(St. Louis, MO) – If we’ve learned anything about the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, it’s that we should expect the unexpected and that’s what we found last weekend as Jacksonville State became the second unlikely winner in as many years at Music City Madness.
The Gamecocks (20-14) had to defeat top seeded Belmont in the semi-finals and second seeded UT Martin in the finals and now await Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show to find out where and when they dance in this year’s version of March Madness.
JSU is hosting a watch party at Pete Mathews Coliseum beginning at 3:30 local time and Gamecock fans can get in free and receive a team poster to celebrate the event.
Winning the conference tournament capped off an amazing first year under head coach Ray Harper. Jacksonville State won 20 games combined the previous two years, but the accomplished Harper, the earner of over 400 career coaching victories prior to this season worked his magic again. This is the 18th straight year a Harper coached team has finished above .500.
On a team without star power the Gamecocks forged a conference mark of 9-7 (five more league wins that last season) and earned their way into the league tournament for the first time since 2012. Malcolm Drumwright (second team) was the only JSU player named to an all conference team. There are 10 OVC players on the first team.
The 6’2 junior guard was named the MVP of Music City Madness as he scored 21 points in the semi-final win over Belmont and totaled a team leading 49 points for the tournament. Senior Greg Tucker also scored in double figures in all three games and joined Drumwright on the all-tournament team.
Harper who is a two-time NCAA Division 2 National Champion and a two-time NAIA National Champion, knows a little bit about winning games. His record spanning three different divisions of college basketball is 463-136. The 55-year-old Harper holds a 110-77 record in Division 1 coaching.
Now the Gamecocks wait. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has JSU as a 16-seed and playing Kansas in the opening round of the Midwest Regional in Tulsa, but that was prior to Kansas’ loss in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm agrees with a 16-seed for the Gamecocks, but anticipates them playing in the opening round in the South Region against North Carolina.
We’ll know everything on Sunday!
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.@SEMOMBB wins at home and is 2-0, tied with @MSUEaglesMBB atop the @OVCSports. Our prayers are with the @LRTrojans after the death of one of their managers Josh Claxton. Their game with EIU was postponed today.
Good officiating in the @SEMOMBB/@SIUEMBB in a little late game dust up.
BTW, @LindenwoodWBB is 2-0. @CoachAmyEagan has that program headed the right direction.
With @SkyhawkHoops winning on the road and @LUMensBball winning at home, right now, 5 @OVCSports teams are 1-1.
