Monson’s 49ers reap the rewards of a tough schedule

If any team could claim to be battle-tested heading into conference play, it had to be Long Beach State.

The 49ers loaded up their nonconference slate with the likes of Kansas, North Carolina, San Diego State, Louisville and Xavier. The team struggled through many of those games, ending up with a 7-6 record heading into Big West play.

But don’t be fooled. The 49ers were more than competitive against the big boys, with single-digit losses on the road at San Diego State, Kansas and North Carolina. Plus, the 49ers beat Pittsburgh, Xavier and Auburn. None of those are particularly outstanding — the Xavier win came during the Musketeers’ tailspin following the brawl against Cincinnati. But in short, Dan Monson’s team learned how to win and how to believe in itself.

This team has taken that lesson and applied it well through the first seven games of Big West play. Long Beach State sits atop the conference standings with a 7-0 record, and only Cal Poly stayed within 10 points of the 49ers.

If Long Beach State can continue to plow through the Big West and claim an automatic to the NCAA Tournament, the 49ers should be a popular first-round upset pick. Their lack of hefty wins will prevent the team from earning a seed much higher than a No. 12 or 13 spot. But that just makes this team a sound pick to upset any No. 4 or 5 seed from a major conference on a neutral court.

The benefits of such a tough schedule might not show up in the win-loss columns immediately. But if Long Beach State goes 1-1 or 2-0 during the first weekend of March, that tournament success will be partially due to the team’s preparation early in the season.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Murray State will get back leading rebounder Ivan Aska, who grabs 6.0 rpg and scores 12.6 ppg, for the team’s game against Eastern Illinois Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Michigan could have big Jon Horford back for the Wolverines’ game against Purdue Tuesday, coach John Beilein told Wolverine Nation’s Chantel Jennings for ESPN.com. Horford has been out with a stress fracture since early December.

Arguably the most intense and spite-filled rivalry in the ACC, Maryland and Duke will clash for the first time this season Wednesday night in College Park. And the Terrapins will likely have freshman 7-footer Alex Len, even though he twisted his ankle during the Terps’ loss at Temple last weekend, according to the Washington Post’s Liz Clarke.

Of course, that’s no disrespect to the North Carolina vs. Duke rivalry. And this year, coach Roy Williams won’t have his best defender, Dexter Strickland, who tore his ACL in the team’s win against Virginia Tech Thursday, according ESPN.com’s Robbi Pickeral.

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson is considering adding a hometown hero to the Razorbacks squad, according to the Associated Press. Former Oklahoma State guard Fred Gulley has enrolled at Arkansas and plans to play for Anderson as a walk-on or scholarship player. He was a star high school basketball player in Arkansas before leaving the state to play for the Cowboys.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan railed against the rule that allows graduated players to transfer and play immediately during a news conference Monday, writes Benjamin Worgull for Badger Nation.com.

Undefeated teams remain focused on the task at hand

As we approach the end of January, we still have two undefeated teams out there: Syracuse and Murray State.

The Orange and Racers will take their undefeated records on the road this weekend as Syracuse visits Notre Dame and Murray State faces SIU-Edwardsville. In both games, the undefeated squads should win. But that word “should” is a funny thing.

In conference play, you just never know when a rival will step up and pull off a major upset. Look at Florida State, which got amped for the team’s home game against North Carolina last weekend. Given the Seminoles’ defensive prowess, it wouldn’t have been a shock if they kept the game close or even eked out a slim victory. But a 30-point trouncing of a top five team? That’s ridiculous.

So as Syracuse and Murray State continue to plow through their schedules, plenty of onlookers will speculate about whether these teams can finish the regular season with a perfect record. Murray State will get a bunch of speculation because the Racers are head and shoulders above the rest of their Ohio Valley Conference competition. In the Big East, the general consensus is at least one team will knock off the Orange. But in a rebuilding year for many teams in the conference, it’s not unreasonable to think that Syracuse will be a favorite in every game the team plays.

But there we go again with the speculation. I can almost guarantee you that coaches Jim Boeheim and Steve Prohm aren’t looking further than Saturday’s game. And nor should they lest the Fighting Irish or Cougars come up with a big game to protect their home court like the Seminoles did against North Carolina last weekend.

Here are some of the big games on tap for this weekend.

Saturday:

• Missouri at Baylor
• Purdue at Michigan State
• Florida State at Duke
• Syracuse at Notre Dame
• Cincinnati at West Virginia
• Alabama at Kentucky
• Mississippi State at Vanderbilt
• Xavier at Dayton
• Marshall at Southern Miss
• Kansas at Texas
• New Mexico at UNLV
• Murray State at SIU-Edwardsville
• Rutgers at Georgetown
• Maryland at Temple
• Kansas State at Oklahoma State
• Stanford at Washington
• Arizona at Colorado
• Old Dominion at VCU
• Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara

Sunday:

• Virginia Tech at Virginia
• NC State at Miami
• Wisconsin at Illinois
• Milwaukee at Cleveland State
• Boston U. at Hartford

Jacksonville State Gets a Building Block Win

AMHERST, Mass. – You can’t read too much into one game, especially early in the season. But the final score on Monday night can’t be the only good thing Jacksonville State takes home.

The Gamecocks came to town on an evening that was big for the UMass faithful, although the crowd wasn’t very large. The paid attendance was over 4,800 (the Mullins Center seats nearly 9,500), but they were there for the home debut of new head coach Derek Kellogg, a hometown hero who was among the keys to UMass becoming a national power in the 1990s. The young Gamecocks at first glance would seem like an opponent the Minutemen could certainly beat to give Kellogg a win in his home debut.

But that’s not what happened. Despite trailing by five points with 29 seconds left, Jacksonville State walked out with a 75-74 win that had plenty of positives.

Jacksonville State was picked last in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll of the head coaches and sports information directors. At first glance, that seems like an understandable selection. The Gamecocks have just four upperclassmen among their top 11 players and a new head coach after a 7-22 showing last season. Four true freshmen are on the roster, and a fifth freshman, Geddes Robinson, was a non-qualifier last season.

Those freshmen are among the reasons for Gamecock fans to be hopeful. Only Stephen Hall, who has already been a steady contributor off the bench, was signed before James Green took over as head coach. Green then had to work with just one live weekend in April to evaluate players, but went out and recruited Brandon Crawford, who has been an instant impact player, then added John Barnes and junior college forward Jacques Leeds.

Crawford already has the look of a star player. He’s athletic and has a good body for his position, and in his first four games he has averaged 16 points and is 9-15 from behind the three-point line. On Monday, he came into the game with his team trailing 13-12 and wasted little time making his presence felt. He scored six straight points to cap a run of eight unanswered to give the Gamecocks the lead at 20-13.

“During practice, we felt he had a chance to be a really good player for us, but he’s actually scored the ball a lot better in the games than what he did in practice,” said Green. “He’s very athletic, he’s long, and he gives us a guy that really sometimes is a mismatch for other teams in the fact that he’s athletic enough to go down inside and do some things there, too.”

Green can see the effect Crawford has had on his teammates with his play. While he surely wasn’t the sole or even main reason for the poise they showed late in the game, he had a role in the end as well, as he converted a four-point play with 23 seconds left that pulled the Gamecocks within one, setting up the dramatics in the final seconds.

“I think when you see young guys play like that, it gives everybody confidence,” said Green.

While this was one game in a long season, you have to think this gives them a confidence boost. This is a road win for a young team early on that can only help them. It also came after events that might normally deflate a young team and perhaps even serve as knockout blows. After the Gamecocks blew a seven-point lead by allowing UMass to run off 13 unanswered points, the psychological impact of giving up the lead might be damaging enough all by itself, especially that late in the game.

Green talked about this game being something for his team to learn from, and he felt they gained something from their season opener at South Carolina. Those are signs that this team is buying into what the coaches are teaching, and that their talent won’t be all that they have going for them.

“As a coach, and being a part of about seven different programs, I can’t really remember having as many young players that have been as poised as we have in the two road games that we’ve had,” said Green, who had been the head coach at Mississippi Valley State before taking this job.

Some of the credit there has to go to the veterans, notably seniors Jonathan Toles (who scored the winning basket) and DeAndre Bray, one of the shortest players in college basketball at 5’6″. Toles led the team with 18 points and added five assists with just one turnover. In fact, the Gamecocks had 19 assists with just nine turnovers on the night.

It’s still early in the season, and Jacksonville State is sure to have some growing pains along the way. They could just as easily finish the season winning just three more games to go with the three wins they already have. But a win like the one they had on Monday night can go a long way towards helping a team grow better, especially if, as Green talked about, it is a game his team learns from.

Austin Peay Wins A Year Later

A Championship a Year in the Making

by Phil Kasiecki

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This is what Austin Peay has been shooting for over the last year. It didn’t begin with the start of practice – it began a year ago.

The Governors were the regular season champions in the Ohio Valley Conference last season with a 16-4 mark in OVC games. They won by three games in the standings and were a clear favorite to take the conference’s NCAA Tournament bid. But Eastern Kentucky spoiled that in the title game with a 63-62 win and left the Governors to the NIT, where Air Force blew them out in the first round.

On Saturday, the feeling was different. Just over a year later, the Governors left no doubt in beating Tennessee State 82-64 to win the Ohio Valley Conference Championship after finishing with an identical 16-4 mark in the regular season.

While the Governors needed to stage a second-half rally to even have a chance in last year’s final, there was none necessary this time around. With 11:27 left in the first half, tournament MVP Todd Babington buried his fourth three-pointer of the half to give the Governors a 21-18 lead. They never relinquished it from there, getting it up to 15 at halftime and never leading by less than 11 for the entire second half.

“It’s like they weren’t going to be denied, they were so focused,” said head coach Dave Loos. “They really put the stamp on this thing today.”

The Governors were clearly a team on a mission after coming so close last season and after winning the regular season title. That was readily apparent to anyone who saw the game and how much they dominated Tennessee State.

“Austin Peay played like champions,” said Tennessee State head coach Cy Alexander. “They played like a team that had not had the opportunity to go last year to the NCAA Tournament. They came into this game on a mission, and they out-played us.”

Babington, who was also a standout quarterback on the gridiron in high school, led the charge with his three-point shooting. Challenged in Friday’s semifinal, he got going in the second half of that game for a spell, and on Saturday he was hot all along. When he got the ball, the defense may as well have just started heading back up the court.

While his shooting will be talked about the most, as he was 6-8 from long range, he did much more than that and more than his five rebounds. During the first half, he deflected an outlet pass to break up a fast break opportunity, then later tipped a rebound out to a teammate that led to a fast break. Later, he pump-faked a defender, stepped in and hit a leaner off the glass.

For all his efforts, he can be excused for a little comedy when asked if he had his dancing shoes for the NCAA Tournament. It turns out, he literally did have them – well, almost.

“I just haven’t put them on yet,” said Babington, noting that he got the red and white shoes from his brother and leading to laugher in the press room. “They’re brand new, pearly whites.”

But while Babington got the big honor on the strength of his play Saturday, the team’s floor leader was perhaps the biggest reason they got there. Derek Wright, a Los Angeles native who somehow got away from the California schools and came across much of the country, is closing out a fine career that has seen him become the school’s all-time leader in steals and place third in assists. He and Babington have played in an OVC record 130 career games. The three-year starter makes this team go and came up big in the conference tournament.

On Saturday, Wright had 13 points and four assists, but as is often the case with a point guard, the numbers don’t show his value. At the end of the first half, he helped bury Tennessee State with two back-breaking jumpers. The first was a three-pointer from near the top of the key with the shot clock running down and a defender in his face, then he did it again with a short jumper near the end of the half as they turned a 35-25 lead into a 15-point halftime advantage.

This came after he handed out seven assists with just one turnover as one of the unsung heroes in Friday night’s close win. It’s nothing he hasn’t done before.

“I hand him the ball, he knows the game plan, he knows how our coaching staff thinks, and I’ve gotten to where I absolutely trust him with our team,” said Loos. “He’s in charge, he is the guy.”

The Governors have reached this point with five double-figure scorers and several reserves who could probably do that if they played the kind of minutes starters do. This team returned all but two letterwinners from last season’s team, and the balance is a big reason they have been able to duplicate the success and take the next step. Three players made the all-tournament team. There’s also plenty of unselfishness that lends itself to the balance; all five starters average at least one assist per game.

A great example of this is junior Drake Reed, last season’s OVC Player of the Year. He didn’t put up the same numbers as last season, but led the balanced attack and plays so well within the team concept like everyone else. He’s second on the team in assists as a combo forward, which also shows his feel for the game.

With everyone back, the Governors didn’t just have the kind of team that could get back to this point and then win the title. They also had a team that was going to have a big target on their back from being picked to win. They were picked to win the conference by a wide margin by the conference’s coaches and sports information directors, as well as basically every prognosticator out there.

“I think that’s really significant. I don’t think a lot of people understand the pressure that’s involved there and the fact that you get everybody’s best shot night-in and night-out,” said Loos, who doubles as the school’s athletic director. “Being able to withstand and respond to all those punches is really something that you have to experience to understand. It’s a real tribute to these guys that they were able to deal with that almost from start to finish.”

The Governors certainly did that – in fact, they led the OVC wire-to-wire. They also accomplished something that only Murray State did about a decade ago, which is post two straight 16-win seasons in conference play. While last season might look impressive because the team was quite young, this season is just as impressive, if not more, because they had a big target on their back the entire time.

But the Governors also had a long time to get ready for this one. They started right away last year, because they remember the feeling when they lost the heart-breaker and didn’t want it to happen again.

“Ever since last year, ever since we lost on that heart-breaker, we’ve worked harder than we’ve ever worked this summer,” said Babington. “We kind of took it to heart. We knew the target was going to be on our back all year, and we played together all year.”

This was the goal all along, starting a year ago. Next Sunday, Austin Peay will enjoy the moment when their name is called – a much better feeling than they had a year ago when it was the NIT that called their name.

Ohio Valley Semifinals

Ohio Valley Tournament Semifinal Notes

by Phil Kasiecki

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament are in the books on a snowy night outside. The championship matchup is set, with the top seed set to take on a surprise contender with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

Austin Peay is back in the title game after a 78-77 win over UT-Martin. They will take on Tennessee State, which entered as the No. 6 seed, after the Tigers took out Murray State 83-75 in the nightcap. Both games had plenty of drama, and the outcome of each was in doubt until at least the final minute.

Semifinals Honor Roll

Wes Channels, Austin Peay: 16 points, 3 assists
Fernandez Lockett, Austin Peay: 15 points, 9 rebounds
Lester Hudson, UT-Martin: 31 points, 8 rebounds
Marquis Weddle, UT-Martin: 20 points
Bruce Price, Tennessee State: 20 points, 8 assists
Ray George, Murray State: 25 points on 8-13 shooting (5-7 on three-pointers), 3 assists
Danero Thomas, Murray State: 21 points on 7-9 shooting

Season Forward Ends With a Tough Loss

A season with a lot of firsts and broken records of futility for UT Martin ended on Friday night. Among the highlights:

• The team won at least 10 OVC games for the first time since joining the conference in 1992.
• This was the program’s first trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals.
• Tuesday’s game was their first home game in the conference tournament
• The Skyhawks’ No. 4 seed was the best in the school history.
• Their 17 wins is the most in their Division I history.

Clearly, this season, fresh off one where the Skyhawks went 8-23, was a big step forward.

“I think it was a huge step forward for this program,” said head coach Bret Campbell. “I don’t think many people give Tennessee-Martin a lot of respect and I think we finally earned some respect by our players and our team this year that we could play with anybody.”

The Skyhawks have the conference’s best player in junior Lester Hudson, and also have the Rookie of the Year in promising freshman Marquis Weddle. Hudson, who earlier in the season recorded the NCAA’s first-ever quadruple-double, did everything he could to try to win this game by scoring 22 of his 31 points in the second half. Together, they helped lead a perfect month of February to have them playing well heading into the tournament.

With them at the core of a team that loses just one player, expectations next season are likely to be a little higher than this time around, when the Skyhawks were picked last in the conference in the preseason poll of the conference’s coaches and sports information directors.

“We’re only losing one player this year, we’ve got a great group coming back, and I’ll very much be expecting to be sitting here next year but only on Saturday night,” said Campbell.”

Defense Wins Championships, And Gets Teams There

At times, Austin Peay looked like they could be in danger against UT-Martin in the first semifinal game. The Governors were out-played in the first half, but UT-Martin missed a lot of good opportunities. That might be where the game was lost, but it was a ballgame all the way through.

Early in the second half, Todd Babington got going from long range and the Governors opened up a 60-53 lead at one point. They seemed to be on the verge of breaking it open, but they had to hold off Lester Hudson and the Skyhawks at the end.

While Babington responded to a halftime challenge to get involved, it was the defense that helped change the game for the Governors.

“Once we got a few stops, the body language of everybody just transformed,” said junior forward Drake Reed. “Everybody got a little swagger to them, and we got some big stops and caused some nice turnovers down the stretch.”

Defense got Austin Peay to the title game for the second year in a row. On Saturday, we will see if it wins them a title this time around.

Big Man Gives Unexpectedly Big Boost

A quick look at Tennessee State’s statistics entering Friday’s game would tell you that James Craft wouldn’t seem likely to be a big contributor. His stats are those of a bit player: 7.2 minutes per game, 0.8 points, 1.5 rebounds per game.

But on Friday night, he came through in a big way. Craft scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes, which also tied a career high. A few of his points were also important ones, as he hit two jumpers in the latter part of the second half while Murray State was trying to charge back.

His play was a big reason that after the Tigers took a 58-56 lead with 8:22 left, they never relinquished it. And it wasn’t something that surprised his point guard.

“We could tell he was shooting the ball well in practice the last three days, so we knew to get him the ball,” said Bruce Price, who handed out eight assists to go with his team-high 20 points. “I had no doubt in my mind if I got him the ball, because he’s a great shooter for a seven-footer.”

His coach said the shoot-around earlier in the day gave him an idea that this could happen.

“You coach by gut feeling. I just watched Craft, he wasn’t missing in shoot-around this morning,” said head coach Cy Alexander. “My gut told me to go with him as the first big off the bench, and he still wasn’t missing tonight.”

Career Night Ends College Days for Racer Senior

Ray George has been through a lot in his life, including his high school and college days. He spent time at Mt. Zion in Durham, N.C. early in his high school days, back when the school was a national power. He bounced around on travel teams, later wound up at Coastal Christian in Virginia, and still didn’t get to Division I despite having talent.

George instead spent two years at Georgia Perimeter College, where he averaged 20 points, 8.6 assists and 4.8 steals per game. Never known as a shooter, he even shot 55.2 percent from long range. That got him an opportunity at Murray State, and while he wasn’t a star, he contributed to the team’s success.

After scoring a career-high 25 points, including going 5-7 from long range, George was clearly distraught after the game. He’s come a long way in life and on the basketball court, and with his career over, he now closes in on his degree.

“In the last month, we had a good meeting and I’m really thankful that he was able to play as well as he did because he’s worked real hard on his game, he’s worked hard on doing the things I want him to do,” said head coach Billy Kennedy.

In many ways, George paralleled Lester Hudson on this Friday night. Both have been through well-documented struggles and had to go the junior college route before playing Division I basketball. Hudson did all he could to bring his team back in the evening’s opening game, and George did all he could in the nightcap as he scored 17 of his points in the second stanza. Kennedy took a chance on George, and vice versa given that Kennedy had just taken over as the head coach, and while they had ups and downs, the program moved forward and so did George.

Young Talent on Display

Mid-majors are often known for winning with experience, but Friday night wasn’t quite that. Of the 20 starters in the two games, only six were seniors, while four were freshmen. Add in some young reserves, and it’s clear that there is some good young talent.

Besides Weddle, the Rookie of the Year, UT-Martin starts forward Benzor Simmons, while Tennessee State starts Gerald Robinson, Jr. and Darius Cox. Robinson is the next best of the bunch, as he made the conference All-Rookie team and has a lot of potential, as he’s skilled and plays with a lot of confidence. Cox is third on the Tigers in rebounding and should grow into a good player, while Simmons is a role player who came on late in the year to move into the starting lineup.

This leads to Saturday’s championship, which will feature an experienced group with three senior starters in Austin Peay going up against a Tennessee State team that starts one senior and two freshmen. It’s a little different than last year, when two teams that were relatively inexperienced met in the title game.

Ohio Valley Preview

Ohio Valley Conference 2007-08 Preview

by Josh Bagriansky

The Ohio Valley Conference continued to prove impossible to predict last season. A young Austin Peay team that was seemingly on the decline proved everyone wrong by finishing the season on a tear to win the regular season title. And then Eastern Kentucky, another team not picked to do much, took the conference title. They proceeded to give North Carolina a run for their money in the NCAA Tournament, but the Heels proved too much in the end.

With another season looming around the corner, it looks to be another wild ride in the OVC.

Preseason All Conference
G Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech, Sr.
G Drake Reed, Jr., Austin Peay
G Mike Rose, Eastern Kentucky, Jr.
F Amadi McKenzie, Tennessee Tech, Sr.
F Brandon Foust, Southerm Missouri, Sr.

Conference MVP: Amadi McKenzie, Tennessee Tech
Freshman of the year: David Minaya, Tennessee Tech
Newcomer of the year: Leon Buchanan, Morehead State
Defensive Player of the Year: Amadi McKenzie, Tennssee Tech
Most Improved Player: Danero Thomas, Murray State
Coach on the Hot Seat: Bret Campbell, Tennessee-Martin

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Austin Peay
2. Tennessee Tech
3. Murray State
4. Eastern Kentucky
5. Tennessee State
6. Southeast Missouri
7. Morehead State
8. Samford
9. Jacksonville State
10. Eastern Illinois
11. Tennessee-Martin

Austin Peay Governors
2006-07 record: 21-12 (16-4, 1st)
Key players: Jr. G Drake Reed, Sr. F Lockett Fernandez
Key matchups: 11/10 @Vandy, 11.20 @Utah State, 12/1 @Tennessee Tech, 1/31 vs. Murray State, 2/28 @Eastern Kentucky

APSU snuck up on everyone last season. Dave Loos’ young squad finished on an unbelievable hot streak and won the OVC regular season. And although they suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss to Eastern Kentucky in the OVC Tournament Championship, they figure to return with a vengeance this season.

The Governors’ success was largely dependent on the emergence of talented young guard Drake Reed. Just a sophomore last season, Reed exploded onto the scene by averaging nearly 16 points per game on 51% shooting. This year defenses will have the 6-5 forward scouted, so it’s imperative that a second option rises up.

With all kinds of scoring coming back in the backcourt, that shouldn’t be a problem. Senior Lockett Fernandez is a similar build to Reed. He led the team in rebounding last season and provide the ying to Reed’s yang. Between the two there is little question that APSU will be among the more prolific offenses in the OVC.

The only question is whether a true point guard can step up and become the guy to distribute the ball to Reed and Fernandez. Derek Wright looks to be that man. At just 5-9, the point guard dished out 4.1 APG last season. Meanwhile, Wes Channels, Landon Shipley and Todd Babington all had their moments last season and will continue to help a team that shot 35% from outside the arc.

There is one glaring weakness for the Governors: center. Duran Robertson, Tomas Janusaukas and J.P. Felder all struggled last season. That was evident by Reed and Fernandez being the top rebounders on the team. Someone must step up down low.

With Belmont, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Utah State all on the non-conference schedule they should be plenty battle-tested for conference play. If the Governors can just get adequate production from their low post players and with virtually everyone returning to the fray, the Governors are the odds-on favorite to repeat as regular season champs.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
2006-07 record: 19-13 (13-7, 3rd)
Key players: Senior G Anthony Fishers, Sr. F Amadi McKenzie
Key matchups: 11.11 @Florida, 12/1 vs. Austin Peay, 1/24 @Murray State, 2/2 vs. Eastern Kentucky

The Golden Eagles might have actually been the most talented OVC team last year. They had impressive wins against Northwestern and Bradley and finished 13-7 in the conference. A three-point loss to Eastern Kentucky kept them out of the conference championship. It seems like TTU has been on the brink of the NCAA Tournament forever. But this year they have yet another chance to get over the hump.

Everyone talks about the great play of senior Anthony Fisher (17.2 PPG last season), but it’s banger Amadi McKenize that makes the team go. He averaged 7.7 RPG to go with 13.9 PPG to become one of the best low post threats in the conference. This year he is probably the best of them.

More was expected out of South Alabama transfer Daniel Northern last season, but he didn’t have much of an effect after becoming eligible for second semester. If he puts things together, he will provide a decent low post body that isn’t McKenzie. 6-6 freshman guard David Minaya had the talent to be a big-time recruit but slipped through the cracks and looks like a steal for this team. He could be the best freshman in the league.

Mike Sutton’s squad has a legitimate shot to win the OVC. They will also be battle-tested for the bulk of the conference schedule after consecutive matchups at Oregon State, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech in December. Without a doubt, they are primed to make a run at the conference title.

Murray State Racers
2006-07 record: 16-14 (13-7, 4th)
Key players: Sr. G Bruce Carter, So. F Danero Thomas
Key matchups: 11/17 @Western Kentucky, 12/5 vs. Eastern Kentucky, 1/24 vs. Tennessee Tech, 1/31 @Austin Peay

First-year coach Billy Kennedy experienced mixed results last season. The team got off to a miserable start, but finished up the season with a 13-7 conference record. Now they’re looking to get back to where they belong, atop the OVC.

The main strength for the Racers is in the backcourt. Senior Bruce Carter and junior Tyler Holloway were the top two scorers last season. They’re both back, and sophomore Ray George also returns.

The guard play should help the Racers win, but to win it all they need production from their forwards. Big-time recruit Danero Thomas was inconsistent last season, though he started to pick it up down the stretch. He is talented enough to jump right into the fray and be a big time player. JUCO transfer Tarod Sanders will help bring some serious muscle in the paint as well.

State took their bumps last season. They will need frontcourt help this season if they want to get back into the elite of the OVC. Holloway and Carter will win some games on their own, but production from Thomas is a must. If he can be the impact player that coaches think he can be, the Racers have a shot to win the conference. Look for them to finish with a similar record to last season and be a solid team with a serious chance to win the OVC tournament by March.

Eastern Kentucky Colonels
2006-07 record: 21-12 (13-7, 2nd)
Key players: Jr. G Mike Rose, So G. Adam Leonard
Key matchups: 11/25 @Duke, 12/5 @Murray State, 1/5 vs. Tennessee Tech, 2/28 vs. Austin Peay

The Colonels surprised everyone last season just by finishing tied for second in the conference. Then the dream run continued when they beat APSU to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. And with plenty of talent back from last season, it’s not unthinkable that they do it again.

Junior Guard Mike Rose was as good as anybody in the conference last season, dropping 15 PPG and leading the Colonels to the tournament title. He has already developed into one of the stars in the conference. Adam Leonard flashed star ability last season as well, as in just his freshman year he played a pivotal role in EKU’s success. He and Rose formed a terrifying tandem from beyond the arc and he also averaged 1.6 SPG. Between the two EKU has the best backcourt duo in the conference.

EKU will have to replace the bulk of their rebounding with Michael Brock and Julian Mascoll gone. But Jamaal Douglass and Darnell Dials are both similar players that look to take over their roles.

No one expected Jeff Neubauer’s West Virginia styled offense to catch on so quickly, but it did. And with their top scorers back in Rose and Leonard, they seem poised to have the most prolific offense in the OVC. If they can replace the void down low they will have a good chance to be a part of the Big Dance for a second straight season.

Tennessee State Tigers
2006-07 record: 12-20 (8-12, 8th)
Key players: Sr. F LaDarious Weaver, Sr. G Andrae Belton
Key matchups: 12/3 @Indiana, 1/3 vs. Morehead State, 1/31 vs. Samford, 3/1 @Eastern Kentucky

Cy Alexander’s team looked poised to make a run at a conference title last season. But when the season was over, they had only had an 8-12 OVC record to show for it and were one of the conferences more underachieving teams. This season they’ll hope to fix things.

One of the reasons for the losing last season was the loss of guard Bruce Price. He hasn’t played a game since December of 2005 when tore his ACL, as he tore it a second time before last season. He was one of the greatest talents in the OVC before the knee problems. If he can find his previous form he could lead the Tigers to greatness.

Seniors LaDarious Weaver and Andrae Belton are back after averaging double digits last season. Weaver and Price could form one of the more dynamic scoring duos in the conference. Senior Ervin Reiley will spread the ball around after averaging over four APG last season. The Tigers also brought in two big-time recruits. Reiley should help get freshman Gerald Robinson up to speed, and Robinson’s classmate Dontrell Taylor has the size and ability to contribute right away.

The coaches picked TSU to finish sixth in the conference. If Price is back to his form of 2005, they will finish much higher. There is enough potential across the board to make a surprise run at a conference title.

Southeast Missouri Redhawks
2006-07 record: 11-20 (9-11, 6th)
Key players: Sr. F Brandon Foust, Sr. C Michael Rembert
Key matchups: 12/1 @Bradley, 12/6 vs. Tennessee State, 1/7 vs. Murray State, 2/9 @Eastern Kentucky

SEMO Head Coach Scott Edgar demands his team play at an extremely fast pace. The result is one of the more exciting teams in the NCAA. Unfortunately that didn’t translate into many wins last season. But with virtually everyone returning, there’s no doubt that the Redhawks will be more efficient running Edgar’s frenetically paced offense.

The Redhawks have talent coming back at a variety of positions. Swingman Brandon Foust, a transfer from Oklahoma, was the top scorer at 11.8 PPG and also led the team in rebounds. Senior center Michael Rembert was another transfer who impressed (from Bradley). Like Foust, he was a solid scoring and rebounding option, but he struggled on the defensive end by fouling out of a staggering six games. Senior David Johnson also dropped double-digit points last season. And sophomore guard Roderick Pearson is also back after leading the team in assists.

With practically all of the contributors from last season back, SEMO should be one of the most improved teams in the conference. Being a serious threat for a conference title is unlikely, but the Redhawks are definitely going to make a serious jump into the second level of the OVC. Expect them to have a winning conference record.

Morehead State Eagles
2006-07 record: 12-18 (8-12,7th)
Key players: Jr. F Leon Buchanan, Sr. G Maze Stallworth
Key matchups: 11/21 @Oklahoma, 12/17 vs. Tennessee-Martin, 1/19 vs. Jacksonville State, 2/20 @Eastern Kentucky

MSU alum Donnie Tyndall had a seemingly impossible task facing him when he became the Eagles’ head coach last season. But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn’t think Tyndall got the most out of his bunch last season. The Eagles opened up the OVC season with a surprising 6-2 record before faltering down the stretch.

Unfortunately, it might take another year before MSU becomes truly competitive, as their top two scorers from last year are gone. Versatile guards Cordaryl Ballard and Maze Stallworth are back, but the keys to success are the newcomers. Leon Buchanan joins MSU after an impressive JUCO season with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He garnered All-America honors while averaging 17.1 PPG on 62 percent shooting. 6-7 Lee Simmons was also a JUCO All-American last spring and should provide much needed size for the Eagles. Incoming freshmen guards T.J. Clark and John Lamb should also get into the mix.

Things are suddenly picking up for this dormant basketball program. Although MSU has four NCAA tournament wins in its history, they haven’t gotten into the tourney since 1984. But Tyndall has this team back on the right track. It will take the newcomers some time to get acclimated, but once they do this could be a dangerous team. They aren’t among the upper-echelon of the OVC, but expect them to spring a few upsets before season’s end.

Samford Bulldogs
2006-07 record: 16-16 (12-8, 5th)
Key players: Sr. C Travis Peterson, Sr. G Joe Ross Merritt
Key matchups: 12/2 @Florida State, 12/18 vs. Southeast Missouri, 1/10 vs. Tennessee State, 3/1 @Eastern Illinois

The Bulldogs were picked to win the conference by OVC coaches last season. After a 9-2 start in the OVC they were certainly one of the front-runners, before it all came falling down as the Bulldogs won just three of their final ten games. Now after losing all-conference guard Randall Gulina to graduation they will have to rely on plenty of youth to pick up the slack.

Senior Travis Peterson will lead the way. At 6-10 he averaged five boards and over a block a game. He also figures to improve on his 11.3 PPG since he will likely be the focal point of Jimmy Tillete’s Princeton-like offense.

But the keys to the offense are the guards, meaning a pair of seniors in Jerry Smith and Joe Ross Merritt need to emerge. They both shot well from the field last season, but they were relied on mostly for passing and didn’t take many shots. Now they will get first crack to play in a wide-open backcourt rotation. Junior Jason Black and freshmen Jim Griffin and Trey Montgomery will also get a look.

This is Samford’s last season in the OVC. After not having much success, they will probably be happy to be joining the Southern Conference. Peterson’s size is a nice asset, but he needs to be tougher to become a true inside force. And it’s also unclear who else might be ready to step up. If no one does, it will be a tough season.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks
2006-07 record: 9-21 (7-13, 9th)
Key players: G Sr. Dorien Brown, G Jr. Jonathan Toles
Key matchups: 11/9 @ Georgia, 12/6 @Samford, 1/31 vs. Eastern Illinois, 2/16 vs. vs. Morehead State

JSU has never been to the NCAA Tournament. But last season, with one of the best scorers in the conference in Courtney Bradley, they thought they had a chance. Instead they went through a season marred by disciplinary and chemistry issues. Now Bradley is gone and JSU is left with very little, meaning that just qualifying for the OVC Tournament might be a challenge.

Dorien Brown, who sat out ten games last season due to suspension, is the top returnee for JSU. He has the potential to be a very dynamic player for Mike LaPlante’s squad. But the key for the Gamecocks comes in the form of three JUCO recruits. Point guard Jonathan Toles averaged 8.6 APG at Bevill State-Sumiton CC, which was fourth amongst the JUCO ranks. Dwight Tolbert has a chance to join Brown as the top scoring option. And power forward Jozay King will help provide some muscle inside.

If it wasn’t for the trio of JUCO transfers, JSU may have been picked to finish last in the conference. But if they can get production from those three, they should have a good chance to qualify for the OVC Tournament. They are probably a year away from really competing.

Eastern Illinois Panthers
2006-07 record: 10-20 (6-14, 10th)
Key players: So. G Romain Martin, Sr. Bobby Catchings
Ket matchups: 11/30 vs. Rice, 12/19 @Morehead State, 1/5 vs. Southeast Missouri, 2/28 vs. Jacksonville State

Coach Mike Miller has had a tough time turning around one of the OVC’s perennial cellar-dwellars. Last season was no different as the Panthers suffered their second consecutive 20-loss season. But some talented youth may be able to finally steer EIU in the right direction this season.

The help came in the way of freshman guard Romain Martin, who led all OVC freshmen with 14.8 PPG. EIU has had trouble scoring in the past, but he looks to be the cure to those problems. Now the Panthers need others to step up and fill the void if they are to make drastic improvements for an offense that ranked next-to-last in the conference last season. Senior swingman Bobby Catchings and junior point guard Mike Robinson both stepped up down the stretch. Robinson may be a key to curing EIU’s offensive problems, as he flashed the ability to be a solid distributor last year.

EIU isn’t going to set the conference on fire this winter, but they are showing marked improvement. Martin’s presence gives them a player that will finally force opponents to take them seriously. Don’t expect much out of this team, but another 20- loss season is unlikely.

UT Martin Skyhawks
2006-07 record: 8-23 (5-15, 11th)
Key players: Sr. F Gerald Robinson, Fr. G Benzor Simmons
Key matchups: 12/1 @Saint Peter’s, 12/8 vs. Jacksonville State, 1/31 vs. Tennessee Tech, 2/16 vs. Southeast Missouri

Bret Campbell is entering his ninth year as coach of the Skyhawks. With the heightened expectations in college ball today, it’s quite surprising that he has hung on for so long. UTM hasn’t had a winning OVC record since 1995-96, and with just three players returning things aren’t looking much better.

The Skyhawks do have Gerald Robinson back. He has the right combination of size and strength to do a lot of different things. If he can raise his shooting percentage he will challenge for all-conference honors. Unfortunately, he’s the only sure thing for the Skyhawks.

Six freshmen and five JUCO transfers will all come in to try and handle the load. Shooting guard Benzor Simmons was a solid recruit. The Skyhawks will also have some help in the backcourt with the arrival of JUCO transfer George Pruitt, who once set a record for treys in a game at Des Moines Area Community College. The low post is the main weakness, with the Skyhawks handing the load off to JUCO transfer Djero Riedwald and freshmen Daron Hood and Andres Irrarazabal.

Robinson is a nice asset, but he’s the only proven returnee on a side that finished dead last in 2006-07. It’s hard to imagine that they won’t be returning to the basement this time around either.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Conference Notebook

by Josh Bagriansky

The Best

Austin Peay (9-6, 6-1 OVC)

Surprise, surprise

No one was expecting Dave Loos’ bunch to make much noise this season. But the Governors have shocked the OVC with a balanced attack and solid defense.

Youth is served

With no seniors on the roster, sophomore Drake Reed has led the way with 15.4. points per game. Also, fellow sophomore Landon Shipley is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc. And the young bunch has proven they can win in any way possible. They defeated Southeast Missouri 68-67 in a game that included 41 turnovers for both sides.

On the “Loos”

When the season began, it looked like APSU was heading for a fall, and the future didn’t look bright either. Then after a disappointing loss to Morehead State left them at 2-4, it looked like the season was about to spiral out of control. But Loos kept his team confident, and a month later he is one of the main reasons that they are tied for the OVC lead.

A long road ahead

Although APSU has been impressive, they are yet to enter the teeth of the schedule. The Governors still haven’t faced perennial favorite Murray State or preseason favorites Tennessee State and Samford.

Morehead State (10-6, 6-2)

Rookie coach leads the way

Donnie Tyndall came to MSU last summer preaching discipline and an up-tempo style. After a season where the Eagles won only four games, it appeared any significant progress would take some time. But Tyndall has already helped the Eagles to a 6-1 conference record. If his bunch stays the course, Tyndall will be the obvious choice for coach of the year honors.

Williams getting help

Everyone knew that Shaun Williams was a force to be reckoned with, but the Eagles struggled finding a second option in previous seasons. This year, Williams’ numbers have dropped off, but that’s a good thing. Quentin Pryor and Cordaryl Ballard are both averaging double-figure point totals and also shoot over 50 percent from the field.

Upset City

The Eagles have pulled out victories over the league-leading Governors and also beat Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech in back-to-back games to start the new year. One-point losses to MAC opponents Marshall and Central Michigan have also turned some heads.

Big Matchup

If the Eagles are truly as strong as their record, they will have to beat the best. A trip to Samford looms this Thursday. If Tyndall’s team can pull off yet another shocker, they will have confirmed their presence among the conference’s elite teams.

Samford Bulldogs (10-6, 6-2)

Juggernaut Offense

Everyone knew that the Bulldogs had some prolific shooters, but no one thought they would be this good. Jimmy Tillete’s version of the Princeton offense has resulted in an astonishing 48 percent clip from the field and the Bulldogs also lead the lead in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Inside-and-outside

Guard Randall Gulina is one of the best players in the league with close to 18 points per game. But the key to the Bulldog offense has been the emergence of 6-10 center Travis Peterson, who has been a consistent scorer and also leads the team in rebounds and blocks. His mere presence has opened up the perimeter for a team that was already strong at three-point shooting.

Close wins

The Bulldogs have won three conference games by just one point and another by three. Junior Curtis West capped off one of the great finishes of the season last week against Jacksonville State. The Bulldogs trailed 63-58 with nine seconds remaining before West’s back-to-back three’s gave them a stunning victory.

Recent struggles

Despite the hot start to the conference-season, the Bulldogs have lost their last two against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech, and neither game was close. Even more disturbing was the sudden offensive struggles; the Bulldogs notched just 41 points against TSU and shot a lowly 34 percent. Gulina and Peterson combined for 9-24 shooting in a disappointing 14-point loss to TTU.

Second-tier

Eastern Kentucky (10-6, 5-3)

Inconsistency

Despite notching impressive wins over Murray State and Morehead State, the Colonels have yet to win more than two consecutive games in the conference. They lost a head-scratcher by 14 points to Southeast Missouri and were blown away by 22 at Tennessee Tech last week. A big reason for that has been the lack of a consistent scoring option. Mike Rose, Julian Mascoll and Adam Leonard are the top scorers, but none of the three has emerged as an obvious threat.

Big victories

As bad as the blowouts to TTU and SEMO were, the Colonels have also notched some impressive victories against perennial powerhouse Murray State and Morehead State. They also gave Kentucky a run for their money in an impressive non-conference performance.

Defending home-court

Although they’ve had some nice victories at McBrayer Arena, two of the three conference losses have been on their home court. In order to move up the standings, they must win in Richmond.

Murray State (7-9, 5-3)

Turning things around

After squeaking by Eastern Illinois in the conference opener, the Racers lost three of four and were primed for one of their worst seasons in recent memory. But they have rebounded to win four of six since then.

Offensive emergence

Although Shawn Witherspoon is one of the conference’s best players, he does most of his work on the boards and on defense. In light of that, asking him to be the first option in the offense was probably too much to ask. But guards Bruce Carter and Tyler Hollaway have picked up the slack in previous weeks. Carter is averaging 20.5 points over his last four contests. Meanwhile, Holloway has dropped totals of 22, 29, and 24 points during his last three contests.

Are they back?

With Holloway and Carter taking some of the pressure off Witherspoon, normalcy has returned to Murray. But the Racers have to deal with a rare problem: less talent than the other top OVC teams. But they’re still Murray State, so you can’t count them out. Trips to Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech are on deck for the Racers over the next seven days. We should have a better idea of this team’s worth after those games.

Tennessee State (7-9, 4-3)

Underachieving

The Tigers looked primed for a great season after the coaches pick them to finish third in the conference. A 2-0 start to OVC play in December seemed to justify that. But the Tigers only won one game after that before a nice win over Samford ended the slump. Despite having a wealth of offensive firepower, Cy Alexander’s team has shot a putrid 39 percent from the field. Top scorer LaDarious Weaver is shooting just 42 percent, and talented Andrae Belton is averaging just 11 points a night. He showed his potential by dropping 35 in a loss to Murray State just after New Years, but he is averaging just 9 points per game since that explosion.

Are they back?

Alexander is too good of a coach to allow his team to underachieve so drastically. He may have helped to get his team headed in the right direction after an impressive 18-point win over Samford heading into last weekend, one which they capped off with a victory over Jacksonville State.

Road trip

The Tigers will have to continue to play solid basketball if they want to stay in the conference race thanks to a brutal schedule. After a breather against non D-1 school Fisk, they go on the road for three straight OVC games at Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, and Eastern Kentucky. The Tigers have much more talent than all three, but if they continue to struggle with their shooting they might have problems. Losing two of those games would put their hopes of a regular season title in serious doubt.

Tennessee Tech (8-9, 4-4)

Where’s the talent?

Much like their cross-state rivals Tennessee State, TTU has struggled to play up to their ability. They may have the most individual talent in the conference, which showed in an early season win over Bradley. But a frustrating 2-4 start in OVC play left the Golden Eagles scratching their heads.

Righting the ship

TSU had their way at home against Samford in an excellent 73-59 victory. The win got them back to .500 in the conference and may have been what they needed to get back on track. The Golden Eagles also turned in their first good defensive game in some time against the hot-shooting Bulldogs.

Offensive trio

Belton Rivers leads the conference with 19 points per game, but Anthony Fisher might be the most important offensive force. The point guard is averaging close to 18 points and also over 4 assists per outing. But Amadi McKenize is the most well-rounded player on the team, as he has been a triple-double machine all season long.

The basement

Southeast Missouri (5-12, 4-5)

Bad start

Poor stretches have been a theme for many conference teams, but the disastrous 2-11 (1-4) start for SEMO was downright embarrassing. Despite having two low-post forces in Brandon Foust and Michael Rembert, the Redhawks haven’t gotten the job done. With enough talent to be in the top half of the conference, the Redhawks were unable to get anything going.

Murray State beatdown

An impressive 96-85 win over the Racers proved that SEMO does have the talent to be a force. It also capped off an impressive three-game winning streak, one that ended when Redhawks failed to hold a second-half lead against conference leaders Austin Peay en route to a 68-67 loss. But by beating MSU and hanging with APSU, Scott Edgar’s team may have finally turned the corner.

Tennessee-Martin (5-14, 3-6)

No offense

The Skyhawks have still not recovered from the losses of Jared Newson and Jeremy Kelly. The Skyhawks are averaging just 62 points a game and only have one player (Gerald Robinson) averaging double-figures. In addition to that, the Skyhawks have only two players averaging more turnovers than assists and are shooting just 40 percent from the field. It’s been a recipe for disaster all season, and it doesn’t look like it will be getting better any time soon.

Now or never

Samford, Murray State, and APSU all face the Skyhawks in the next ten days. UT-Martin must make some noise over that span to make up some ground in the conference. Otherwise, just qualifying for the conference tourney might be in doubt.

Jacksonville State (3-14, 1-7)

No help for Bradley

The Gamecocks have a real talent in senior forward Courtney Bradley. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much else. Junior Dorien Brown has been an adequate secondary option, but no one else has stepped up. Bradley has also been one of the only players to excel defensively. The Cocks are allowing 71 points per game.

Backcourt struggles

Bradley and Brown have been solid. But both play forward. Will Ginn is the top scoring guard, but he is shooting just 36.6 percent from the floor. Ginn is also the only guard with over one steal per game, and the lack of defense from guards has allowed teams to light up JSU on the perimeter.

Eastern Illinois (5-14, 1-9)

Conference collapse

EIU looked like they were ready to surprise some folks after they opened up MVC play with a close loss to Murray State and a victory over Tennessee Tech. Not the case: the Panthers have lost 9 of their last 10 and haven’t won an OVC game since the win over TTU.

Only getting worse

Five of the next six games are against teams with conference records of .500 or better. Things might be about to get much, much worse before they get better in Charleston.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Conference Notebook

by Josh Bagriansky

When the regular season kicked off just over two weeks ago, there was no clear favorite. Now as the calendar rolls into December and conference play looms, the picture looks even more muddled.

It’s hard to see a clear favorite emerging until well after the holidays.

Conference play starts

Murray State and Eastern Illinois kicked off conference play, with the Racers emerging victorious in a surprisingly small three-point-victory. The Racers held the lead for most of the second half but had to withstand a late push from EIU. Bobby Catchings had a chance to tie it for the Panthers at the buzzer, but his three-pointer was off the mark.
The Racers’ offense continued to struggle with no one reaching double figures. Shawn Witherspoon was a monster on the boards, grabbing 11. A fantastic 21-point performance from Romain Martin kept the Panthers within striking distance.

Newcomers lead the way

Tennessee State transfer Ladarious Weaver has been among the OVC’s best performers so far. Weaver led the Tigers to a 2-0 record at the Las Vegas Invitational and is averaging 15 points-per-game. He also garnered newcomer of the week honors for the second week running.
Meanwhile, transfers Michael Rembert (Bradley) and Brandon Foust (Oklahoma) are trying to lead Southeastern Missouri back to success after a disastrous campaign in 05-06. Rembert leads the team in scoring and Foust in rebounding.

What’s up with Murray State?

Despite their win in the conference opener against EIU, this has not been the usual Racers side OVC fans are used to watching. Before facing the Panthers, MSU had not defeated a Division I team all season.
And a shocking early loss to Seattle-Pacific sent shockwaves through Murray, Kentucky. The Racers are struggling with new coach Billy Kennedy’s offense. With conference play getting into full swing this week, the Racers may be primed for an unusual slow start.

Team capsules

Austin Peay (1-3, 0-0 OVC)

What’s happening?

After getting blown out at Dayton and Illinois, the Governors had 12 days to prepare for an intriguing matchup against Arkansas State. The teams last met in February during ESPN’s Bracket Busters.
APSU’s youth showed as they fell into an early hole. But after being down by as many as 19 points, the Governors pulled within 62-57 with 5:53 to play. However, they couldn’t get any closer, and lost 77-70 to drop to 0-3. Drake Reed led the way for Dave Loos’ side with 31 points.
The Governors finally got their first win of the season against Tennessee Wesleyan on Tuesday. APSU were dominant on the boards with a 56-31 advantage en route to a 79-64 victory. But APSU was probably lucky to be facing an inferior opponent as they committed 26 turnovers and shot only 31 percent in the second half.
Focus has been an issue for this youthful team thus far. The young talent was evident in the comeback against Arkansas State, and also in a solid first half against Wesleyan. But the Governors still haven’t strung together a good 40 minutes.

What’s next?

Conference play starts this weekend with a home matchup versus Tennessee Tech. TTU is off to a great start and one of the conference favorites. With home-court advantage, Loos’ boys have a shot. But it all depends on which Governors team shows up.
If they lose that game, they will have to beat Morehead State in Morehead. Lose that one, and there will be big trouble.

What does it mean?

The Governors must cut down on unforced errors. Junior point guard Derek Wright has been the lone bright spot in this area with 16 assists. Also, Reed will have to regain his scoring touch after going 3-9 from the field last game.
APSU must put their early-season problems behind them, or they could easily be in a 0-2 hole in conference play.

Upcoming games
12/2 vs. Tennessee Tech
12/7 @Morehead State

Eastern Illinois (2-5, 0-1)

What happening?

EIU alum Tony Romo’s performance for the Dallas Cowboys was just about all the Panthers had to cheer about over their Thanksgiving. An impressive 63-61 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay was soured by the OVC opening loss at Murray State.
Close early season losses to Louisiana-Monroe and Iowa State proved that second-year coach Mike Miller has the program heading in the right direction. Romain Martin, Miller’s first prized recruit, has showed flashes of brilliance. Bobby Catchings and Mike Robinson have also been solid.
But the Panthers have been wildly inconsistent on the offensive end, shooting just 38 percent for the season. If not for their shooting woes, the record could be much better.

What’s next?

Eastern has another shot to upset a larger conference foe when they face Arkansas State Saturday. Eastern has already been painfully close to pulling a few upsets, and this may finally be the time for them to finish the deal. Then it’s a five-day break before they begin OVC play.

What does it mean?

EIU has surprised more than a few people so far. After being predicted to finish by most near the bottom of the conference, they’ve proved that they can play with anyone. But they still haven’t learned how to win. And if they don’t solve that problem, it will be the same old story for the Panthers.

Upcoming games
12/2 vs. Arkansas State

Eastern Kentucky (5-1, 0-0)

What’s happening?

The Colonels are off to a great start at 5-1. Impressive wins over UNC-Ashville and James Madison have opened eyes across the OVC. Against UNCA, Eastern connected on an astonishing eight consecutive three-pointers.
The EKU offense was in full force again Tuesday evening as they converted 50 percent of their shots against a solid James Madison team. They won 70-66 in a game where they never trailed.
Sophomore Mike Rose has firmly established himself as one of the premier players in the conference, averaging 15.5 points-per-game on 53 percent shooting. In fact, three players are shooting over 50 percent from the field for Jeff Neubauer’s team.

What’s next?

It’s the annual rivalry game with Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers have dominated their cross-state-rival in recent years and bring a strong 6-1 squad to the table. They have notched impressive victories over Georgia, UAB, and Ball State.
But the Colonels will be looking to defy the odds. The offense will have to continue to fire on cylinders. Expect Rose to have a huge game, but the inside play of Julian Mascoll, Jamaal Douglass, and Darnell Dials will be the key offensively.

What does it mean?

In order to beat WKU, someone must step up as a secondary option to Rose. Meanwhile, Hilltopper guard Lee Courtney will face off against Rose in one of the more intriguing matchups of the young season.
Don’t expect a win for the Colonels this weekend. But the Hilltoppers will definitely be in for a battle.

Upcoming games
12/2 vs. Western Kentucky (at Bowling Green)

Jacksonville State (1-3, 0-0)

What’s happening?

The Gamecocks are yet to beat a division 1 opponent after a blowout loss to UMass last week. But all is not lost with conference play just around the corner.
As expected, the talented forward tandem of Dorien Brown and Courtney Bradley is tearing it up. Bradley leads the conference in scoring, and his strength and quickness will present a tough matchup for any OVC team. Point guard Will Ginn leads the conference with 6.5 assists per game.

What’s next?

The Gamecocks have a good chance to notch their first win against a D-1 team when they face a sub-par William & Mary squad on Friday at the William & Mary Classic. They will face either VMI or Cornell in the second game.
JSU has a legitimate chance to leave the classic with a 2-0 record and plenty of confidence heading into conference play next week.

What does it mean?

JSU knew that they had a chance to do some things with Bradley and Brown at their disposal. But the emergence of Ginn as a playmaker gives them a good shot to come on top of this weekend’s tourney.
However, the star-power won’t mean a thing if JSU doesn’t get the job done in OVC play starting next week.

Upcoming games
12/1 William & Mary (William & Mary Classic)
12/2 Cornell/VMI (William & Mary Classic)

Morehead State 2-3 (0-0)

What’s happening?

Head coach Donnie Tyndall spent the entire off season preaching more discipline on and off the court. And the light may have finally gone off in his players’ heads during an impressive 77-56 victory over East Tennessee State on Nov. 21. The Eagles lead by just nine at the half before playing their best 20 minutes of the season.
The play of versatile forward Quentin Pryor was the key. The senior shot 5-7 from outside the arch and scored 24 points, which helped him garner OVC Player of the Week honors.
After and eight-day break, JSU continued to make progress in a one-point loss to Marshall. The Eagles showed heart by responding from an 18-point second-half deficit to pull within one-point on two occasions. Freshman Maze Stallworth showed he is ready to contribute by scoring 21 points, while Pryor chipped in with 18.

What’s next?

JSU heads north to Western Illinois for an interesting weekend matchup. If JSU can bring the same intensity from the second half of the ETSU and Marshall games for 40 minutes, they will win.

What does it mean?

Everyone knows that preseason-all-conference pick Shaun Williams is a force to be reckoned with. But he can’t do it alone. If Pryor’s games against ETSU and Marshall were any indication, he may be ready to step into that role. Another key component has been the guard play. The Eagles are averaging 17 assists per game.

Upcoming games
12/2 @Western Illinois

Murray State (2-5, 1-0)

What’s happening?

Everyone expected growing pains early under new head man Billy Kennedy. But a 2-5 start was worse than anyone could have expected. And Racers fans are growing impatient.
MSU might have been lucky to take down Eastern Illinois in the OVC opener, as no player scored in double-figures and that may be a sign of things to come. The Racers showed improvement in a six-point loss to Illinois-Chicago. Witherspoon led the way with 19 and 9 and the Racers shot 47 percent from the field, but they blew an 11-point half time lead.
The dagger came inside of two-minutes when UIC scored three baskets in under a minute to give them a six-point lead.

What’s next?

The pressure is building on the Racers, and a Friday night matchup at Tennessee probably won’t help matters. Then the Racers get a breather against non D-1 side Anderson College. But the last time the Racers faced a non D-1 team, they were defeated by Seattle-Pacific.

What does it mean?

The Racers might need a miracle to even hang with the Vols if they maintain their current form. A respectable loss might be the best that Racer fans can hope for.
If a consistent scorer doesn’t emerge there is big trouble on the horizon. Bruce Carter leads all scorers at just 12 points-per-game, as Witherspoon is not a big-time scorer.
If the Racers don’t show signs of life before OVC play begins, they may be in for their worst season in a long time.

Upcoming games
12/1 @Tennessee
12/4 vs. Anderson College

Samford (2-3, 0-0)

What’s happening?

The coaches picked the Bulldogs to win the conference this season. They have shown flashes of brilliance thus far, but their record doesn’t show it thanks to trips to Florida and Arizona.
At Arizona, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 18-7 lead and never looked back. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs set a McKale Center record by attempting 43 three-pointers. The blowout loss was not what Samford wanted, but it wasn’t a surprise.
Having already faced off against two of the top 15 teams in the country, the Bulldogs would not be intimidated by MAC opponent Ohio on Tuesday evening. Samford easily disposed of the previously undefeated Bobcats with an 80-66 victory. Stud guards Randall Gulina, Curtis West and Jerry Smith lead the way with a combined 60 points. The Bulldogs also shot 64 percent from the field and 53 percent from downtown.

What’s next?

Samford has another shot at a solid mid-major opponent this weekend in South Alabama. USA has already beaten an OVC opponent in Morehead State and sits at 4-2 following last season’s NCAA tournament appearance.
This should serve as a nice measuring stick for Samford. If they can get the win, they will have already established themselves among the OVC elite.

What does it mean?

Samford’s outstanding outside shooting may make them a threat if they can qualify for the Big Dance. But March is still four months away.
The guard play of Smith and Gulina has been nothing short of fantastic and center Travis Peterson gives the Bulldogs a decent option inside.
A win over USA would speak volumes about how far this program has come. Look for the Bulldogs to surprise USA in Mobile.

Upcoming games
12/2 @ South Alabama

Southeast Missouri (1-6, 0-0)

What’s happening?

The Redhawks’ winless streak finally came to an end with a 78-75 win over California-Riverside. But the Riverhawks nearly blew a seven-point lead over the final 42 seconds. UC had a chance to send the game to OT when Roderick Pearson inexplicably fouled Justin Bell as he missed a game-tying three-pointer. Fortunately for Pearson and the Redhawks the guard made only two of three and Southeast held on.
Then SEMO took a step back in an embarrassing 65-45 loss to Evansville. Hot starts from Jajuan Maxwell and Brandon Foust helped the visitors jump out to a 20-13 lead. But the Purpe Aces proceeded to go on a 32-4 run and the game was over midway through the second half.
A lack of focus again proved to be Southeast’s undoing in an 84-65 loss to Indiana-Fort Wayne. The Redhawks fell into an early 20-9 hole and were unable to recover.

What’s next?

Conference play kicks off this weekend, with Tennessee-Martin being the first conference opponent for SEMO. The Redhawks have more talent than UT-Martin but have played down to inferior competition thus far. They will have to shake that reputation quickly if they want to be a factor in the OVC.

What does it mean?

Defense has been the Redhawks’ bugaboo thus far, as they’re giving up over 80 points per game. There is some talent on the offensive end with Foust and Michael Rembert, but the Redhawks haven’t been able to put it together on both sides of the floor.
The UT-Martin matchup will be a good indicator of where the Redhawks stand.

Tennessee State (2-2, 0-0)

What’s happening?

Cy Alexander and company opened up the season with four games in six days at the Las Vegas Invitational. The slate included an opening game at Western Kentucky followed by a matchup with Kansas, both of which were blowout losses. But the Tigers closed out strong with back-to-back wins over Prairie View and Towson.
As expected, Clarance Mathews leads the way for TSU. The 6-7, 250 pound forward dropped 18 points on WKU and the Jayhawks, and also tallied 11 rebounds against Prairie View.

What’s next?

Two stiff tests are just around the bend for the Tigers. First it’s a trip to Tuscaloosa on Thursday to face Alabama. It will take all-world performances from Mathews and Ladarious Weaver to keep the Tigers in it.
Then it’s a more reasonable trip to Middle Tennessee State, who lost to Bama by just 9 earlier in the season.

What does it mean?

A split from the next two might be a bit too much to ask. Instead, the Tigers will look for improvement offensively. They’re shooting a meager 35 percent from the floor and all of the major contributors other than Matthews and forward Rashad Armstrong are shooting below 43 percent. A 56 percent clip from the charity stripe hasn’t helped matters either.
If we’ve learned anything from the last two seasons, it’s that Matthews can’t do it all alone. Weaver has picked up the slack, but he still needs to be more consistent.

Upcoming games
12/2 @Alabama
12/4 @MTSU

Tennessee Tech (3-2, 0-0)

What’s happening?

TTU came up with two very impressive non-conference victories in beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee and MVC opponent Bradley.
The 10-point victory over UWM was nice, but the 86-84 victory over the Braves may be the best non-conference victory for the OVC this season. Anthony Fisher hit an off balance lay-up with 2.4 seconds remaining to get the win. He finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

What’s next?

TTU faces off with Austin Peay in the best conference game of the weekend. The Golden Eagles will want to exploit APSU’s weakness in the low post. Amadi Mckenzie has tallied three triple-doubles and will lead the way.

What does it all mean?

The Bradley win was a pleasant surprise, and this may be the deepest team that TTU has had in years. Mckenzie is a monster in the low post, and guards Belton Rivers and Fisher are all huge threats from the outside. The trio is the main reason that TTU is averaging an impressive 86 points per game.
A win over APSU will establish Mike Sutton’s team as one of the early favorites to take the regular season title.

Upcoming games
12/2 @Austin Peay

Tennessee-Martin 1-6 (0-0)

What happened?

The coaches picked the Skyhawks to finish last in the conference this season, and if their early form is any indication, they were probably right. After a season-opening win against High Point, UT-Martin has lost their last six games.
Losses to Arkansas State and Arkansas Little Rock by a combined seven points didn’t help matters. But a blowout 18-point loss to Evansville did little to enhance the Skyhawks’ reputation as one of the lesser talented OVC teams. The Purple Aces dominated offensively, shooting 58 percent from the field, and they attempted 16 more free throws.

What’s next?

UT-Martin better put the six-game losing streak behind them, because this Saturday’s conference matchup at Southeast Missouri is very winnable. Both teams are struggling and a loss to open up the conference would only make things worse.
Then it’s a relatively easy matchup with non-Division 1 opponent Freed-Hardeman.

What does it mean?

It’s hard to call a conference opener a “must win” game. But the matchup with the Redhawks is as close as it gets. Both teams are in desperate search of a win and a 1-0 record in conference play would be just what the doctor ordered.
The key to the game will be the low-post matchup of UT-Martin’s high scorer Gerald Bobinson and SEMO’s Michael Rembert. The winner of that battle should determine who wins the game.

Upcoming games
12/2 @Southeast Missouri
12/5 vs. Freed-Hardeman

Statistical Leaders

Individual

Points: Courtney Bradley, Jacksonville State: 22.5 PPG
Rebounds: Amadi Mckenzie, Tennessee Tech: 10.2 RPG
Assists: Will Ginn, Jacksonville State: 6.5 APG
FG percentage: Mckenzie: 72.7 percent

Team

Points for: Tennessee Tech, 86.0 PPG
Points against: Eastern Kentucky, 57.5 PPG
FG percentage: Samford, 48.0 percent
Assist-turnover: Samford, 1.43:1

Early Player of the Year candidates

Randall Gulina, Samford 22.2, PPG, 53.6 FG%, 38.2 3PT%
Courtney Bradley, Jacksonville State, 22.5 PPG, 51.6 FG%, 9.0 RPG
Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech, 18.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.8RPG

Early Coach of the Year candidates

Mike Sutton, Tennessee Tech
Jeff Neubauer, Eastern Kentucky
Cy Alexander, Tennessee State

Ohio Valley Preview

Ohio Valley Conference 2006-07 Preview

by Josh Bagriansky

2005-2006 saw a changing of the guard in the Ohio Valley Conference during the regular season. Tennessee Tech took the regular season crown for the first time in four seasons, but at the conclusion of the OVC tournament, the old guard once again reigned supreme. Murray State represented the conference in the NCAA tournament after defeating Samford in the title game.

Five months later, the race for the 2007 conference is up for grabs. The defending champion Racers must break in new head coach Billy Kennedy and feature six freshmen on the roster, while Tennessee Tech lost three starters. The coaches picked the Racers to finish fourth this season.

Samford was the preseason pick to take the conference. The Bulldogs have yet to make it out of the first round of the conference tournament in their first two seasons in the conference. Tennessee State was picked at second. They’re a stranger to OVC success as well, having not qualified for the second round of the conference tournament since 1998.

Who will emerge from the conference this season is anyone’s guess. At least five teams have a legitimate shot to represent the OVC at the big dance this March.

Preseason All-OVC

G Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech
G Randall Gulina, Samford
F Shawn Witherspoon, Murray State
F Clarence Mathews, Tennessee State
F Shaun Williams, Morehead State

Conference MVP: Shaun Witherspoon, Murray State
Defensive player of the year: Clarence Mathews, Tennessee State

Teams (in projected order of finish)

1. Samford Bulldogs
2005-06 record: 20-7 (14-7, 2nd)

Key games: 11/10 @Florida, 11/22 @Arizona, 12/21 @Murray State, 12/29 @LSU, 2/1 vs. Tennessee State, 2/22 vs. Southeast Missouri

The Samford basketball program isn’t exactly the conference’s best-known program. But Jimmy Tillete’s side looks ready to make a run at the conference title in just their fourth season as an OVC participant.

Four starters are back from last season’s team that finished 20-11 and second in the conference before being upset in the first round of the tournament. An experienced backcourt featuring floor leader Jerry Smith and sharp-shooting Randall Gulina leads the way. Also returning are guard Joe Ross Merritt and 6-10 center Travis Peterson.

But what separates the Bulldogs from the rest of the pack is their depth. Sixth man Curtis West provides an offensive spark in the backcourt, and physically-gifted Jason Black is also back. But the Bulldogs are most excited about their four redshirt freshman. Savoy Fraine, Bryan Friday, Jim Griffin and Trey Montgomery spent last season learning Tillette’s Princeton-style offense, and they’re all ready to contribute.

With the veteran backcourt and the size down low, the Bulldogs are easily most talented team in the conference. They will also be battle tested come conference play after trips to Arizona and defending national champions Florida.

It’s been a while since things have looked so bright for the Bulldogs. But the ability is there, and they will do big things this season.

2. Murray State Racers
2005-06 record: 24-6 (17-3, 1st place)

Key games: 11/10 vs. San Diego State (Shamrock Invitational), 12/1 @Tennessee, 12/21 vs. Samford, 1/29 @ Samford, 1/25 @Tennessee Tech, 2/14 vs. Tennessee State

The Racers qualified for the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in eleven seasons last March. It’s been all downhill since then. Head coach Mick Cronin bolted for Cincinnati, leaving the Racers searching for their third head coach in five seasons. Billy Kennedy took the reigns. One of his first orders of business was the dismissal of talented forward Trey Pearson for a violation of team rules. Mike McCoy and Marqis Wright were also let go for academic reasons.

Fortunately, fifth-year senior Shaun Witherspoon is back. Pearson was supposed to be the focal point of last season’s team, but Witherspoon quickly established himself as the first option by leading the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocks.

But after Pearson received his walking orders, it’s unclear who will emerge as the second option. It could be sophomore Tyler Holloway, who showed flashes of greatness during his freshman season. Justin Orr will play alongside Witherspoon at forward and is the second-leading-returning scorer.

The main question facing the Racers is experience. They must rely on JUCO transfer Kevin Thomas to run the point. A multitude of freshman also will get their first college minutes with Tony Easley leading the way after redshirting last season.

Lower expectations are not something that the Racers are used to, so they won’t accept anything other than a second consecutive appearance in the big dance. But it’s also been a while since the Racers have faced this many questions, even if they have faced their share before some seasons. Expect them to mount a serious challenge for the conference championship come March.

3. Tennessee State Tigers
2006 Record: 13-15 (11-9, tied-5th)

Key games: 11/19 @Western Kentucky, 11/21 @Kansas, 12/2 @Alabama, 1/1 vs. Samford, 2/10 @Tennessee Tech, 2/14 @Murray State

Things are changing at TSU. Last season’s fifth-place finish was the highest finish for the program since 1998. The coaches further raised the bar for this season by picking the Tigers to finish second to Samford in the conference this year.

Clarence Matthews is the main reason for the heightened expectations. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per gane last season. The senior is the best the conference has to offer and offers the speed and strength to possibly compete at the next level. Also, look for Mississippi State transfer Jerrell Houston to have an impact at forward when he becomes eligible after the fall semester ends.

The Tigers’ chances took a huge hit in a September pick-up game when point guard Bruce Price re-injured his knee. Price had been averaging 19.3 PPG last season before hurting the knee against Ohio State in late December. He is expected to miss the entire season. But the team is holding out hope that he can make a return to the team late in the season if rehab goes well. Captain Ervin Reilly was a decent replacement for Price last season and more of a true point guard. He needs to offer more in the scoring department.

Everyone was excited about Oklahoma transfer Larry Turner last season. The 6-11, 240 pound Turner was eligible to play after the first-semester at TSU last year but didn’t have the effect coaches were hoping for. He’s big enough to be a star, but he struggled on the offensive end and also fouled out in six of the 24 games he appeared in.

Head coach Cy Alexander has done a bang-up job thus far. Having taken a perennial conference doormat to the upper-echelon of the OVC, he might start to see some offers from bigger programs this spring. Until then, he has a team filled with individual ability that will win some games. This program isn’t quite ready for the big-time quite yet, but if things bounce right they will make some noise.

4. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
2006 record: 19-12 (13-7, 3rd)

Key games: 11/26 @Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 11/29 vs. Bradley, 12/28 @Tennessee, 1/2 @Samford, 1/23 vs. Murray State, 2/10 vs. Tennessee State, 2/22 @Murray State

Being a Golden Eagle fan is not the easiest of tasks. TTU has won the conference regular season seven times, but haven’t won the conference tourney since 1967. Last season featured more of the same. Tech’s relatively successful third-place finish was soured by a semifinal loss to Stanford. This season the Golden Eagles are finally hoping to get over the hump, but they might one year away.

Last season’s top scorer, Anthony Fisher, is back for his junior season. Fisher is the floor leader and has a knack for coming up big at the right time. Fellow guard Belton Rivers is an offensive threat and hard to stop when he’s hitting his shot, but he needs to be more consistent after shooting just 38% last season. If Rivers can reach his potential, he and Fisher will be one of the more dangerous backcourt tandems in the conference.

Size is the main problem for Tennessee Tech. Center Rashun Bryant is the tallest returnee at 6-8 and he struggled last season. The wild card is South Alabama transfer Daniel Northern, who has the potential to be one of the best centers in the conference right away. Amadi McKenzie, Francis Kabore, and Jonathan Jones are all solid forwards. But don’t expect anything spectacular out of them.

The big men will have to mature quickly with trips to Kansas State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ole Miss, and Tennessee on the non-conference slate. Fisher and Rivers will be able to win games based on their scoring ability alone, but without a consistent inside presence, an appearance at the big dance seems unlikely. If Northern can step in and do the job right away, they will have a fighting chance.

5. Southeast Missouri Redhawks
2006 record: 7-20 (4-16, 10th)

Key games: 11/10 @Arkansas, 12/7 @Tennessee State, 12/9 @Tennessee Tech, 2/8 vs. Morehead State, 2/24 @Jacksonville State

The 2004-2005 OVC semifinal appearance seemed like a long time ago last season. The Redhawks won just four conference games and didn’t even qualify for the conference tournament. But a wealth of returning players and several talented newcomers should get Southeast back in the conference tourney this season.

Transfers Brandon Foust and Michael Rembert are the main reason for the possible resurgence. Foust, a transfer from Oklahoma, has incredible athleticism and raw ability. He was highly recruited out of high school but struggled to get into the rotation in Norman before transferring. Rembert redshirted last season after transferring from Bradley. His strength and ability to hit open jump shots will pay dividends.

Leading scorer Roy Booker is gone at guard, but seniors David Johnson and Terrick Willoughby figure to pick up the slack. True freshman Marcus Rhodes will also get a look.

After suffering through a disastrous 2005-2006 season, fans can look forward to an exciting season. Southeast will be one of the most exciting teams in the conference with Rembert and Foust leading the way. But the overall talent level is not high enough to take home the title.

6. Jacksonville State
2006 record: 16-13 (12-8, 4th)

Key games: 12/27 @Wisconsin Green Bay (Oneida Casino Holiday Classic), 12/7 vs. Samford, 1/4 vs. Austin Peay, 2/3 vs. Murray State, 2/24 vs. Southeast Missouri

With two of the top players in the conference at their disposal, this could be a breakout season for JSU. But a long list of new faces will have to play alongside talented forwards Dorien Brown and Courtney Bradley.

As one of the conference leaders in scoring and rebounding, Bradley is among the top returning players in the entire OVC. Brown has steadily improved over his first two seasons at JSU and now looks primed for a breakout season. Bradley will be the go-to-guy, but Brown’s consistency as the second option will be the key to success. Senior Harold Crow is also a formidable scoring threat.

Other than Brown and Bradley, the Gamecocks face a plethora of questions. The backcourt was decimated due to graduation. Diminutive Sophomore Deandre Bray is the only returnee that has been truly tested. He appeared in all but one game last season, but shot just 20.5 percent from the field. Expect JSU to place their hopes squarely on the back of two JUCO transfers, Will Ginn and Erik Adams. The backcourt also features five more freshmen.

Teams will have to take JSU seriously this season. Brown and Bradley will make sure of that. But someone will have to step up in the most inexperienced backcourt in the OVC. There will be some nice victories, and a few head-scratching losses as well. Expect a finish somewhere in the middle of the pack.

7. Austin Peay
2006 record: 17-14 (11-9, tied-5th)

Key games: 11/13 @Illinois, 12/14 @Memphis, 1/4 @Jacksonville State, 1/13 vs. Southeast Missouri, 2/10 @Samford, 2/22 vs. Eastern Kentucky

It’s been a long fall for the Governors. After being an annual basketball power, Austin Peay has faltered the past two seasons finishing fifth both times. And if that wasn’t worse enough, they must replace their top two scorers from last season.

With no seniors on the roster, youth will be served for Dave Loos’ team. At guard, sophomores Landon Shipley and Kyle Duncan will play key roles. Junior Derrick Wright and Todd Babington will also see major minutes. There will be plenty of contributors, but someone must emerge as the top backcourt option.

In the front court, Drake Reed figures to be the main guy. He was the third-leading scorer on last season’s team as a freshman. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. Seven-footer Tomas Janusauskas has never lived up to his potential; he only played in 18 games last season. J.P. Felder saw some minutes as a freshman, and didn’t impress. Expect coaches to throw true freshmen Duran Roberson and Ernest Field into the fire immediately.

With so many young players making up the roster, Austin Peay has a bright future. But this will not be your typical APSU side this season. They will struggle to score and will need someone to emerge as the floor leader. Until that happens, they will be a fixture in the middle of the conference at best.

8. Eastern Kentucky
2006 record: 14-16 (11-9, tied-5th)

Key games: 11/17 @Ohio State, 12/2 @Western Kentucky, 12/7 vs. Murray State, 2/1 @Morehead State, 2/22 @Austin Peay

It’s hard to believe that the Colonels are just two years removed from an NCAA tournament appearance. The outlook is somewhat bleak for this season with the top three scorers all graduating.

In the backcourt, the hope is that sophomores Harrison Brown and Mike Rose can make a smooth transition into the starting lineup. But neither figures to assume a primary scoring role. That will put the pressure on highly recruited Josh Daniel to pick up the slack from day one. Freshman point guards Adam Leonard and Ryan Dillman will also get a look.

The frontcourt’s prospects are a little more promising. Junior Darnell Dials is the leading returning scorer and figures to have a more prominent role in the offense. Julian Mascoll is a little undersized, but he is athletic enough to get by. Senior Michael Brock is also back after playing an important role off the bench last season. Junior Jamaal Douglas led the Patriot League in rebounding two seasons ago before transferring to EKU and will start in the frontcourt.

The main question for the Colonels is how they will score. If a newcomer doesn’t step up EKU will have major problems putting the ball in the basket. They will battle just to qualify for the conference tournament this March.

9. Morehead State
2006 record: 4-23 (3-17, 11th)

Key games: 11/10 @Penn State, 12/18 @ UT Martin, 1/9 @Eastern Kentucky, 1/27 vs. Eastern Illinois, 2/13 vs. Jacksonville State, 2/24 @Austin Peay

New head coach Donnie Tyndall will try to turn around a program that has finished 11th and 9th respectively over the last two seasons. He will have four returning starters to work with, but depth is a major hole.

Forward Shaun Williams can match-up with anyone in the conference. He dropped 25 points on UConn last season and is a monster down low. But despite all he brought to the table last season, the Eagles still finished dead last in the conference. He will have to raise his game even more for the Eagles to have any kind of success, which is a lot to ask. Ryan Allen failed to take any pressure off of Williams last season, which he needs to do this year.

Quentin Pryor is the leader in the backcourt, but he needs to become a better creator for his teammates. Cordaryl Ballard and Tyke Cockersham both showed flashes in their freshman seasons and should start alongside Pryor. Sophomores Tristan Rogers, Deron Brown and Stan Januska will also assume larger roles this season.

On paper MSU has a chance to be a competitive team. Four starters are back and Williams might be the best player in the conference. But no one looks ready to become a consistent scorer alongside Williams. With depth and offensive balance such an issue, MSU will struggle to qualify for the OVC tourney.

10. Eastern Illinois
2006 record: 6-21 (5-15, 9th)

Key games: 11/12 @Iowa State, 11/17 @DePaul, 12/18 vs. Eastern Kentucky, 2/1 vs. Jacksonville State, 2/10 vs. UT Martin, 2/22 @Jacksonville State

The good news is that three starters are back. The bad news is that those starters contributed to last season’s dismal 6-21 (5-15) season that placed the Panthers one spot out of the conference tournament last spring.

Guard Mike Robinson is easily the team’s best talent, but he needs to stay focused. He was the second leading scorer as just a freshman and led the team in assists, but he shot a lowly 35% from the field. Fellow guard Bobby Catchings also struggled shooting the basketball last season, but still managed to average over nine points-per-game. He needs to work on his passing after averaging more turnovers than assists last season. JUCO transfers Jon’tee Willhite and Julio Anthony also figure to start in Mike Miller’s four-guard offense.

Centers George Tandy and Jake Byrne were both steady contributors last season. With the lack of scoring options at guard, both will have to become better offensively.

With so much youth on the roster, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Panthers. The light may be far away, as there aren’t enough proven weapons to be a force right now.

11. UT-Martin
2006 record: 13-15 (9-11, 8th)

Key games: 11/11 @Cincinnati, 12/2 @Southeast Missouri, 12/16 @Saint Louis, 1/18 vs. Austin Peay, 1/11 vs. Eastern Illinois, 2/10 @Eastern Illinois

The Skyhawks surprised some people last season by qualifying for the conference tournament. But with high-scoring guards Jared Newson and Jeremy Kelly both gone, similar success is unlikely.

Seniors Zerek Knight, Justin Flatt, and Bubba Tolliver will get the first chance at guard. Despite their experience, none of the trio has been asked to carry the load as they will be this season. Tolliver is the best shooter of the bunch.

Seniors Will Lewis, Cleve Woodfork, and McKale Jones will be the primary threats down low. Look for Woodfork to lead the team in scoring and rebounding.

Another overachieving season seems out of reach for the Skyhawks. With no scoring threat in sight and a lack of defensive presence, they will probably get pushed around in conference play. A finish inside of the top ten would be a success.

Conference Outlook

With the usual suspects all primed for a down year, it’s anyone’s guess who will be representing the OVC on the national stage this March. Will Samford or Tennessee State begin a new era in the OVC? Or will the Racers reclaim their throne despite a multitude of questions? This is one of the more wide-open conferences across the nation.

OVC Championship Recap

Ohio Valley Conference Championship Recap

by Ryan Glenn

No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 52, No. 5 Austin Peay 46

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eastern Kentucky punched their ticket to the big dance on Saturday afternoon with a 52-46 win over Austin Peay in a tight one. Austin Peay came out looking for their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons after upsetting the top seed Tennessee Tech. Eastern Kentucky was looking to avenge their semifinal defeat to Austin Peay in last years OVC Tournament.

In the first half, neither team came out shooting particularly well. APSU shot 17.4% (4-23) from the field in the half, while EKU shot a mediocre 34.6% (9-26). The second half showed improved play from both teams, but especially Austin Peay. When EKU got their lead up to thirteen, five minutes into the half, it was not looking good for APSU. The Governors, however, didn’t see this as a problem. They came back and went on an 8-0 run, to cut the lead to five. Baskets were traded for a while until Maurice Hampton nailed a three pointer, with 4:20 left, to put APSU down by just one.

EKU then quickly jumped back out to a five point lead that was topped off with a fast break lay-up by Matt Witt. Austin Peay stormed back, with a jumper from Zac Schlader and a pair of free throws from Hampton, to once again cut the lead to one. One point would be as close as the Governors would get. Zach Ingles hit a three, with 22 seconds left to give the Colonels a four point lead and crush any hope Austin Peay had.

Michael Haney, who was named Tournament MVP, finished with twelve points and thirteen rebounds. EKU’s leading scorer was Ingles with fifteen. For Austin Peay, Zac Schlader led the way with fourteen points and nine rebounds. Anthony David and William Durden also contributed nine points apiece for the Governors.

After the game, Austin Peay Head Coach Dave Loos was obviously disappointed in the play of this team.

“We obviously struggled offensively and we have to give Eastern Kentucky a lot of credit for that,” Loos said. “We shot 17 percent in the first half and when that happens it’s either one of two things; it’s either one of those nights with a lid on the basket or they’re really pushing you out of what you’re doing. I compliment our people for really nailing it in and fighting back. We put up a good effort offensively but still didn’t play well and once again, they had a lot to do with that.”

On the other side, Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Travis Ford was ecstatic.

“This is a great achievement for this basketball program,” Ford said. “If anyone knew where it was at when I took over, it’s an incredible feat for this basketball program, how far it’s come.”

OVC All-Tournament Team

Zach Ingles – Eastern Kentucky
Michael Haney – Eastern Kentucky
Maurice Hampton – Austin Peay
Zac Schlader – Austin Peay
Willie Jenkins – Tennessee Tech

OVC Tournament Recaps

Ohio Valley Tournament Recaps

by Ryan Glenn

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Tennessee Tech (72), No. 8 Eastern Illinois 68

Before this game, nobody would have thought the final score would have been close to what it was. The top seed actually trailed by ten at the half, but fought their way back with a 50 point second half. Willie Jenkins, who was Tennessee Tech’s leading scorer, shot only 5 of 18 from the field. Behind Jenkins was Anthony Fisher, who made all nine of his free throws on his way to fourteen points. Emanuel Dildy led the way for Eastern Illinois with twenty points and four rebounds.

No. 5 Austin Peay 71, No. 4 Samford 60

Austin Peay, following a late 22-4 run, was able to pull off the first upset of the tournament. Anthony Davis led the way for Austin Peay, scoring nineteen points and pulling down seven rebounds. J. Robert Merritt helped Samford stay in the game with his nineteen points. Samford just couldn’t stop Austin Peay’s shots in the second half, including a 40-foot three-pointer, which went in as the shot clock expired.

No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 74, No. 7 Tennessee State 68

Eastern Kentucky was the second high seed of the night to get a scare. Trailing by seven at the half, Eastern Kentucky roared back, shooting 66.7% from the field. Eastern Kentucky had to rely on their big man, Alonzo Hird, to help seal the deal. Hird was the leading scorer for Eastern Kentucky with fifteen points and a spectacular fifteen rebounds. Tennessee State was lead by three players in double digits.

No. 6 Southeast Missouri 61, No. 3 Murray State 58

Southeast Missouri pulled of the biggest upset in the first round of the tournament. Murray State missed a three-pointer with five seconds left that would have tied the game. Instead, the defending OVC tournament champions were sent home. Southeast Missouri had three players account for 51 of their 61 points. Those three were Reggie Golson (21), Dainmon Gonner (20), and Derek Winans (10). The key stat for Murray State was their three-point shooting, as they shot 30% (6-20) from behind the arc.

Semifinals

No. 5 Austin Peay 67, No. 1 Tennessee Tech 61

Tennessee Tech once again struggled in the first half of their game, trailing 31-30 at the break. Their leading scorer, Willie Jenkins, shot a disappointing 4-13 in the half. Austin Peay came out and showed the crowd how team play is supposed to be done. The Governors did not have any one break the double digit mark in the half, but did have four players with more than five points. There was a major difference in this game and the last for Tennessee Tech. This time, they never recovered from their first half play.

Jenkins ended the night with 21 points. Austin Peay was led by Maurice Hampton with eighteen points. Austin Peay controlled the game with their aggressive play inside and out, forcing sixteen turnovers and scoring 32 points in the paint.

No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 69, No. 6 Southeast Missouri 52

Southeast Missouri came into this game looking to pull the second upset of semifinals. For most of the first half, Southeast was able to stay within five. The only bad thing for Southeast was that Eastern Kentucky was controlling the boards, as the Colonels had a 25-11 rebound advantage in the first half. Near the end of the half, however, Eastern Kentucky went on a run that concluded with a three pointer in the last two seconds that gave the Colonels a 35-23 halftime lead. Eastern Kentucky didn’t look back after that, as they weren’t up by any less than ten in the second half. Eastern Kentucky ended up with a total of 38 rebounds and 47.3 shooting from the field in a 69-52 win.

Championship Game Matchup Set

On Saturday, No. 5 Austin Peay will face off against No. 2 Eastern Kentucky in the Championship game at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. Tip-off time is set for 3:00 CST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Conference Notebook

by Nathan Clinkenbeard

Bulldogs Showing Bark Early

No one believed in the Samford Bulldogs at the beginning of the season, evident by the Ohio Valley coaches and sports information directors picking them to finish 10th in a conference of 11 teams. However, six games into the conference season, the Bulldogs must have believers now after starting the league 6-0, including a road win Saturday night against Eastern Kentucky.

Samford has been tough at home, winning three games against teams favored to finish at the top of the conference. Tennessee State and Murray State, the top two preseason favorites fell to the Bulldogs, with Eastern Kentucky joining the two schools for Samford’s OVC trifecta.

Coach Jimmy Tillette uses a slow-down Princeton-style offense that relies heavily on shot selection and shooting percentage. Samford lives by the three, and they have been living like kings in their six OVC games. As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 43 percent from behind the arc, which is first in the OVC and third in the entire nation. Forward J. Robert Merritt leads Samford with 15.8 points per game behind his 49 three pointers on 47 percent shooting on three-point attempts.

Looking ahead on their conference schedule the Bulldogs have a visit to Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri State, which could pose a threat to the undefeated streak as the Redhawks disposed of Austin Peay Saturday at SEMO’s Show Me Center. The bottom half of their schedule gets a little tougher with two games against also-undefeated Tennessee Tech, another matchup with Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State, and two against Austin Peay. No one is going to be taking Samford lightly through the rest of the OVC schedule as the Bulldogs have more than proved themselves in these first couple of weeks.

Tennessee Tech Off to Flying Start

Two teams remain undefeated in OVC play, and with Samford being such a surprise, attention has drifted away from the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Tech sits at 6-0 to start the season behind Preseason OVC Player of the Year Willie Jenkins. Jenkins leads the Golden Eagles in scoring and is second in the OVC with 19.4 points per game. The early favorite for Player of the Year also cleans up on the glass with 7.4 rebounds per game.

Tech started their conference schedule by taking care of business at home with four wins, most notably against Eastern Kentucky. The Golden Eagles narrowly escaped Southeast Missouri State on the road, and they beat Eastern Illinois handily Saturday night. The undefeated record will be on the line Tuesday night as Tennessee Tech visits Clarksville, Tenn. for a matchup against Austin Peay.

OVC Player of the Week: Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech

Jenkins has been the main cog in the Tennessee Tech machine that has started with an unblemished 6-0 start in the OVC. Jenkins averaged 27.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in the Golden Eagles two victories against Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois. The forward from Memphis was the difference in an 82-81 overtime win against the Redhawks as he put up 34 points and 10 rebounds.

Team Notes

Samford Bulldogs (11-6, 6-0)

Samford beat Morehead State 56-51 on Jan. 20 to go to 5-0 and then used an incredible second-half comeback to beat the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky Saturday 67-61.

The Bulldogs found themselves trailing at halftime, 30-17, and 33-17 a couple of minutes into the second half. But they soon found a rhythm behind the arc. Samford went on a 44-15 run in the next 14 minutes to go up by as many as 13 points. During the run, Samford’s assassins went 8-of-9 from three-point range. EKU withered down the stretch shooting just 35 percent in the second half.

In their six conference games, Samford is shooting 46 percent from the three-point line and the Bulldogs are leading in team defense giving up only 58 points per game. The style of play has frustrated teams so far, and it looks like only a patient team playing tough D on the perimeter can beat the Bulldogs right now.

Up next: At Eastern Illinois on Jan. 27 and at Southeast Missouri State Jan. 29.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (11-6, 6-0)

It comes to no surprise that Tennessee Tech is at the forefront of the OVC standings as they too have a perfect 6-0 record. Coach Mike Sutton has the leading candidate for OVC Player of the Year, forward Willie Jenkins, as well as a candidate for Newcomer of the Year, forward Derek Stribling. Jenkins and Stribling have teamed with guard Keyon Boyd to lead the Golden Eagles to a fast start within the conference.

The Golden Eagles are coming off wins against Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois. Tech had to go to overtime to beat the Redhawks 82-81 on Jan. 20 but had an easier time dispensing of the Panthers 81-68 on Jan. 22. Jenkins’ two games last week earned him Player of the Week honors.

During the Jan. 29 doubleheader versus Tennessee State, the Tech community is hosting Drew Nixon Night to honor a receiver on their football team who suffered a major head injury that left him in a coma. Nixon is still going through recovery, and has had trouble learning how to walk again. His night at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn., will be the first time in five months that Nixon has walked on campus.

Up next: At Austin Peay Jan. 25 and vs. Tennessee State Jan. 29.

Murray State Racers (10-6, 5-1)

The preseason’s team to beat in the OVC has suffered only one defeat – to first-place Samford – and sits alone in the third-place slot. Like other teams who visited Birmingham, Ala., to face the Bulldogs, the Racers could not force the tempo and make the Bulldog shooters take poor shots.

Murray State had no trouble taking care of Tennessee-Martin, 96-70, on Jan. 18 as they opened the game with a 13-3 run and didn’t look back. The Racers would increase their lead to over 30 before the final margin of 26.

The Racers went home for a game on Jan. 22 when they beat then 3-1 Tennessee State 82-74. Guard Keith Jenifer led the Racers with 17 points, seven assists and just one turnover.

Up next: At Eastern Kentucky Jan.27 and at Morehead State Jan.29.

Tennessee State Tigers (9-11, 4-2)

After going just 6-10 in the conference and 7-21 overall, the Tennessee State Tigers have already surpassed last year’s overall win total, and they are off to a great start within the conference.

The Tigers posted a 92-76 win on the road against Tennessee-Martin on Jan. 20 but suffered an 82-74 loss to Murray State two days later. Last year’s OVC Freshman of the Year Bruce Price has led the Tigers to their 4-2 start in the OVC. Price is averaging 15.2 points per game but has yet to find his shooting stroke, making only 38 percent of his field goals. Price also averages 3.2 assists, good enough for the team lead.

Transfer Rod Flowers is also making a case for Newcomer of the Year as he is averaging 13.8 points a contest. His 7.8 rebounds per game puts him third in the conference.

Up next: At Austin Peay Jan. 27 and at Tennessee Tech Jan. 29.

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (11-6, 3-3)

The scheduling gods were not favorable for the EKU Colonels as they were forced to play their first four games of the conference schedule on the road. Coach Travis Ford and his squad managed to come out 2-2 with losses to Murray State and Tennessee Tech, but they will now be forced to play catch-up after a disappointing 67-61 loss to Samford.

The Colonels led big at the half, but the second half was a completely different story as the Bulldogs shot down the house and made up a double-digit deficit. The Colonels’ leading scorer, guard Matt Witt, could not find his touch, shooting 3-of-15 for just seven points.

Eastern scored a win prior to the Samford loss as they shut down last-place Jacksonville State 72-60. The Colonels are currently on a five-game home stand to balance their first four road games.

Up next: Vs. Murray State Jan. 27 and vs. Tennessee-Martin Jan. 29.

Austin Peay Governors (5-13, 3-3)

Following a perfect 16-0 conference record always has to be hard for a team and its coach, but Austin Peay is still a dangerous team in the conference despite losing most of its players from last season’s team.

In the opposite way of Eastern Kentucky, the Governors played four home games and went 3-1 in that stretch. Two road games followed, and coach Dave Loos and his squad did not find the same luxury as they did at home dropping two straight contests.

Austin Peay lost to Eastern Illinois 63-51 on Jan. 20 and Southeast Missouri State 65-52 on Jan. 22. The Govs never seemed to be in control of either game and could not find an answer for the other team’s attack.

Loos certainly challenged his team with a very difficult non-conference schedule, including games against Louisville, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Western Kentucky, which is part of the reason why his team sits at 5-13.

Up next: Vs. Tennessee Tech Jan. 25 and vs. Tennessee State Jan. 27.

Morehead State Eagles (8-9, 2-4)

The Eagles of Morehead State got off to a rough 1-4 start but have since gained a win and are looking for more wins at home to increase their conference record.

Morehead fell to Samford 56-51 on Jan. 20 and beat Jacksonville State 69-63 on Jan. 22. One of the questions going into the season was who was going to step in for Ricky Minard and Chez Marks, and the answer has been Chad McKnight and Josh Reed.

McKnight leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game and rebounding with 7.1 rebounds per game, while Reed is second in scoring with 11.4 points per game. Reed is also shooting a respectable 40 percent from three-point range.

With seven freshmen on the Eagles’ roster, coach Kyle Macy is using this year to rebuild. But at the same time, he wants to make sure his team takes part in the OVC Tournament come March.

Up next: Vs. Tennessee-Martin Jan. 27 and vs. Murray State Jan. 29.

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (7-10, 2-4)

Although Southeast Missouri State may have a new mascot and team name, it doesn’t mean that no one recognizes them anymore. Despite going just 2-4 in their first six games of the OVC schedule, the Redhawks have two of the most dominating players thus far in the conference.

Forward Dainmon Gonner is averaging 20.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while center Reggie Golson averages 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Gonner leads the OVC in scoring while Golson is third in scoring and tied for first in rebounding.

The Redhawks went 1-1 last week with an 82-81 overtime loss to undefeated Tennessee Tech and a 65-52 win against last season’s regular season champion Austin Peay.

Up next: Vs. Jacksonville State Jan. 27 and vs. Samford Jan. 29.

Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-11, 1-5)

Eastern Illinois continues to make strides from last season when they finished last in the OVC with four wins and six wins overall. The Panthers are already at six wins overall this season, but they are not having much luck in OVC play.

The Panthers lost their first four OVC games – all on the road – but rebounded with a home win against Austin Peay 63-51 on Jan. 20. However, EIU could not keep the momentum going and fell to Tennessee Tech 81-68 two days later.

Junior guard Josh Gomes leads the Panthers in scoring with 15.2 points per game. Emanuel Dildy averages 14.7 points a game and leads EIU in assists with 3.4 a game.

Up next: Vs. Samford Jan. 27 and vs. Jacksonville State Jan. 29.

Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (4-13, 1-5)

Tennessee-Martin has failed to get off to a good start as poor shooting in almost all of their conference games has been its downfall. The Skyhawks are shooting just 41 percent from the field, which is last among all teams in the OVC.

The Skyhawks are on a three-game skid which includes losses against Samford on the road and Murray State and Tennessee State at home. Martin was pounded from the start of the Murray State contest and lost 96-70, and they gave up 90 points in their second straight game, this time to the Tigers in a 92-76 loss.

Jared Newson is the team’s leading scorer with 14.8 points per game, but he is shooting just 40 percent from the field and 18 percent from the three-point line.

Up next: At Morehead State Jan. 27 and at Eastern Kentucky Jan. 29.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (4-14, 0-6)

After finishing their first season in the OVC with a 7-9 record, Jacksonville State seems to be experiencing a sophomore slump with losses in their first six conference games. The Gamecocks are also on an 11-game losing streak overall.

Jacksonville State is fresh off losses to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State last week. They fell 72-60 against the Colonels and 69-63 to the Eagles in their turn on the Death Valley road trip.

The Gamecocks have been losing on the court and off of it as coach Mike LaPlante granted junior Rod Venner his release from the team so he could start the transfer process.

Venner played in 11 games this season averaging five points a game in 17.2 minutes per game. He started one game for Jacksonville State.

Up next: At Southeast Missouri State Jan. 27 and at Eastern Illinois Jan. 29.

Ohio Valley Preview

Ohio Valley Conference Preview

by Nathan Clinkenbeard

Sports writers, coaches and players can spend all the time in the world wondering who will be number one in the OVC by the end of the season, but the regular season hardly matters as much in a mid-major conference. Take the Austin Peay Governors, for example. The Govs stormed through the regular season undefeated, 16-0, and they still could not get an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after falling to the Murray State Racers 66-60 in the OVC Championship. Where a team finishes in the regular season does have bearing as to the seed a team receives, but the OVC has not been awarded an at-large bid into the NCAA’s since Middle Tennessee State won the regular season title and lost in the tournament in 1987.

Teams in the conference are trying to boost their basketball programs by bringing in highly-regarded freshmen as well as numerous top junior college players. Eastern Kentucky finished last year’s OVC season in fourth place, which was their highest finish since the 1993-94 season when they also finished fourth. EKU stepped up their recruiting efforts in this year’s offseason and landed what HoopScoop.com rated their 31st best class in the nation. With a few returning starters and a recruiting class that has four junior college transfers and one freshman, look for the Colonels to finish higher that last season.

Morehead State will take the largest fall in the conference standings after seniors Ricky Minard and Chez Marks graduated. Minard and Marks were the Morehead State Eagles and without them it will be a long couple of years of rebuilding. The Austin Peay Governors will be far from perfection after losing five seniors and several key starters. However, head coach Dave Loos always has his team prepared to battle. It would not be a surprise to see this team in the top three at the end of the season, but a top five finish should be more likely.

The team everyone should be chasing this year at the top of the conference will be the Murray State Racers. Despite losing nine seniors the Racers reloaded with two transfers that sat out the 2003-04 season and seven recruits. The two transfers, Keith Jenifer and Trey Pearson both started at guards for the University of Virginia and Ole Miss two years ago. The Racers are explosive at the guard position, but their biggest concern will be inside scoring and rebounding. With at least nine guys that will get plenty of playing time, head coach Mick Cronin will employ the press he used last year more often.

Pre-Season All-OVC First Team

Willie Jenkins (Sr., Forward, Tennessee Tech)

Bruce Price (So., Guard, Tennessee State)

Matt Witt (Jr., Guard, Eastern Kentucky)

Jared Newson (Jr., Forward, Tennessee-Martin)

Anthony Davis (Sr., Guard, Austin Peay)

Pre-Season All-OVC Honorable Mentions

Roshaun Bowens (Sr., Forward, Tennessee State)

Adam Chiles (Sr., Guard, Murray State)

Josh Gomes (Jr., Guard, Eastern Illinois)

Derek Winans (Sr., Guard, Southeast Missouri State)

Pre-Season OVC Player of the Year

Willie Jenkins (Sr., Forward, Tennessee Tech)

Pre-Season OVC Freshman of the Year

Bryan Robinson (Forward, Morehead State)

Pre-Season OVC Newcomer of the Year

Trey Pearson (So., Guard, Murray State)

Pre-Season OVC Defensive Player of the Year

Walker Russell (Jr., Guard, Jacksonville State)

1. Murray State Racers (28-6, 14-2, 2nd)

Projected Starting Lineup

Trey Pearson, G, (6-2, So.)

Adam Chiles, G, (6-0, Sr.)

Shawn Witherspoon, F, (6-5, So.)

Issian Redding, F, (6-6, Jr.)

Pearson Griffith, C, (6-9, Sr.)

The Murray State Racers have been used to the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference with its 19 conference championships, the most in league history. This year should offer more of the same as head coach Mick Cronin reloaded his squad for a run at the team’s first regular season title since 2000.

Although nine seniors graduated from last year, Cronin had several transfers waiting in the wings and a strong freshman class to pick up the slack. Among those seniors who departed was the conference player of the year last season, Cuthbert Victor. Victor was a reliable man in the inside that provided the Racers with an inside scoring threat and the best rebounder in the conference (10.2 rpg.). That inside presence could be sorely missed as Cronin will call on junior college transfer Pearson Griffith to rebound, block shots and score in the interior.

Two guards, Trey Pearson and Keith Jenifer, transfers from major conferences will also get the bulk of the playing time at their respective positions. They join the only senior on the roster, Adam Chiles, as a trio that could run circles around some conference foes. Cronin likes a fast-paced style and a three-guard lineup is not out of the question.

Cronin inked three freshmen in the offseason and thus far he has raved about LaSalle (Cincinnati) High School product Justin Orr. Orr has shown his team power and finesse at the forward position, and he could see a number of minutes even as a freshman.

With the debacle of last season’s arrests of two Murray State players, including Adam Chiles, the Racers are looking to Chiles for guidance as the senior on the team. In a recent article about Chiles, he talked about how he is completely focused for this season, and he will not be letting his past get in his way. Cronin, the team and the university do not need another black mark on the program this season.

Murray State is fully equipped to run away with the OVC regular season title as long as players stay out of trouble and leadership is found in Chiles. With a team that will go nine or 10 deep, Cronin will have the leisure to run teams to death with his pressing defense. The Racers should be standing on top of the conference with its 20th championship and the No. 1 seed in the OVC Tournament come March 1.

2. Eastern Kentucky Colonels (14-15, 8-8, 4th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Matt Witt, G, (6-0, 180, Jr.)

Ben Rushing, G, (5-11, 175, Sr.)

Michael Haney, F, (6-6, 221, Sr.)

Julian Mascoll, F, (6-5, 200, So.)

Mamadou Diakhate, F, (6-4, 220, So.)

After finishing eighth in the conference in the 2002-03 season, the Colonels made strides to finish fourth last season at 8-8. Head Coach Travis Ford was brought in five years ago to rebuild an Eastern Kentucky basketball team that was used to finishing in the lower tier of the OVC almost every season. Ford has succeeded thus far, and he will top last season’s fourth place finish.

The Colonels lost the team’s bruiser in the middle Jon Bentley to graduation and Ford will have a tough time replacing Bentley’s 13.4 points per game on 63 percent shooting. However, the Colonels will look to guard play to carry them towards the top of the OVC. Junior guard Matt Witt was named a preseason first team All-OVC member after he notched 15.6 points per contest and 5.5 assists per game. Witt trailed only Jacksonville State’s Walker Russell on the assist leaderboard. Even though EKU does not have much size the OVC usually is not a big-man’s conference, and that will help them through the season.

Five newcomers were signed by the Colonels, but the player who should have the most impact will be transfer Zach Ingles. Ingles rolled though last season with Pasco-Hernando Junior College in New Port Richie, where he averaged 25.5 points per game. Ingles could be in the starting lineup early into the season if not the beginning. His departure from junior college also helped Eastern Kentucky earn the 31st ranked recruiting class according to TheHoopScoop.com. Ingles joins four other junior college players to sign with Eastern Kentucky this season.

A challenging non-conference schedule that features Dayton, Florida and Louisville will test the Colonels and get them ready for the rigorous OVC season. The hardest battle will come when they start off conference play with four games on the road including games at Austin Peay, Murray State and Tennessee Tech. If the Colonels survive that road swing, they should be in prime position for a top three finish in the regular season.

3. Tennessee State Tigers (7-21, 6-10, 8th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Bruce Price, G, (6-3, 205, So.)

Wayne Arnold, G, (6-4, 190, Jr.)

Roshaun Bowens, F, (6-6, 190, Sr.)

Jeremy Jackson, F, (6-7, 200, Sr.)

Rod Flowers, C, (6-9, 240, Sr.)

Talk about a turnaround. Head Coach Cy Alexander in only his second year at Tennessee State has turned the Tigers program into one that could be making some noise this season. The Tigers won no conference games in 2002-03, which prompted the hiring of Alexander. In his first season, Tennessee State finished in eight place with a 6-10 conference record.

Two men responsible for that turnaround will be returning to the lineup once again, sophomore guard Bruce Price and senior forward Roshaun Bowens. Price was the OVC Freshman of the Year last season as he finished third in the league in scoring with 17.6 points per game. Bowens was not far behind Price as he finished fifth in scoring with 16.9 ppg. Price will be a major candidate for player of the year status, and a monster season or an injury to Tennessee Tech’s Willie Jenkins will result in him winning the award easily. The pair are as good as any, if not the best inside-out tandem in the league. They not only can shoot, but Price can dish the rock (4.0 apg.) and Bowens can clean up the glass (6.7 rpg.).

Part of the reason for Alexander’s success in such a short amount of time has been his recruiting. He signed five players this season including two junior college players. Junior guard Wayne Arnold will be a solid compliment to Price at the guard slots. Arnold is a former “Mr. Georgia Basketball,” and he played at the University of Georgia his freshman season. He then went to Los Angeles City College where he averaged 13 points per game. The junior will have his hands full trying to replace Garrett Richardson who led the Tigers in assists and the conference in steals with 2.3 per game.

This Tiger basketball team could be their best in a very long time. They have two potential first team All-OVC players that will handle the share of the scoring. These two could be compared to Morehead State’s Ricky Minard and Chez Marks last season, but unlike the Eagles the Tigers will have other guys that will be able to score some points. Tennessee State will be a hard team to beat in the OVC, and they should give fans a show each time they take the court.

4. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (13-15, 7-9, 6th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Keyon Boyd, G, (6-4, Jr.)

Milone Clark, G, (6-4, Jr.)

Willie Jenkins, F, (6-6, Sr.)

Ben Jacobson, F, (6-7, Sr.)

Derek Stribling, F, (6-6, Jr.)

Tennessee Tech has established itself in the past five years as a program always in the upper echelon of the conference, and this season they will have the preseason OVC Player of the Year to help carry on that tradition.

Senior forward Willie Jenkins will be the man at Tennessee Tech everyone will be watching after a spectacular introductory year to the OVC ending with him winning the Newcomer of the Year award. Jenkins averaged 19.5 points per contest and 7.2 rebounds per game, which was good enough for second and fifth in the league, respectively. Jenkins strong frame allowed him to manhandle post defenders in the league, and he should be able to dominate once again.

This time around Jenkins will not have Cameron Crisp at the guard position to rely on for outside scoring. Crisp was the Golden Eagles second leading scorer last season and seventh in the league with 15.4 per game. The two guard players will have ample experience as Milone Clark and Keyon Boyd both averaged 25 minutes a game and 10 points a game. Head Coach Mike Sutton will be able to breathe easy and hand over his offense to two players who know what is going on from the start.

After the starters, Sutton only has two upperclassmen available and the other six players are freshman. This could be a factor if players begin to get into foul trouble early in games. Sutton will have to use a couple new faces when this happens, and teams never know what they are going to get with freshmen.

Sutton also made a coaching move in the offseason by bringing in Saul Smith as an assistant coach. Saul played for his father Tubby at the University of Kentucky and won a national championship in 1998 while he started as a point guard. Sutton was an assistant coach on that Wildcat squad.

The Golden Eagles will improve on last season’s finish with a good starting lineup and potentially the league’s best player. However, the bench could be a concern, and I do not think Saul Smith has any eligibility remaining. It will be very tough for Tennessee Tech to crack the top three this season, but they should be able to open up the conference tournament with a home game.

5. Austin Peay Governors (22-10, 16-0, 1st)

Projected Starting Lineup

Anthony Davis, G, (6-3, 205, Sr.)

Maurice Hampton, G, (6-2, 180, Jr.)

Zac Schlader, F, (6-9, 235, Jr.)

Fernandez Lockett, F, (6-5, 205, So.)

Kareem Matthews, C, (6-10, 235, Jr.)

Last season was a tough one for Governor fans to take after watching their team run the table in the OVC season by going 16-0 only to lose to the Murray State Racers in the finals of the OVC Tournament. They not only lost that game, but they also lost a trip to the Big Dance as their perfect season fell to waste and was not good enough to impress the NCAA selection committee.

A year later the Governors will have lots of work to do even to assure themselves a first round home game in the conference tournament. They will not have to worry about trying to go undefeated because they have just one starter returning from last season’s team.

Senior guard Anthony Davis is that starter and now he has the task of leading a team that has only one other senior who averaged more than 10 minutes last season. Davis was Austin Peay’s second-leading scorer with 12.8 points per game. His play on the defensive end is some of the best in the league and that is key to a defense that allowed 60.5 points a game to the opposition. One thing about this Governor team, they will not be small. With three guys at 6-9 or above this is one of the biggest teams in the OVC.

The Governors lost their best scorer, best rebounder and best blocker, but they will still be expected to compete even in a rebuilding year. Head Coach Dave Loos stayed in Clarksville to land point guard Brandon Burney from Montgomery Central High School. Burney averaged 21.3 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds during his senior year.

Loos also signed 7-foot center Tomas Janusauskas from Lithuania. Janusauskas played high school ball for Central Park Christian Academy in Birmingham, Ala. where he averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds a game his senior year.

It is always tough to follow up an incredible season, but Loos and his players returning from last season will have that chip on their shoulder after losing the OVC championship game to the Racers. The rivalry between the two schools has blossomed over the past few years, and it will be tough to tell the guys wearing Austin Peay uniforms that they won’t be able to hang with the Racers this year. Tell them that, and they just might.

6. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (10-18, 5-11, 9th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Earl Bullock, G, (6-1, 190, Sr.)

Jeremy Kelly, G, (6-5, 205, Sr.)

Justin Smith, G, (6-3, 190, Jr.)

Jared Newson, F, (6-5, 215, Jr.)

Cleve Woodfork, C, (6-9, 235, Jr.)

Plain and simple, this Skyhawk basketball team could be the biggest surprise of the season. While only at No. 6 in this preseason poll, Head Coach Bret Campbell has a team that has all the potential to make some noise in the OVC.

Going down the list of who played on last season’s Skyhawk team it appears that practically everyone is back to make up for what was an injury-plagued year. Senior guard Earl Bullock returns to action where he missed all but five games during the season. Bullock suffered a knee injury early in the season and was lost early on. In those five games Bullock averaged 10.6 points per game.

Probably the biggest blow to the Skyhawks roster last season was when guard Justin Smith ruptured an Achilles tendon. Smith was the leading scorer for Tennessee-Martin when the injury occurred about midway through the season.

With his two best guards down for the season, Campbell used senior guards Jeremy Kelly and Tyler George in a lot of minutes to make up for the losses. Kelly responded by averaging 13.8 points per game and George averaged 5.2 assists per game. The Skyhawks will be able to use four quality guards in and out of games to wear down opponents, and they will use Jared Newson and Cleve Woodfork in the inside to balance the attack. Newson wound up leading Tennessee-Martin in scoring with 14.4 points per game.

If the injury bug does not bite Tennessee-Martin again they could be in for a terrific season. The Skyhawks have yet to earn the respect of an Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech or Murray State, but this season could be the foundation of starting that reputation through the league. Do not be surprised to see the Skyhawks bolt up into one of the top four slots in the OVC. They are very dangerous when healthy, and that will be the key word for them: healthy.

7. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (11-16, 4-12, 10th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Derek Winans, G, (6-2, 180, Sr.)

Mike Nelke, G, (6-0, 175, Sr.)

Dainmon Gonner, F, (6-6, 230, Sr.)

Reggie Golson, F, (6-7, 195, Sr.)

Ketshner Guerrier, F, (6-6, 215, Sr.)

Southeast Missouri State has a new mascot, new assistant coaches and Head Coach Gary Garner is hoping that all these changes will spell something good for his basketball team. After finishing a dismal 4-12 in the conference, the newly-named Redhawks will have more of a successful season.

The Redhawks lost center Brandon Griffin to graduation, but that was their only major loss from last season. Junior guard Derek Winans is the spark for this team as he led the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game. Opposing defenses also found out that he shot the house down if he was let open on screens as he buried 42 percent of his threes.

Junior forward Reggie Golson is also looking to have a breakout season as he scored 23.3 points per game over the Labor Day weekend in Canada. For three days, Golson tortured Canadian defenses as he is preparing himself to step into a scorer’s role to make up for Brandon Griffin’s inside presence.

Garner cleaned house and brought in three new assistants for the 2004-05 season. Ronnie Dean, Robert Guster and Toby Lane are the new assistants, and it could be that Garner needed fresh faces to get his kids’ minds clear of what happened last season. Garner also brought in seven new players to his team including five junior college players, one freshman and a transfer, Roy Booker from Montana, who will have to sit out the season due to NCAA regulations. With nine seniors on his roster, Garner had to bring in bodies this year so they could contribute next season.

One thing the Redhawks will not be short on is senior leadership. The middle pack of this OVC race should be an interesting one to follow. With all those seniors there should be no way this team falls out of the top eight and misses an OVC Tournament appearance.

8. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (14-14, 7-9, 5th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Walker Russell, G, (6-0, 170, Jr.)

B.J. Spencer, G, (6-4, 190, Jr.)

John Haynesworth, F, (6-6, 235, Jr.)

Addou Diame, F, (6-9, 235, Jr.)

Carlos Lumpkin, F, (6-6, 230, Jr.)

This Jacksonville State team remains a mystery to a lot of people as Head Coach Mike LaPlante had to bring in seven newcomers to a squad that lost four starters and a total of six lettermen.

The lone returning starter is junior guard Walker Russell who led the Gamecocks in assists with 6.5 per game. Having a seasoned veteran as your ballhandler is key in having a good season, and LaPlante should consider himself lucky that his only returning starter is his point guard.

Trent Eager, Scott Watson and James Denson all averaged double figures in points but will not be returning. Eager and Denson also were the two leading rebounders for the Gamecocks with 6.0 and 5.3 rebounds per game, respectively.

Jacksonville State will feature several junior college transfers that will thrown into the mix right away and be expected to win games. The JUCO players probably will not mind having Russell help break them into the league by dishing them the basketball.

Junior forward Addou Diame is the only other player to average over 10 minutes a game in the 2003-04 season. Diame will need to use his 6-9, 235 pound frame to move defenders around in the lane so that Russell can drive and pass the ball to wide open teammates.

The Gamecocks season will depend on if the newcomers can find their niche in the program. Russell has to be on the court for them to succeed and if he gets injured severely at any point of the season the Gamecocks will be hurting to make the postseason. Russell equals an appearance in the OVC Tournament.

9. Samford Bulldogs (12-16, 7-9, 7th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Jerry Smith, G, (6-1, 170, So.)

Anthony LoPiano, G, (6-1, 179, Jr.)

J. Robert Merritt, F, (6-6, 221, Jr.)

Jon Mills, F, (6-6, 230, Sr.)

Josh Hare, F, (6-6, 225, Sr.)

Samford University had a strong entrance to the OVC last season winning five of their first eight games, but suffered though an ugly exit going 2-6. Head Coach Jimmy Tillette uses a Princeton-style offense with lots of three-balls and backdoor cuts. Teams in the conference were burned early on, but telling by their last eight conference games it seems the league caught on.

The Bulldogs lost their two leading scorers, Phillip Ramelli and Eddie Harper and their leading three-point shooter Tyson Dorsey. This season junior forward J. Robert Merritt will be looked to for scoring and senior forwards Jon Mills and Josh Hare will be looked to for leadership. Merritt shot 40 percent on the season for three-pointers, and it will be no surprise if he launches up about 150 attempts.

Sophomore guard Jerry Smith led the team in assists with 3.4 a game and was fifth in scoring with 5.1 points per game. Smith will need to take a more assertive role in scoring if the Bulldogs want to win games.

Tillette signed three players for this season including Curtis West, who, of course, can shoot. West averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game at Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge, La.

It is very safe to say that the Bulldogs live by the three and die by the three. The OVC will not be fooled this year in terms of the offense Samford runs. Teams will have an easier time shutting down the backdoor cuts, which in turn will lead to Samford mainly dying by the three this season.

10. Morehead State Eagles (16-13, 10-6, 3rd)

Projected Starting Lineup

Quinton Smith, G, (5-11, 170, Jr.)

Ramon Kelly, G, (6-4, 185, Sr.)

Chad McKnight, F, (6-7, 215, Sr.)

Cory Burns, F, (6-8, 230, Jr.)

Bryan Robinson, F, (6-7, 215, Fr.)

Morehead State has finished in the top three of the OVC in each of the past three seasons, but that streak will come to an abrupt halt as the Eagles have lots of work to do if they want to get back to the top fourth of the conference.

With the graduation of Ricky Minard and Chez Marks the Eagles are left stranded to figure out who will do all the scoring now. Those two alone accounted for just under 50 percent of Morehead State’s scoring last season. Minard even became the lone player out of the OVC to be drafted by the NBA when the Sacramento Kings took him in the second round.

Both guards, Quinton Smith and Ramon Kelly, played a considerable amount of minutes last season, but neither of them were relied on heavy enough for scoring. Smith, Kelly and senior forward Chad McKnight will have to step up and show they can carry this team without Minard or Marks being there. That will not be an easy task considering the abilities of both players, and how they led Morehead State to the top of the league for three straight years.

Head Coach Kyle Macy brought in five recruits and none will be bigger than forward Bryan Robinson. Robinson could be a starter right away as he averaged 19.7 points and 8.0 rebounds a game for London (Ohio) High School. He was a second-team All-Ohio selection and the situation that he is in could make him a strong choice for the Freshman of the Year award at the end of the year.

Macy will have his hands full trying to find his go-to-guy or guys for the first time in about four years. Morehead State will not be down in the bottom of the league for too long, but they could be in danger of missing the postseason if they don’t find their identity.

11. Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-21, 4-12, 11th)

Projected Starting Lineup

Josh Gomes, G, (6-2, 185, Jr.)

Emanuel Dildy, G, (6-0, 184, Sr.)

Jason Wright, G, (5-11, 190, Sr.)

Andrew Gobczynski, F, (6-5, 206, Sr.)

Aaron Patterson, F, (6-5, 220, Sr.)

After the school year for Eastern Illinois in May students went home, but the Panther basketball team traveled to Costa Rica for a summer tour. Head Coach Rick Samuels is going to wish he stayed in Costa Rica after this season is over.

The Panthers lost their second leading scorer, Jesse Mackinson, to graduation, but the thing was he only scored 9.9 points per game. Offense was a major problem for Eastern Illinois last season and it will remain a problem for them in the 2004-05 season.

The only bright spot in the lineup is junior guard Josh Gomes, who led the Panthers in scoring last year with 13.6 points per game. Gomes, however, will be a target for defenses as he will likely see lots of double and triple teams so that Eastern Illinois has to have other guys make baskets.

Rick Samuels did manage to sign four recruits in the offseason that will help him in the long run. He picked up two freshmen centers, Wes Wilkin and George Tandy, and Wilkin will be redshirting this season. Seven freshmen are on the Panther roster and there is a good mix of position players. Eastern Illinois will need another year or two to make strides and climb their way out of the OVC cellar.

Summing it all up

This year the OVC can be broken down almost into three parts. The top four teams are solid squads that should only jockey for position among the top four. The middle four teams and the bottom three teams are all the same way. However, the fact remains that conference play in the regular season only matters for seeding into the OVC Tournament. The league saw firsthand last season that you can still go undefeated in OVC play, lose the final of the conference tournament and still not be able to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tourney. It is sad, but true.

Murray State should find itself at a familiar spot once the season is over, at the top of the league. The program’s 20th OVC championship is their’s to lose. This season the OVC will see some unfamiliar faces at the top of the standings, and Tennessee-Martin could be the biggest surprise of them all by sneaking into the top three with a healthy season all the way around. The theme of this year’s OVC will be new teams earning respect throughout the league.

Ohio Valley Season Recap

Ohio Valley Conference 2003-04 Season Recap

by Neal Heston

Only one word can describe the way the season ended for the Ohio Valley Conference: disappointment. The first team to survive through league play undefeated in over three decades didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Tournament, and the lone team to go dancing was greeted with a first round exit.

Samford and Jacksonville State each debuted nicely during their first season with the OVC. Each squeezed through for a berth in the conference tournament with identical 7-9 conference marks.

Murray State enjoyed its continued dominance of the Ohio Valley in 2003-04, earning a 12th league title and appearance in the NCAA Tourney. The Racer’s Cuthbert Victor even captured the attention of the Associated Press as the senior forward was selected as an honorable mention for the All-American team. Victor was in the nation’s top 10 for rebounding and field goal percentage and also finished his Racer career with the team record for blocked shots.

Lesson learned for the Govs

We’ve all heard the saying. “The regular season doesn’t mean a thing once the postseason begins.” Nobody knows that better than the Austin Peay Governors. The Governors lived up to their preseason expectations as they captured the OVC crown by storming through the regular season with a 16-0 mark. After surviving two close calls in the OVC quarterfinals and semifinals, any hope of an NCAA Tournament appearance was lost when Murray State earned the conference’s automatic berth by winning the championship, 66-60.

Austin Peay came close and led by as many as seven in the OVC title game, but the Racers were just too much. Murray State completed the game on a 16-6 run and Cuthbert Victor was named Tournament MVP as he scored 13 points to go along with nine boards.

Postseason ups and downs

Murray State (NCAA Tournament)

This game was supposed to be the sure bet for an upset. The Racers were the best of the “no-name” schools and were thought by many to make a Cinderella run. Big Ten champion Illinois would have no part of that as the Illini smacked the Racers around with a 72-53 win in the first round. Murray State, making its 12th appearance in the NCAA, never got any closer than six points during the entire contest. Cuthbert Victor tallied 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but he was the only Racer clicking as the Murray State team shot just 34 percent from the field.

Austin Peay (NIT)

Not reaching the NCAA Tournament may have been a disappointment for the Governors, but they did win their first-ever NIT contest over Belmont in the opening round. It was Austin Peay’s first postseason victory since 1987, when ironically for the OVC, the Governors took down Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

No player or coach on this season’s team will probably ever use the numbers 66 or 60 on their lottery ticket. The same score that crushed NCAA hopes in the OVC Tournament also ended the Governor’s season. George Mason sent Austin Peay home with a 66-60 win in the NIT’s first round. The Governors overcame an early 10-point deficit but couldn’t climb over the hill.

Handin’ Out the Hardware – Postseason Awards

Player of the Year:

Cuthbert Victor, Murray State (also named All-American Honorable Mention by AP)

Newcomer of the Year:

Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech

Freshman of the Year:

Bruce Prive, Tennessee State

Coach of the Year:

Dave Loos, Austin Peay

First Team All-OVC
Cuthbert Victor, Murray State
Adrian Henning, Austin Peay
Ricky Minard, Morehead State
Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech
Josh Lewis, Austin Peay

Recapping the Ohio Valley

Austin Peay (22-10, 16-0)

Team MVP: Adrian Henning, 13.7 ppg

Leading Scorer: Henning, 13.7 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Josh Lewis, 7.4 rpg
Assists Leader: Anthony Davis, 78

The preseason favorite of the OVC didn’t disappoint in one aspect this season. In another aspect, disappointment was an understatement. The Governors, who returned five starters from last season’s NCAA squad, stormed through the conference slate 16-0 but were taken down by the Murray State Racers in the conference championship. With the tournament loss, so ended the Gov’s shot at another NCAA bid. That might not have been the case had Austin Peay given a stronger showing against opponents outside the Ohio Valley, but the Governors managed just a 4-9 record outside the conference.

Despite not reaching the NCAA in 2004, Austin Peay didn’t go down easily in the NIT, earning its first postseason victory in 17 seasons with a win over Belmont in the opening round. George Mason put the Governors to sleep in the first round though with a 66-60 win.

Murray State (28-6, 14-2)

Team MVP: Cuthbert Victor, 14.6 ppg

Leading Scorer: Victor, 14.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Victor, 10.2 rpg
Assists Leader: Adam Chiles, 133

The third time is a charm. Murray State sat behind Austin Peay all season, letting the Governors grab all the attention with the unblemished conference mark. But when the game really mattered, the Racers delivered. Murray State sailed through the OVC tournament and rallied in the championship game to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA.

Under first year coach Mick Cronin, Murray State fielded a very competitive team, which posted quality wins over Southern Mississippi, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. Near upsets were nearly put in the books against powerhouses, Louisville and Pittsburgh as well. Big Ten champion Illinois was not impressed by those quality outings by Murray State and handed the Racers a sour end to the season with a 19-point victory in the first round of the NCAA.

Morehead State (16-13, 10-6)

Team MVP: Ricky Minard, 21.8 ppg

Leading Scorer: Minard, 21.8 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Minard, 7.3 rpg
Assists Leader: Minard, 147

Ricky Minard was the story for the Eagles this season. Too bad for Morehead State that he is a senior. Minard led the team in all major categories this year: scoring, rebounding and assists.

Though the early schedule was filled with cupcakes, Morehead State struggled out of the gates to a 7-7 mark before finishing with a strong February. A 6-3 run in the regular season’s final month was enough to clinch third in the OVC.

Eastern Kentucky (14-15, 8-8)

Team MVP: Matt Witt, 15.6 ppg

Leading Scorer: Witt, 15.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Michael Haney, 6.3 rpg
Assists Leader: Witt, 160

The Colonels marched into the season with three early losses but relished in the fact that none of them was greater than six points. That was the basics of this squad in the 2003-04 campaign – competitiveness. Eastern Kentucky was able to stay in its contest but remained a .500 ballclub throughout the season.

Samford (12-16, 7-9)

Team MVP: Phillip Ramelli, 13.1 ppg

Leading Scorer: Ramelli, 13.1 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Ramelli, 5.2 rpg
Assists Leader: Jerry Smith, 95

Fifth place- not bad for the first year in the Ohio Valley. Probably even more impressive was the fact that the newbies defeated OVC powerhouse Murray State – at Murray State. Quality outings were put up early on during the season by a Samford team, who by the way made the cut for EA Sport’s March Madness 2004. Winthrop fell victim to the Bulldogs and Big Ten power Purdue almost fell as well. To make a long story short, any team that looked past this Bulldog team found themselves in trouble very quickly.

Jacksonville State (14-14, 7-9)

Team MVP: Trent Eager, 13.4 ppg

Leading Scorer: Eager, 13.4 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Eager, 6 rpg
Assists Leader: Walker Russell, 182

Just behind first-year Samford was Jacksonville State in sixth place. After stepping into the OVC schedule with three quick losses, the Gamecocks were able to play .500 ball from then on to earn a spot in the conference tournament. Unfortunately for Jacksonville State, the first roadblock in the OVC tourney was a hot Morehead State team, who sent the OVC “rookies” home with an 82-68 opening round loss.

Tennessee Tech (13-15, 7-9)

Team MVP: Willie Jenkins, 19.5 ppg

Leading Scorer: Jenkins, 19.5 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Jenkins, 7.2 rpg
Assists Leader: Will Moore, 135

The early schedule was not exactly impressive for the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Nevertheless, Tech did what it was supposed to do with an easy schedule – win (jumping to a 3-1 start). Fortunes were looking good for the Eagles until a miserable February forced them down the ladder. Heading into the season’s final month with a 7-5 OVC mark, Tech dropped its final four contests to slip to a seventh place finish. Instead of hosting an opening round game in the conference tournament, the Golden Eagles hit the road to take on Murray State. Ouch.

Tennessee State (7-21, 6-10)

Team MVP: Bruce Price, 17.6 ppg

Leading Scorer: Price, 17.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Roshaun Bowens, 6.7 rpg
Assists Leader: Garnett Richardson, 173

New head coach Cy Alexander walked into the clubhouse this season that was occupied by a team not expected to do much. The numbers may have made the predictions correct (20 losses, 10 in the OVC), but the season was not a complete letdown for the Tigers. After all, they managed to qualify for the conference tournament, eeking in as the eighth seed. And the showing they gave against top-seeded Austin Peay was remarkable, nearly handing the Governors their first conference loss of the 2003-04 campaign.

Tennessee-Martin (10-18, 5-11)

Team MVP: Justin Smith, 15.7 ppg

Leading Scorer: Smith, 15.7 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Jared Newsom
Assists Leader: Tyler George, 146

The record screams mediocre, but don’t be fooled. This Skyhawks team stumbled into the season at 2-4, but when you looked at the four losses, the record seemed meaningless: San Francisco, Memphis, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. Ohio Valley opponents were not scared off by the impressive schedule faced by the Skyhawks. Tennessee Martin stumbled into the conference slate at 0-3 and were never able to recover enough to qualify for the OVC tournament.

Southeast Missouri State (11-16, 4-12)

Team MVP: Derek Winans, 14.5 ppg

Leading Scorer: Winans, 14.5 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Brandon Griffin, 7.4 rpg
Assists Leader: Griffin, 75

If not for the Ohio Valley, the season wasn’t so bad for the Indians. Outside the OVC: 7-4; inside: well, not good (4-12). The season began in a promising fashion as Southeast Missouri defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay and continued two weeks later with a near-miss against Missouri Valley Conference powerhouse Southern Illinois. But OVC opponents took advantage of SEMS’s inability to win close games. Eight of the 12 conference losses for the Tigers came by six points or less. A couple shots here and there were the difference between being a cellar dweller in the conference or one of the scariest teams in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois (6-21, 4-12)

Team MVP: Josh Gomes, 13.6 ppg

Leading Scorer: Gomes, 13.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Jesse Mackinson, 5.3 rpg
Assists Leader: Derik Hollyfield, 73

The Panthers started the season against Northern Illinois, nationally-ranked Wisconsin and Horizon Conference powerhouse Illinois-Chicago. Needless to say, Eastern Illinois limped out to an 0-3 start. By the end of January, the cats had a miserable 3-15 mark and had earned just one victory over a Division I team (Tennessee Tech on Jan. 8). By then, it was too late for Eastern Illinois to salvage any hopes of the conference tournament. The Panthers missed the cut for the first time since joining the OVC seven seasons ago.

Ohio Valley Conference Finals Recap

Ohio Valley Finals Recap
		Recap by Jeff Smith Murray State 66, Austin Peay 60 The battle for supremacy in the OVC came down to a “Clash of the Titans” on Saturday night in the conference championship in Nashville, Tennessee. The conferences top two teams in Murray State and Austin Peay squared off in the rematch of February 14 which APSU won 63-56 in the only regular season match-up of the two teams. This time the Racers of Murray State held off the Governors 66-60 to reach the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in eight years. Austin Peay (21-9) had ripped through the conference season with 16 regular season wins against zero losses and were looking for their 25th consecutive conference victory, dating back to last season. Murray State (28-5) came in to the game winners of seven straight games and 12 of their last 13. The game featured the league’s highest scoring offensive unit in the Racers at 81.6 points per contest versus the league’s best defensive unit, with APSU allowing just 60.2 points per outing. APSU pushed its lead out to as much as seven at 24-17 on a three-pointer by senior guard Rhet Wierzba with 6:34 left, before MSU closed the first half with a strong 17-3 run and a 31-27 halftime advantage. Junior guard Adam Chiles started the Racers’ run with a layup at the 6:19 mark, while senior guard Rick Jones capped the run with a baseline jumper with just :03 seconds to go. The second half featured several runs by the Govs, but APSU never could regain the lead after pulling even on three occasions at 33-33 with 15:56 to go, 35-35 with 15:23 to go and at 53-53 with 4:27 left in the game. MSU responded to the final tie with a 5-0 run sparked by a Chiles three-point play and a layup by senior forward Antione Whelchel. The Govs pulled back to within three at 58-53 after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Maurice Hampton following a technical foul on the Racers’ junior forward Kelvin Brown. However, the Govs weren’t able to capitalize on the opportunity with the ball after the MSU defense came up with a huge stop on the ensuing possession. The Racers converted 6-of-6 free throws over the final 1:01 to hold on for their 10th OVC Tournament title in the last 17 seasons. With the loss the Governors, who played 15 of their first 18 games on the road, must hope they can at least receive a bid to the NIT. Senior forward Adrian Henning summed up the Governors plight after the loss by acknowledging that the OVC is a one bid league, but holding out hope for post-season play. Following the contest, the Aeropostale OVC All-Tournament team was announced and included three Racers and two Governors. Murray State senior forward Cuthbert Victor was named tournament MVP, adding the latest accomplishment to his OVC Player of the Year Award, and the First-Team All-OVC Award. Antione Whelchel and Adam Chiles joined Victor as Racers named to the All-Tournament team. For APSU, senior center Josh Lewis and junior guard Anthony Davis were named to the tournament team as well. Sophomore guard Matt Witt of Eastern Kentucky rounded out the All-Tournament team.

Ohio Valley Semifinals Preview

Ohio Valley Semifinals Preview
		Preview by Toni Jainez No. 1 Austin Peay Govs vs. No. 4 Eastern Kentucky Colonels The Govs may have had a close call in the quarterfinals versus the Tigers of Tennessee State, but they still managed to shoot 48% from the field, which is better than their average shooting percentages. APSU allowed TSU to shoot an unheard of 52% from the field; the best an opponent has shot against the Govs all season. Meanwhile, Eastern Kentucky shot a season best 63% from the floor in a win over Samford. The Colonels played very good perimeter defense versus the Bulldogs, only allowing 35% of Samford’s 3-point attempts to drop. Although Austin Peay had swept the Colonels this season by score margins of 6 at home and 17 in Clarkville, the Colonels’ have the shooting ability to give APSU’s defense problems. APSU has won many games by playing better defense that their opponent, but if the Govs allow the Colonels to shoot over 50% from the floor, then they could be looking at their first loss to a conference opponent of the year (APSU only averages 44.3% of their field goals made). Previous Meetings: January 15, 2004 – Austin Peay 65, Eastern Kentucky 59 February 28, 2004 – Austin Peay 81, Eastern Kentucky 64 Prediction – Austin Peay 68, Eastern Kentucky 63 No. 2 Murray State Racers vs. No. 3 Morehead State Eagles Both teams enter this game coming off of 10+ point wins in the quarterfinals. The Racers, who have won six straight, played solidly on both ends of the court, only allowing Tennessee Tech to shoot 43% from teh field. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles by 14. Morehead State faced a tougher matchup with the Gamecocks of Jax State and after a very hotly contested first half, the Eagles pulled away to win by 14. Morehead State played some of their better defense of the season, only allowing 40% shooting from the field (while shooting 49%). Murray State swept the Eagles by score margins of 14 at home and 22 in Morehead. This game will come down to who plays the best defense (both teams are in the top three in the OVC in defense). If Murray State can stop senior Ricky Minard from exploding for 30-plus points again, then the Racers should march to the championship game. Previous Meetings: January 8, 2004 – Murray State 97, Morehead State 75 January 31, 2004 – Murray State 90, Morehead State 76 Prediction – Murray State 86, Morehead State 78

Ohio Valley Quarterfinals Preview

Ohio Valley Conference Quarterfinals Preview
		Preview by Jeff Smith The Ohio Valley Conference is made up of 11 schools, of which only the top eight at the end of regular season play advance to the conference tournament. The top four seeds host the quarterfinals, with the winners traveling to Nashville, Tennessee’s Municipal Auditorium for the semifinals and finals. No. 8 Tennessee State (7-20, 6-10) at No. 1 Austin Peay State (19-8, 16-0) Regular-season champion Austin Peay closed out its conference run undefeated with wins over Tennessee Tech, 88-64, and Eastern Kentucky, 81-64. The victory over EKU marked APSU’s 27th consecutive win in the Dunn Center, setting a school record and ranking as the nation’s fourth-longest active home win streak. Senior center Josh Lewis has recorded 15 blocked shots over the last three games, including six versus TTU. Lewis has tallied seven six-block outings over his career and currently sits three shy of 250. Lewis, averaging nine points and 10 rebounds and senior forward Adrian Henning averaging 14 points and nine rebounds, just missed double-doubles against TTU. Versus EKU, Henning scored 15 second-half points, en route to his second 20-point effort of the season. APSU, which entered the week ranked last in the OVC in scoring and ninth in field goal shooting, rolled up 80 points in both games last week, hitting better than 50 percent from the field in each contest. The Govs have won 19 straight regular-season OVC games, and 30 of their last 31, dating back to the 2002-03 season. They enter postseason play with a 22-game win streak against OVC opposition, including tourney contests. Head coach Dave Loos will be looking for his 300th career coaching victory when top-seeded APSU hosts No. 8 Tennessee State in first-round OVC Tournament action. The Governors and Tigers played only once during the regular season. Tennessee State finished off the regular-season portion of its schedule with identical 86-70 road losses at Samford and Jacksonville State, but will still qualify for the OVC Tournament as the number 8 seed. Junior forward Roshaun Bowens averaged 22.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game last week, scoring 35 of his 45 points in the second halves of each contest. Freshman guard Bruce Price contributed 16 points per game while also handing out nine assists and grabbing 10 rebounds in the two contests. Senior guard Garrett Richardson netted a season-high 22 points at JSU. Under the direction of first-year coach Cy Alexander, the Tigers are making an OVC tourney appearance after a one-year absence. TSU, picked to finish last in the OVC in preseason balloting, posted a 6-10 record in league action for an eighth-place effort. No. 7 Tennessee Tech (13-14, 7-9) at No. 2 Murray State (25-5, 14-2) Murray State enters postseason play having won its last five and 10 of its last 11 following a non-conference victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,73-53, and OVC triumphs versus Southeast Missouri, 76-63, and Eastern Illinois, 81-51. Senior forward Cuthbert Victor tallied his 13th double-double of the season and 29th of his career with 22 points and 13 rebounds against TAMCC. He also matched a career-high with six blocked shots in the contest to lead the Racers’ school-record 13-block effort. The Racers’ all-time shot blocker, Victor has 156 career swats. Freshman forward Shawn Witherspoon went 12-of-17 for 70.6 percent in the two OVC contests, averaging 13.5 points and six rebounds a game off the bench. The Racers are 5-0 since the loss of starting junior point guard Adam Chiles. Chiles suffered a shoulder injury in a February 14 contest at Austin Peay and is sidelined indefinitely. Murray State leads the league with an 80.8 scoring average. The Racers are 157-8 over the last 10 years when scoring 80+ points. The Racers won a road contest at Tech in their only in-season meeting. Tennessee Tech dropped contests to Austin Peay, 88-64, and Morehead State, 90-86, to finish the regular-season on a four-game slide for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign. Junior forward Willie Jenkins, the league’s second-ranked scorer this season at 19.4 points per contest, is on pace to post the Golden Eagles’ best scoring average since 1955 when Kenny Sidwell averaged 21.3 points per game. Jenkins, a UMass transfer, has netted double-figures in 25 of 26 outings in his first year in the OVC. Senior guard Cameron Crisp went 6-of-6 from the free throw line at APSU, marking his 10th perfect outing this season. He has converted 57 of 71 foul attempts, 80.3 percent, thus far in 2003-04. Sophomore reserve Milone Clark tossed in 16 points versus Morehead State, hitting four three-pointers as part of a 6-of-10 field shooting effort. The Golden Eagles, who finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the OVC standings but lost the tiebreaker, are seeded seventh for the OVC Tournament. Tech lost the teams’ only in-season meeting with Murray in Cookeville. No. 6 Jacksonville State (14-13, 7-9) at No. 3 Morehead State (15-12, 10-6) Morehead State closed out regular-season action with back-to-back road wins over Eastern Kentucky, 80-71, and Tennessee Tech, 90-86. At 15-12, the Eagles have clinched a winning record for the third consecutive season. The last time Morehead State posted winning records in three straight campaigns was 1981-84. Senior guard/forward Ricky Minard fell short of a triple-double at Tech with 24 points, nine boards and eight assists. He shot 58.3 percent from the field for the week, averaging 24 points, eight rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while also going 18-of-24 from the foul line for 75 percent. According to all available records, Minard is the first player in school and OVC history to surpass 2,300 points (2,321), 700 rebounds (710), 400 assists (404) and 200 steals (235) for his career. Freshman guard Josh Reed has seen more action recently following senior forward Chez Marks’ season-ending injury. Reed averaged 10.5 points per game last week, including a career-high 13 at Tech. He went 7-of-14 from the field in the two contests, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Five Eagles scored in double figures at Tech. Starting point guard Quinton Smith missed the second half of the TTU contest after becoming ill during the game. The Eagles swept the Gamecocks in regular-season play. Jacksonville State posted wins over Samford, 71-51, and Tennessee State, 86-70, to claim the number six seed for the upcoming OVC Tournament. JSU finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the OVC standings, but came out in the middle of the tiebreaker. The victory against the Bulldogs marked the Gamecocks’ second consecutive 20-point win following an 80-59 decision versus Tennessee Tech the previous week. Sophomore guard Walker Russell recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists against TSU. He shot 55 percent from the field while averaging 16.5 points, 7.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the week. The Gamecocks finished the 2003-04 season with a 12-2 record in Pete Mathews Coliseum, the most home wins for the program at the Division I level. JSU canned 13 three-pointers against the Tigers, the seventh time this season JSU has registered 10+ treys in a game. The Gamecocks have made 54 treys over the last five outings. The Gamecocks will be looking for their first win against the Eagles in 2003-04 after losing both regular-season meetings. No. 5 Samford (12-15, 7-9) at No. 4 Eastern Kentucky (13-14, 8-8) Eastern Kentucky lost its final two regular-season games to Morehead State, 80-71, and Austin Peay, 81-64, but still finished in fourth with an 8-8 OVC mark, its first .500 or better effort since going 9-7 for a fourth-place finish in 1993-94. Sophomore guard Matt Witt averaged 19 points and 4.5 assist per game for the week. Freshman guard Brandon Moore made his second career start in the APSU contest. He played 27 minutes, collecting three rebounds and an assist before fouling out. Skipper Travis Ford is the first EKU coach to lead the Colonels to back-to-back OVC Tournament appearances since Mike Calhoun did it in 1994-95 and 1995-96. The Colonels’ run of 16 straight games in which they equaled or surpassed an opponent’s assist total ended at APSU, where EKU dished out just seven assists to the Governors’ 14. EKU’s 13 overall wins are the most since a 13-14 record during the 1995-96 campaign. Seeded fourth for OVC tourney action, the Colonels will be hosting a first-round game for the first time since the event moved to its current format in 1997. EKU swept both in-season meetings with the Bulldogs, including a double-overtime thriller on Jan. 24. Samford split its final two OVC regular-season contests, dropping a 71-51 decision to Jacksonville State before picking up an 86-70 triumph over Tennessee State. Senior forward Eddie Harper tossed in a career-high 27 points versus TSU on 9-of-12 shooting form the floor. He averaged 18 points each time out while converting 55 percent of his field attempts, including a 6-of-13 effort from three-point range. Freshman guard Jerry Smith contributed eight points, 6.5 rebounds and four assists per game. Samford shot 58 percent from the floor, including 52 percent from three-point range, and 81 percent at the foul stripe in the win over TSU. After finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings, the Bulldogs won the tiebreaker for the number five seed.

Ohio Valley Quarterfinals Recap

Ohio Valley Conference Quarterfinals Recap
		Recap by Jeff Smith No. 1 Austin Peay Governors 75, No. 8 Tennessee State Tigers 71 Austin Peay (20-8) won their 28th consecutive game at home and advanced to the semifinals, where they will face Eastern Kentucky on Friday with a 75-71 OVC first-round win over Tennessee State. Senior center Josh Lewis and junior guard Anthony Davis led the way for the host Governors with the duo scoring 17 points each in the victory. Junior forward Roshaun Bowens led Tennessee State (7-21) with 18 points while Bruce Price, senior guard Garrett Richardson and junior forward Jeremy Jackson had 13 points each. The teams traded the lead five times in the first half, with neither team able to take a lead of more than five points, before TSU went to the break up one at 39-38. A jump shot by Davis gave Austin Peay a 60-52 with 10:19 to play, but Tennessee State fought back and got within 68-67 with 4:51 left on a 3-point shot by Richardson. That was as close as the Tigers would get as Davis nailed a trey with 2:08 to play to give APSU a 74-69 lead, and the Governors held on for the win. The victory was the 300th in the career of Austin Peay coach Dave Loos. No. 2 Murray State Racers 92, No. 7 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 75 Six Murray State players reached double-figures, led by senior forward Chris Shumate’s 17, as the Racers beat Tennessee Tech 92-75 in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Tuesday night. Senior forward Antione Whelchel added 15 points and 9 rebounds for Murray (26-5), while senior forward Cuthbert Victor added 13, junior forward Kelvin Brown and senior center Andi Hornig had 12 each and senior guard Kevin Paschel chipped in with 10 points and six assists. Senior guard Cameron Crisp led the way for the Golden Eagles (13-15) topping all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field and an 8-of-13 performance from three-point range. Junior forward Willie Jenkins finished the night with 21 points for Tech, while senior guard Will Moore added 10 in the defeat. No. 3 Morehead State Eagles 82, No. 6 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 68 Senior forward Ricky Minard scored 36 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, and 16-of-22 from the line, to lead Morehead State (16-12) to an 82-68 win over Jacksonville State (14-14) in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Tuesday night. Junior forward Chad McKnight contributed 15 points, while junior guard Ramon Kelly tallied 13. Jacksonville State sophomore guard Walker D. Russell was 9-of-9 from the line and 11-of-18 from the field for 32 points and also had 10 assists, while senior forward Trent Eager chipped in 10 points to round out double-figure scoring. No. 4 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 81, No. 5 Samford Bulldogs 61 Senior forward Jon Bentley and sophomore guard Matt Witt scored 22 points each to lead Eastern Kentucky to an 81-61 victory over Samford Tuesday night in the first round of Ohio Valley Conference tournament. EKU senior guard Mike Scott added 15 points as the Colonels (14-14) advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1995, while Samford ended the season at 12-16. Bentley, who scored 10 points in the final seven minutes of the first half, was 9-of-11 from the field on the night, while Witt made four of his teams eight shots from 3-point range. Senior center Phillip Ramelli led the Bulldogs with 21 points, while senior guard Tyson Dorsey added 11.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Conference Notebook

by Jeff Smith

The regular season came to an end last weekend for the Ohio Valley Conference, and it was a season of firsts. Austin Peay (19-8, 16-0) became the first school to go undefeated in conference play since the 1960-70 season when Western Kentucky went 14-0. No team in the OVC had gone undefeated since the conference went to a 16-game format.

The 2003-04 season was the first in the OVC for newcomers Samford and Jacksonville State. In their first seasons, both squads finished in the top eight in conference play and qualified for the conference tournament.

This season was also the first for Murray State head coach Mick Cronin as a head coach at the Division I level. Cronin came to Murray after having served stints as an assistant coach at Cincinnati under Bob Huggins and most recently was the associate head coach to Rick Pitino at Louisville. In his very first season, Cronin guided the Racers to a 25-5 regular season record and a 14-2 mark and second place finish in the OVC.

News Around the League

Austin Peay, Murray State, Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky, Samford, Jacksonville State, Tennessee Tech, and Tennessee State are the top eight qualifiers, from first to eighth, who will compete for the OVC tournament title and the leagues automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. First round games will be held March 2 at the top four seeds’ home sites, with the semifinals and finals being held March 5 and 6 at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Murray State senior forward Cuthbert Victor was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ All-District Team. Victor, a 6-5 senior from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, was selected to the District 7 first-team along with Matt Frieje of Vanderbilt, Francisco Garcia of Louisville and Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels of Kentucky. NABC member coaches selected 150 student-athletes from 15 districts, and each player selected is eligible for the Division I All-American Team. With the selection, Victor becomes the 26th Racer to be named to the NABC All-District Team, and first first-team member since Isaac Spencer was selected first-team in 2000. Murray State has had more players selected to the All-District team than any other OVC school. Last season, former Racer James Singleton was a second-team District 7 selection. Seniors Ricky Minard of Morehead State and Adrian Henning of Austin Peay represent the OVC on the District 7 second-team, along with Scooter McFagdon of Tennessee, Antonio Burks of Memphis and Chuck Hayes of Kentucky.

Murray State University inducted former basketball standout Jeff Martin to its 101-member athletic Hall of Fame during halftime ceremonies of the Feb. 28 home contest with Eastern Illinois. The greatest scorer in the 79-year history of Racer basketball, the Cherry Valley, Ark., native scored a school-record 2,484 points. To this day, no Division I player in Kentucky has scored as many points as Martin.

The OVC continues to place teams and players among the nation’s best in several statistical categories. In team field-goal percentage, Murray State ranked seventh with 49.1 percent, Samford came in at eighth with 49.0 percent, while Morehead was 12th at 47.9 percent.

Murray State was ninth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 80.8 points per contest, was 15th in scoring margin, beating teams by an average of 12.0 points per game and ranked 13th in team winning percentage at 83.3 percent.

The OVC placed three teams among the nation’s elite in three pointers per game, with Samford leading the way at number four with 9.5 per game. Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech were tied for 25th with 8.0 treys per game. Samford also is ranked 17th in three-point percentage, averaging 39.4 percent from long range.

Austin Peay’s 58.7 points per game rounds out the OVC’s national statistical leaders, coming in at 10th best nationally.

Murray State senior Cuthbert Victor leads OVC national statistical leaders, coming in at number four nationally in rebounding with 10.6 boards per game.

The OVC places three individuals among the nation’s best in field-goal percentage, with Eastern Kentucky’s Jon Bentley leading the way at number six at 64.4 percent. Murray’s Cuthbert Victor is 10th at 61.1 percent, while Austin Peay’s Josh Lewis is 24th at 59.8 percent.

The OVC also places Morehead State senior Ricky Minard at number 15 nationally in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game. Jacksonville State’s Walker Russell is 11th in assists with 6.4 per game, while Peay’s Josh Lewis is averaging 2.6 blocks per contest, good for 20th best.

OVC Players of the Week

Sophomore Matt Witt was named OVC player of the Week after shooting an amazing 52.9 percent from the field and scoring 25 points in a road victory at Southeast Missouri State. In EKU’s next game, the six-foot point guard put up 23 points to secure another road win at Eastern Illinois.

Jacksonville State sophomore point guard Walker Russell earns his first OVC Newcomer of the Week honor after scoring 11 points and dishing out 13 assists in Jacksonville State’s 80-59 win versus Tennessee Tech. The double-double effort was Russell’s fourth of the season.

Tennessee State freshman guard Bruce Price was named OVC Rookie of the Week for the sixth time this season. Price averaged 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Tigers as they split a pair of OVC games. After pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds in a loss to Murray State, Price canned six treys and scored 31 points in a win versus Tennessee-Martin.

Team Reports:

Austin Peay Governors (19-8, 16-0):

Austin Peay traveled to Wichita State as part of ESPN’s bracket buster weekend and left on the short end, falling 62-47. Wichita dominated the glass, outrebounding Austin Peay 37-17. Free-throw shooting was the key stat of the contest, as Wichita hit 16-of-19, compared to 2-of-3 for the Governors.

Austin Peay completed its amazing unblemished run through the OVC winning a pair of conference home games against Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky. The Governors blew out the Tennessee Tech 88-64, after forcing Tech into 20 turnovers and blocking 7 Golden Eagle shots. Austin Peay placed four starters in double figures and shot 51.9 percent, defeating EKU 81-64 to complete the 16-game run through the OVC.

No. 1 seed Austin Peay will host No. 8 seed Tennessee State in the first round of the tournament March 2.

Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-21, 4-12):

Eastern Illinois lost its last three conference games to finish in 10th place in the OVC. This marks the first time since joining the OVC for the 1996-97 season that the Panthers have failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.

The Panthers defeated Morehead State at home Feb. 19, 76-59, before losing a home contest to Eastern Kentucky, 71-67. Eastern Illinois rounded out conference play on the road in disappointing fashion with two losses. Tennessee-Martin defeated the Panthers, 77-73, and Murray State ended Eastern Illinois’ season with an 81-51 victory.

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (13-14, 8-8):

Eastern Kentucky ended the regular season by dropping their final two games, losing to Morehead State by a score of 80-71 and their regular season finale at Austin Peay, 81-64.

With the two defeats, the Colonels finish as the No. 4 seed and in the last spot to host a first-round tournament game. No. 5 seed Samford will be the Colonels’ first-round opponent March 2.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (14-13, 7-9):

Jacksonville State finished up its first regular season as a member of the OVC with three straight home victories, defeating Tennessee Tech, Samford and Tennessee State by an average of 19 points.

The Gamecocks went from a tie for eighth to the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament and will travel to No. 3 seed Morehead State in the first round of the conference tournament.

Morehead State Eagles (15-12, 10-6):

Morehead State used a pair of road victories to end the season in the No. 3 spot heading into tournament play. The Eagles defeated Eastern Kentucky by a score of 80-71 and nipped Tennessee Tech, 90-86, to stay two games ahead of No. 4 seed Eastern Kentucky.

Morehead State faces No. 6 seed Jacksonville State in the OVC tournament first round March 2 at Morehead.

Murray State Racers (25-5, 14-2):

Murray State wrapped up the regular season with a non-conference defeat of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Feb. 23. The Racers 73-53 win avenged an earlier loss to the Islanders at Corpus Christi. The Racers wrapped up conference play at home with a pair of victories over Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois.

The Racers hold the No. 2 seed in the OVC and will host No. 7 seed Tennessee Tech March 2 in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Samford Bulldogs (12-15, 7-9):

Samford ended its first season of OVC play by winning two of the team’s last three to finish with the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs captured home wins over Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State, with a loss at Jacksonville State sandwiched between the two victories.

Samford travels to Richmond, Ky., to take on the No. 4 seeded Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the conference’s opening round March 2.

Southeast Missouri State Indians (11-16, 4-12):

Southeast Missouri State dropped three of its last four regular season conference games to finish in the last spot in the conference and out of contention for post-season play. This marks the first time since its eligibility for the conference tournament that the Indians have failed to qualify for the eight-team field.

The Indians split at home with Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State, then dropped road games at Murray State and Tennessee-Martin.

Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (11-18, 5-11):

Tennessee-Martin ended its season with home victories over Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri but ended out of the top eight and out of the conference tournament. The Skyhawks have participated in the last four conference tournaments.

Tennessee State Tigers (7-20, 6-10):

Tennessee State closed out the regular season with losses at Samford and Jacksonville State but managed to hold on to the eighth and final conference spot. The Tigers return to the tournament after missing the cut at the conclusion of last season.

The Tigers travels to Clarksville, Tenn., to take on the No. 1 seeded Governors of Austin Peay in the first round of the conference tournament March 2.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (13-14, 7-9):

Tennessee Tech dropped from the No. 4 seed, and hosting a first round tournament game, to the No. 7 seed with four straight conference losses. The Golden Eagles lost road games at Jacksonville State, Samford and Austin Peay, and a home contest against Morehead State.

The Golden Eagles travel to Murray, Ky., to take on the No. 2 seed Murray State Racers March 2 in the tournament’s first round.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Conference Notebook

by Jeff Smith

February 14 means hearts, love and
Valentines for most of the free world, but not so this past Saturday night
for 6,000 plus fans of the Austin Peay Governors or the Murray State Racers.
The two teams met for a regular season showdown at the Dave Aaron Arena in
Clarksville, Tenn., for all the marbles in the regular season OVC
championship.

Austin Peay entered the home contest sporting a 12-0 OVC
record and the fifth-longest home winning streak in the NCAA at 24 games.
The Racers came to town with an equally impressive 10-1 mark in conference
play, having their lone conference loss come at home against Samford Jan.
15.

The game featured the OVC’s top-rated offense – Murray State – against
the top-rated defense – Austin Peay – and in the end, Austin Peay held on
for a 63-56 victory to remain firmly in the driver’s seat for the top spot
in the OVC at 13-0 with three games left. If Austin Peay can go undefeated
over the final three contests, it would mark the first time an OVC team has
gone undefeated in conference play since the 1969-70 season when Western
Kentucky, now of the Sun Belt, went 14-0. Since going to a 16-game format,
three teams have managed a 15-1 conference mark with the most recent being
Tennessee Tech in 2001-02.

News Around the League

Senior forward Ricky
Minard of the Morehead State Eagles had his number retired during senior
night pre-game festivities prior to the beginning of the contest against
Samford. The award was presented by former Eagle player Herbie Stamper who
formally held the all-time scoring record, which Minard broke earlier this
season.

Austin Peay, Murray State, and Morehead State have each qualified
for the OVC tournament, which features the conference’s best eight teams.
Austin Peay is guaranteed one of the top four seeds, which means the
Governors will host an opening round game on March 2. The semifinals and
finals will be held March 5 and 6 at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville,
Tenn.

Several OVC players hold high spots in national NCAA statistical
categories. Murray State senior forward Cuthbert Victor is ranked fourth
nationally with 10.8 rebounds per outing.

Victor is one of three OVC
players ranked among the Top 30 in the NCAA in field goal shooting
percentage. Eastern Kentucky’s Jon Bentley is fourth (64.7 percent),
followed by Victor (63.5 percent) in fifth and Southeast Missouri State’s
Brandon Griffin in 29th (57.3 percent). Samford’s Tyson Dorsey is third in
three-point field-goal percentage (48.3 percent).

Two OVC players rank
among the nation’s Top 40 scorers, led by Tennessee Tech’s Willie Jenkins
coming in at 19th with 20.9 points per contest, followed by Morehead State’s
Ricky Minard at 26th with 20.3 points per game.

Tennessee State’s Garrett
Richardson is 11th in steals with 2.8 per game, while Jacksonville State’s
Walker Russell is 16th in assists averaging 6.2 per outing. Austin Peay ‘s
Josh Lewis is 21st in the country with 2.4 blocks per game.

OVC Players of the Week

Senior forward Jon Bentley of Eastern
Kentucky was named OVC Player of the Week after averaging 70 percent from
the field on 21-of-30 shooting to lead EKU to a 3-0 record for the
week.

Newcomer of the Week honors went to junior forward Willie Jenkins of
Tennessee Tech who averaged 20 points and 9.5 rebounds in a loss to Murray
State and a win over Tennessee-Martin.

Tennessee State freshman guard
Bruce Price was the pick for Rookie of the Week honors after averaging 19
points per game as the Tigers went 2-1 in conference play for the week.
Price shot 53.3 percent, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out 11 assists
over the three games.

Game of the Week

This week’s game of the week
features the Austin Peay Governors at the Samford Bulldogs. Austin Peay
hopes to continue their run toward a perfect season in the OVC when they
travel to Birmingham, Ala., sporting a 13-0 conference mark.

The game
features the conference’s best defense in Austin Peay against the third-best
shooting team in the nation in Samford. Samford, under the tutelage of head
coach Jimmy Tillette, runs the fabled Princeton offense, which consists of
constant motion and picks. The game likely will total less than 100 points
combined as both teams play a deliberate, grind-it-out offensive style.
Samford will have to shoot lights out from three to have any chance at
winning the game, as Austin Peay proved it could handle the slashing
backdoor cuts so common in the Princeton scheme earlier this season. In the
first outing, Peay handled Samford 61-56 at home.

Team Reports:

Austin Peay Governors (16-7 overall, 13-0 OVC):

League-leading Austin Peay became
the first team to clinch a home game for the first round of the 2004 OVC
tournament with wins over Tennessee-Martin, 79-55, and Murray State, 63-56).
Senior forward Adrian Henning recorded his fourth double-double of the
season with 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Racers. Junior guard
Anthony Davis dished out five assists in the Tennessee-Martin contest as the
Governors tallied a season-high 20 assists. Senior guard Rhet Wierzba scored
in double figures for just the second and third time in OVC action this
season with 11 points versus Tennessee-Martin and 10 against Murray State.

Austin Peay was nearly automatic at the free-throw line, converting
36-of-42 attempts (85.7 percent) in the two contests. The Governors’ 13-game
win streak matches the longest in the program’s Division I history, while
their 25-game home win streak is the fifth-longest active stretch in the
NCAA. Austin Peay has won 16 consecutive OVC regular-season contests and 19
straight over conference opposition, including OVC tournament play, dating
back to last season.

The Govs close out the road portion of their OVC
schedule at Samford, then visit Wichita State Feb. 21 for a non-conference
meeting with the Shockers as part of ESPN’s Bracket Buster Series.

Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-17 overall, 3-9 OVC):

Eastern Illinois split a pair
of OVC road games last week, claiming an 89-85 victory at Southeast Missouri
State before dropping a 75-68 decision at Tennessee State. Senior center
Jesse Mackinson made his first 10 field goals en route to a career-high 29
points against Southeast Missouri State. He also had 19 points at Tennessee
State, finishing the week 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the floor and 14-of-16
(87.5 percent) from the foul line.

Junior guard Derik Hollyfield had a
solid all-around effort at Southeast, collecting 13 points, seven rebounds
and five assists. Sophomore guard Josh Gomes added 17 points at Tennessee
State. The Panthers shot a season-high 69.6 percent (32-of-46) from the
field at Southeast Missouri State, including a blistering 79.2 percent
(19-of-24) in the first half, to snap a 12-game road losing streak. The
Panthers went just 4-of-19 (21 percent) from three-point range in the loss
to the Tigers. Tied for ninth in the league standings, Eastern Illinois
wraps up the home portion of its regular-season slate with a three-game
stand. The Panthers step out of league play for a date with Florida Gulf
Coast, then entertain OVC foes Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (11-12 overall, 6-6 OVC):

Eastern Kentucky extended its
home win streak to four games, defeating Tennessee State 68-65, Samford
63-43 and Jacksonville State 82-75. Senior forward Jon Bentley turned in his
second double double in three games with 10 points and 10 rebounds against
Samford. For the week, he averaged 16.7 points per game and seven rebounds
per game while shooting 70 percent from the floor (21-of-30). Through games
as of Feb. 9, Bentley ranked fourth in the nation with a 64.7 percent field
goal shooting percentage.

Sophomore point guard Matt Witt converted 3-of-6
trey attempts against Tennessee State, including the game winner with six
seconds left on the clock. He nailed a career-high six three pointers versus
the Bulldogs and finished the week 8-of-15 from behind the arc. Witt moved
into Eastern Kentucky’s career Top 10 for both three-pointers made (106) and
attempted (280). Bentley is seven points shy of scoring 1,000 for his
career, while junior forward Michael Haney sits eight rebounds away from
becoming the 24th Colonel player with 500 career boards. The Colonels shot a
season-high 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from behind the arc against the Bulldogs.
Eastern Kentucky’s three-game win streak ties its longest of the season.

The fifth-place Colonels visit Southeast Missouri State and Eastern
Illinois.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (11-13 overall, 4-9 OVC):

Jacksonville State sits in eighth place after going 0-4 on its recent
four-game road stretch, which ended with losses to Morehead State, 81-73,
and Eastern Kentucky, 82-75. The Gamecocks are 2-11 away from home in
2003-04.

Senior forward Trent Eager did all of his scoring in the second
half of both contests, finishing with 19 points versus Morehead and 21
against Eastern Kentucky. He also hauled in 15 rebounds for the week,
including 10 on the offensive glass.

Junior forward Walker Russell dished
out nine assists in the two games. He leads the conference and ranks 16th
nationally with six assists each time out. Five Gamecocks are scoring in
double figures, with three of them also averaging at least five rebounds per
game. Junior forward Carl Brown sat out both games with an ankle injury.

Jacksonville State plays its last three regular-season games at home,
starting with Tennessee Tech.

Morehead State Eagles (13-10 overall, 8-4
OVC):

Morehead State defeated Jacksonville State 81-73 and Samford 65-52
to post a 4-0 mark during its final regular-season homestand. Senior
forward/guard Ricky Minard, who had his jersey retired as part of senior
night festivities Saturday, averaged 24 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5
assists per game in the two victories. He has registered double doubles in
three of the last four games. With at least five games remaining this
season, Minard has a good chance to finish his career ranked as high as
fourth place on the OVC’s all-time scoring chart. He is currently in eighth
place with 2,225 points.

Junior center Chad McKnight recorded a double-dip
of 14 points and 10 boards versus Jacksonville State. He followed that with
13 points and seven caroms against Samford. Sophomore guard Quinton Smith
went 4-of-6 from three-point range as part of a 7-of-13 shooting effort in
the two contests. He averaged 11 points and four assists during the same
stretch.

Senior guard Chez Marks suffered a reirritation of the meniscus
in his left knee during the Samford contest and will miss the remainder of
the season. Marks, who was averaging 17 points per contest this year, ends
his career ranked 18th on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,187). The
third-place Eagles play their last four OVC games on the road, starting with
trips to Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri State.

Murray State Racers
(20-5 overall, 10-2 OVC):

Murray State split its OVC road contests last
week, defeating Tennessee Tech 90-78, before dropping a 63-56 decision at
Austin Peay.

Senior forward Antione Whelchel went 7-of-10 at the
free-throw line as he collected his third double double of the season with
16 points and 12 rebounds at Tennessee Tech. He is averaging 14 points per
outing and 7.8 rebounds per game over the last five contests. Junior forward
Kelvin Brown and senior guard Chris Shumate each had 18 points in the
Tennessee Tech contest. Brown went 8-of-10 from the field and added five
assists, while Shumate canned four treys and also collected seven boards and
four assists.

Junior point guard Adam Chiles suffered a shoulder injury
scrambling for a loose ball at Austin Peay and will not play this week.

With the win at Tech, the Racers reached the 20-win plateau for the 21st
time in school history and first since 1999-00. The loss at Austin Peay
ended Murray State’s eight-game OVC win streak. Second-place Murray State
plays its final regular-season road game at Tennessee-Martin then returns
home to begin a four-game stand with Tennessee State.

Samford Bulldogs
(10-13 overall, 5-7 OVC):

Samford has lost four in a row for the first
time this season following road setbacks at Eastern Kentucky, 63-43, and
Morehead State, 65-52. Senior guard Eddie Harper was the only Bulldog to
average double figures in the two contests after dropping in 19 against the
Eagles.

Head coach Jimmy Tillette shook up his starting lineup for
Saturday’s meeting with Morehead State as reserves Sebastian Sachse, Josh
Hare and Randall Gulina made their first starts of the season. Senior guard
Tyson Dorsey saw his streak of 22 consecutive starts end, while senior
center Phillip Ramelli came off the bench for the first time in three years.
Prior to Saturday, he had started all 78 of the games in which he played,
missing two other contests due to injury.

The Bulldogs have shot under 40
percent from the field only four times this season after going 14-of-40 at
EKU (season-low 35 percent) and 21-of-55 (38.2 percent) at Morehead State.
Samford, which entered the week ranked third in the NCAA in field goal
percentage, saw its average slip from 50.8 to 49.5 percent. The Bulldogs
were just 12-of-50 (24 percent) from three-point range last week, well under
their league-leading season average of 39 percent.

Tied for sixth, Samford
returns home for a pair of meetings with Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech, the
latter of which will be regionally televised on Fox Sports Net South Feb. 21
at 2 p.m. central time. Mike Hogewood will provide play-by-play, while Tom
Apke will provide color analysis.

Southeast Missouri Indians (10-13
overall, 3-9 OVC):

Southeast Missouri State’s bad luck in close OVC
contests continued last week as the Indians dropped a pair of four-point
decisions against Eastern Illinois, 89-85, and Tennessee State, 90-86. Seven
of Southeast State’s nine OVC losses this season have been by six points or
less.

Junior forward Dainmon Gonner hauled in a career-high 12 rebounds on
the way to his second double double of the season during the Tennessee State
contest. He is averaging 20.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest over the
last four outings. All nine of junior guard Mike Nelke’s field goals last
week came from behind the arc as he averaged 15 points per game.

Senior
center Brandon Griffin suffered a severely sprained ankle at Tennessee State
and is not expected to play this week. Griffin went 7-of-10 from the field
and hit all four of his free-throw attempts for 18 points and nine boards
against Eastern Illinois.

Senior guard Damarcus Hence is listed as
probable despite a sore knee that kept him out of most of the second half of
the Tennessee State contest. Hence had 14 points and six rebounds in 12
minutes of play before being sidelined.

Tied for ninth in the OVC
standings, the Indians plays their final two home games of the regular
season against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.

Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (8-16 overall, 3-9 OVC):

Tennessee-Martin is on
a four-game slide after ending its recent road stretch with losses at Austin
Peay, 72-64, and Tennessee Tech, 64-61.

Sophomore guard/forward Jared
Newson tossed in 20 points at Austin Peay and registered his third double
double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds at Tennessee Tech. A 69
percent free-throw shooter, Newson went 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the
charity stripe in the two contests, including 13-of-15 versus
Tech.

Sophomore guard Cleve Woodfork went 7-of-9 from the field against the
Govs, finishing with 14 points and seven boards off the bench. Fifth-year
head coach Bret Campbell has yet to defeat Tech as the Skyhawks have lost 14
straight to the Golden Eagles, including OVC tournament meetings.

Tied for
ninth in the OVC standings, Tennessee-Martin closes out the regular season
with a four-game homestand, starting with Murray State and Tennessee
State.

Tennessee State Tigers (6-17 overall, 5-7 OVC):

Tennessee State
played a trio of close OVC outings last week, coming out on the winning end
of two of them. The Tigers opened the week with a 68-65 heartbreaking loss
at Eastern Kentucky before closing out the home portion of their
regular-season schedule with wins over Eastern Illinois, 78-75, and
Southeast Missouri State, 90-86.

Junior forward Roshaun Bowens scored 28
points against the Indians. Thirty-two of his 46 points in the two victories
were second-half tallies. For the week, he shot 51.1 percent from the field
while averaging 18.7 points, eight rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Freshman guard Bruce Price converted 8-of-15 three pointers and 21-of-29
free throws over the three games, finishing the week with 19 points per
game.

Junior forward/guard Jeremy Jackson dropped in a career-high 23
points versus Eastern Illinois, including 16 in the second half. All 26 of
senior reserve Brandon Lockridge’s field goals this season have come from
behind the arc. He currently ranks eighth on the school’s list for career
treys with 78.

The Tigers shot a blistering 72.7 percent from the field in
the second half of the Southeast Missouri State contest. Tennessee State,
which ranks seventh in the league in free throw shooting (67.6 percent),
converted 22-of-25 (88 percent) foul shots against the Indians.

Tied for
sixth in the league standings, the Tigers end the regular-season with four
straight road games, beginning with trips to Murray State and UT
Martin.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (13-10 overall, 7-5 OVC):

Tennessee
Tech sits in fourth place after splitting a pair of OVC tilts at home,
dropping a 90-78 decision to Murray State but bouncing back for a 64-61 win
over Tennessee-Martin.

Junior forward Willie Jenkins netted his seventh
double double of the season against Tennessee-Martin, scoring 13 points and
tying a career-high with 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Milone Clark canned
four treys as he matched a career-best with 23 points versus
Tennessee-Martin.

Senior guard Cameron Crisp drained four long balls as
part of a 16-point effort against the Racers, while sophomore reserve Keyon
Boyd also had four treys, finishing with 14 points and six assists.

Tennessee Tech is 11-3 at home in 2003-04 and 53-4 in the Eblen Center
during the last four years. The Golden Eagles visit Jacksonville State and
Samford as they embark on their final road stretch of the regular season.