OVC Closing Kick

Is Morehead State Separating From the Pack?

(St. Louis, MO) – Six games. There are six games left to the Ohio Valley Conference season and there is a battle brewing on both end of the standings. Five league members are within two games of first place, while three teams at the bottom of the standings are battling it out for that eighth and final playoff spot.

The OVC’s post season tournament rewards and punishes regular season play. While the bottom two teams don’t qualify for the Evansville tournament, the top two teams receive a double-bye into the tournament’s semifinals. The third and fourth place teams receive a one-game bye into the quarterfinals.

With six games left in the regular season, every OVC team has something important to play for.

Contending For the Top Two Spots

Five Ohio Valley Conference teams have a legitimate shot at the league’s top two spots. First place Morehead State and second place Southeast Missouri, obviously control their respective destinies. Morehead (16-9, 9-3) has won six straight games and the preseason favorites seem to have found the winning formula. SEMO (13-12, 8-4) has won seven of its last ten games and guard Phillip Russell is having a ‘player of the year’ type of season.

A balanced Eagles’ offensive attack is led by Mark Freeman’s 16 points-per-game scoring average.

However, three other teams are nipping at the Redhawks’ heels and have serious opportunities to leap frog one if not both of these teams. Southern Illinois Edwardsville, UT Martin and Tennessee Tech all own 7-5 league marks.

All of the top five teams have their six games evenly split between home and away. Only UT Martin plays three games against those other five contenders. The rest will play just two. After Thursday’s game with Little Rock, Morehead travels to Southeast Missouri for a potential first place battle. So the other contenders know one of the top two teams will have at least one more loss.

The Redhawks won the teams’ previous meeting.

While SEMO finishes the season at SIUE, Morehead concludes the season with a home game against UT Martin. Anything can happen with these four teams. Tennessee Tech’s closing schedule is the easiest of these five teams.

If ‘defense wins championships’, SIUE and Morehead State have the edge. They are the OVC’s top two scoring defense teams. Four Cougars average more than ten points per game.

Fighting for Survival

At the other end of the standings, Lindenwood, Eastern Illinois and Little Rock are in a fierce competition for the final playoff spot. Lindenwood (9-16, 4-8) has a one game lead over the other two. Little Rock seemingly has the best opportunities to prevail. The Trojans play the other two teams and have just three contests with the league’s top five teams.

Outside of the Little Rock game, Eastern Illinois plays five games against the top five. EIU and Lindenwood are the OVC’s third and fourth best defensive teams. Lindenwood’s Lions have won two straight, and have split their two games with EIU and they defeated the Trojans in Arkansas. Little Rock’s game with the Lions is the final game of the regular season.

Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole (Newcomer) and Tommie Williams (Freshman) were some of the OVC’s current weekly award winners.

Closing Kick for a First Round Bye

Tennessee State and Southern Indiana have earned 6-and-6 records and thus one game behind SIUE, UT Martin and Tennessee Tech. Since teams three and four end up with a bye into the tournament’s quarterfinals, these spots are huge.

TSU’s Jr. Clay is second to Russell in the league scoring race and tied with the SEMO guard in assists.

Schedule makers have dealt Southern Indiana a difficult closing schedule. During the OVC’s closing kick the Screaming Eagles play four of the final six on the road and TSU plays four at home. Prior to the season finale between USI and TSU, the rest of the Tigers’ games are all against the league’s top five teams.

Tennessee State has won three straight and USI has dropped three-in-a-row. If the records matter, USI has the opportunity to play two of the league’s bottom three teams.

Speaking of schedule makers, the final day of the OVC season will be spectacular. It is very likely that Morehead State and UT Martin will be fighting for two of those top four spots and they finish against one another. The same is true for SEMO and SIUE. Lindenwood and Little Rock could be playing for their playoff lives and they meet in St. Charles, Missouri.

Injuries and Issues

UTM has been playing without star guard Parker Stewart (back). If he returns the Skyhawks (15-10, 7-5) are a different team. EIU’s Kinyon Hodges missed a game after an incident with a fan at Lindenwood. Head coach Marty Simmons has said the issue is being handled internally. How soon, or if he returns is a major factor in the EIU’s chances to earn a trip to Evansville.

The league’s bottom three teams have combined to win just five of forty road games but are respectable at home. When other league members host Lindenwood, Little Rock and Eastern Illinois, they have to take care of business.

SIUE plays all three of the bottom three teams and the Cougars are a .500 road team (6-6). They have already set the program’s Division 1 record for wins (16) and with one more victory would tie for their most single season OVC wins. This historical season could turn very fulfilling with an OVC closing kick that included a 20-win season and at least a one game bye in Evansville.

Morehead State should win the regular season title, but if they just split their final six games they will earn at least a first round bye.

The OVC closing kick will be great theater. As the league says, you should #OVCit.

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