that have accumulated an OVC record of 10-29.

Murray State will play post-season basketball.

The road for Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky is far more difficult. Playing in the East Division means their final games are against the OVC’s best teams, and they play each other. I don’t believe either team will be playing into the post-season.

Belmont, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State and Murray State will earn extra games and practices, but no other teams will. That is down by one team from last season, but with the great improvement by Tech and State speaks there is expectation of better things for the OVC.

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