Ohio Valley

The Ohio Valley journeys to Evansville, Indiana to begin its conference tournament this Wednesday. Often a fun tournament, Belmont and Murray State are two teams capable of winning a game or two during the Big Dance but neither is a lock to get out of the OVC.

Belmont and Murray State finished 16-2 in league play with Belmont winning their only matchup. Belmont is 51st in KenPom and Murray State is 54th. Murray State has likely lottery pick in G Ja Morant. 

The other two teams to keep an eye on are Jacksonville State and Austin Peay. Jacksonville State went 3-0 against Belmont and Murray State but lost their only game against Austin Peay. Jacksonville State is 115th in KenPom and Austin Peay is 137th. Either winning wouldn’t be a big surprise.

The top 3 teams enter the tournament on a roll. Belmont has won 13 straight. Murray State has won 9 in a row and Jacksonville State has won 7 in a row. It’d be nice to get the top 4 teams to the semifinals. Those would be some pretty good games.

The Pick: Belmont - Really, any of the top 4 winning wouldn’t surprise me but Belmont is the best of the lot. This could be a really fun tournament