Saturday of Opportunity

(Denver, CO) – Ohio Valley Conference teams have a Saturday of opportunity. On this particular day, league members have four cracks at ‘the big boys’. After Austin Peay’s narrow loss at Arkansas, OVC teams battle Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Purdue.

Three Southeastern Conference teams and one Big Ten clash in one day and five ‘power six’ encounters in one weekend is a unique opportunity for OVC members to make a national splash.

Austin Peay’s performance in Fayetteville was gritty. The Governors led 52-48 during the second half. They out rebounded the Hogs but fell 76-65 to the 9-3 Razorbacks. Steven Harris led the Govs with 15 points. Terry Taylor scored eight points and grabbed ten rebounds before fouling out. APSU is 8-5.

Visiting the SEC

On this rare Saturday of opportunity three OVC teams visit SEC teams. All three games can be seen on the SEC Network.

Tennessee Tech is first up as the Golden Eagles stay in state to battle third ranked Tennessee. TTU (4-8) is winless on the road and visits Knoxville knowing the Volunteers expect an easy game. UT (10-1 & 7-0 at home) is riding a 6-game winning streak and have five players averaging double figures in scoring. Grant Williams leads them in scoring and rebounding. Game time is noon.

Another in-State and in-City clash occurs at Vanderbilt where Tennessee State comes calling. The Tigers (3-8) and first year head coach Penny Collins have already earned their first road win.  The Commodores (7-3) are 6 and 1 at home. Tip time in Music City is set for 12:30.

Morehead State visits Columbia, Missouri for a 1:00 pm game at Missouri. The Eagles (4-8) visit a Mizzou squad that seems to have found itself after adjusting to the loss of Jontay Porter. The Tigers (8-3) have won five straight games including consecutive wins over Xavier and Illinois.

Belmont’s Chance to Pressure the Committee

Belmont’s recent win at UCLA has made this clash with the Boilermakers truly important. One more ‘money conference’ win, one more quadrant one win and the Bruins (9-1) would put huge pressure on the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

Rick Byrd’s team is ranked 40^th in the NET and 18^th in the RPI. A road win at an upper level Big Ten venue would position Belmont for an at-large birth in the national tournament. Barring a two or three loss OVC season, the Bruins would have one of the most compelling arguments of all mid major programs.

Game time in West Lafayette, Indiana is set for 2:30. This one can be seen on FS1.

Win-or-lose, no one can accuse OVC teams of not scheduling difficult competition. While the league is just 1-17 heading into today’s games, these weekend contests give the conference 21 battles against the BCS (and Big East) schools.

This is truly a Saturday of opportunity.

Do Good