OVC – Anarchy Rules

Four Teams are Tied for First Place

(St. Louis, MO) – Has it ever been this crazy in the Ohio Valley Conference? In a league normally ruled by Belmont and occasionally Murray State, the new rule is ‘anarchy rules’. Austin Peay’s Saturday win over Jacksonville State has produced a four-way tie for first place.

Belmont, Murray, APSU and JSU are all 8-and-2. With no divisional standings, but a ‘divisional schedule’ in play, Murray State and Austin Peay play one another twice in the season’s last eight games. None of the four teams plays one another besides that.

Governors’ Huge Road Win

Matt Figger’s team pulled off the upset road win in Jacksonville, Alabama 74-71 as Terry Taylor scored 30 points and the Governors held Jason Burnell to 12 points. Ironically APSU has defeated JSU three-straight times. The loss was the Gamecock’s first home defeat this season. Despite winning the rebounding battle 37 to 29, the difference came from beyond the three-point line. JSU missed all 15 of their long distance attempts.

Belmont Blasts UT Martin

Dylan Windler and Nick Muszynski recorded double-doubles and the Bruins (17-4, 8-2) slid into that tie with an easy 82-67 win over UT Martin. The Skyhawks fell to 1-and-9 in league play. The Bruins have already defeated APSU and Murray State and are 8-and-0 against OVC competition not named Jacksonville State.

Murray State Escapes

The Racers trailed throughout their game with Tennessee Tech, but escaped Cookeville, Tennessee with a four point win and a share of the lead. 67-64 was the final as Ja Morant scored 28 points. Matt McMahon’s team has lost to both Belmont and Jacksonville State, so tie-breakers will not be their friends if they come into play, come tournament seeding time.

There is no telling where this race will end up, but critical games between Murray State and Austin Peay could be the determining factors, because in this OVC season, Anarchy rules.

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