OVC Revs up Conference Play

Five Games Wednesday & Six on Saturday

(St. Louis, MO) – Full out Ohio Valley Conference action is finally here. Starting Wednesday, the OVC revs up conference play. While there are five games on Wednesday night there is a full slate on Saturday.

There have been a smattering of games, but Eastern Illinois is yet to play a conference game and no team has played more than two league contests. Four teams are undefeated. Belmont and Jacksonville State are 2-0 and UT Martin and Southern Illinois Edwardsville each won their openers.

Three teams are winless as Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech are 0-2 and Southeast Missouri lost Brad Korn’s first OVC tilt.

Wednesday Headliners – Murray State at Belmont

League powerhouses Murray State and Belmont collide for the first time. Belmont (8-1, 2-0) entertains Murray State (4-3, 1-1). The Racers split their opening games with preseason co-favorites Austin Peay. These two heavy-weights have played 19 times, with Belmont winning ten times, including four of five in Nashville.

The last meeting was at the OVC Tournament final, won by the Bruins. Since 2013, these are the only two teams to win an OVC regular season title. They are the ‘gold standard’ of this 73-year-old conference. When the OVC revs up, you know these two are facing each other.

While Murray State leads the OVC in offense, scoring 89 points per game and leading the league in field goal percentage (.571), they are fourth worst in turnover margin (-1.9). Belmont is third in scoring (79.1 ppg ) and scoring defense (68.4).

Bruin newcomer Luke Smith is turning heads. The Division 3 transfer is fourth in scoring (17.6 ppg) and leads the league both in steals and made three-pointers.

The 6:00 p.m. tip can be seen on ESPNU.

‘Easterns’ Do Battle

Eastern Illinois (3-4) finally gets to play its first conference game when the Panthers visit Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels (7-2, 1-1) are off to their best start since the 1940s and continue to terrorize teams on the defensive end. A.W. Hamilton’s team is second nationally in forced turnovers and third in steals (13.8 per game).

EIU’s Josiah Wallace (17.7 ppg) is second to APSU’s Terry Taylor in the scoring race and EKU’s Tre King is seventh in scoring (15.9) and third in rebounding (7.6). EKU swept the Panthers last season.

History could be made in this game. EIU’s Mack Smith has made a three-pointer in an NCAA record tying 88 straight games. If he makes one Wednesday he will break a tie with Illinois’ Cory Bradford for the all-time record.

This 7:00 p.m. contest can be seen on ESPN+.

Three Other Games

UT Martin (3-2, 1-0) @ Jacksonville State (6-2, 2-0) – 7:30 pm – ESPN+

Austin Peay (5-3, 1-1) @ Tennessee State (1-4, 0-2) – 8:00 pm – ESPN+

Southeast Missouri (2-5, 0-1) @ Tennessee Tech (0-9, 0-2) – 8:00 pm – ESPN+

With these pairings, at least one of the undefeated teams will suffer its first loss and one of the winless teams, will earn their first victory.

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