Ohio Valley Conference Preview

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE (ranked 22nd by kenpom)

March 2-5

Hosted by: Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sponsored by: Don’t see one. But, this tournament comes with a subtitle. Go to the official website and you’ll see this isn’t just the OVC tournament. No, this is: “Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship: Music City Madness.” I’m pumped.

Tickets: I can’t find ticket prices. However, you can volunteer to work the tournament. This requires registering with the Nashville Sports Council, something that isn’t on my list of things to do.

The Bracket:

If you thought that the Big East was the only tournament that used a double bye format, you were wrong. The OVC does the same thing. Surely, the OVC has an exorbitant amount of teams like the Big East does, right? Well, no. They have 8. Yet, they still decided to have their tournament decided as a double bye. Ok………………. Lemme see if I can explain this.

Wednesday March 2: #5 Tennessee State v #8 UT-Martin (1)

#6 Eastern Kentucky v #7 Southeast Missouri (2)

Thursday March 3: #4 Tennessee Tech v Winner of (1) - This is (3)

#3 Austin Peay v Winner of (2) - This is (4)

Friday March 4: #1 Murray State v Winner of (3)

#2 Morehead State v Winnder of (4)

Saturday March 5: Finals (ESPN2)

The favorite: There are three quality teams in the OVC, and they are the top 3 seeds. Since Murray and Morehead are already in the final four, and Murray gets to play one of the weaker teams to make the finals, I’ll go with them. Austin Peay and Morehead should put up a fight though.

Trivia: This conference has a history of pulling considerable upsets in March Madness. Last year, Murray State beat #4 Vanderbilt. The Racers almost upset #3 UNC in 2006. In 1990, Murray State became the only #16 seed to force overtime against a #1, (Michigan State.) The Racers lost by four, and MSU lost to #4 Georgia Tech in the Sweet 16.

The most notable upset took place in 1987 though. #3 Illinois played #14 Austin Peay. Commentator Dick Vitale promised that if Illinois lost, he would stand on his head. AP won 68-67, and Vitale tried to stand on his head or something.

The whole website has dedicated itself to country music. MCA recording artist Mallary Hope will sing the Anthem before the Semifinals, and Columbia Nashville recording artist Joanna Smith will sing before the final. Also, “The Music City Mingle” is taking place at the Doubletree hotel, less than two blocks from the stadium. Seems like a good time.