For the second consecutive season, the Eastern’s men’s basketball team has endured an eight-game losing streak in the middle of its Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

Last season, the streak started on Jan. 22 with a one-point loss to Tennessee-Martin and lasted until Feb. 19, with a non-conference win over Toledo. However, the Panthers would continue their cold-streak and lose their last two conference games and miss the tournament.

This season, the streak started on Jan. 14 with a seven-point loss to Southeast Missouri State and is still in progress.

The next game for the Panthers is against a tough opponent in Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles have the OVC’s second best scoring offense, thanks in large part to the best scorer in the league, Kevin Murphy.

Eastern does play UT Martin, who is 0-13 in the conference this far with one of those losses coming against Eastern; however, every remaining opponent the Panthers play has at least five wins in the OVC, with the exception of the University of Illinois at Chicago, which is a non-conference game.

With just six games left on the schedule and a 2-9 record in OVC, the Panthers will need to turn things around if they hope to avoid a second consecutive absence from the conference tournament.

Senior guard and team captain Jeremy Granger said the team never counts themselves out of anything.

“You never say ‘OK, we can’t make it,'” Granger said.

Around the OVC

After a surprisingly close 65-58 win against the University of Tennessee at Martin, Murray State jumps to number No. 7 in the nation. It is the last unbeaten team in NCAA Division I basketball.

The Racers have posted an unblemished 23-0 record and are 11-0 in conference play. Their offensive attack has now cracked the top 40 in the nation with 75.2 points per game.

With the loss, UT Martin falls to 3-22 overall and 0-12 in the OVC.

Murray State’s guard Isaiah Canaan has also been nominated for the 2012 Oscar Robertson Award with 19 other Division I basketball players. The list is highlighted by North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and Kentucky’s Anthony Davis. Canaan is averaging 18.9 points per game, which is second in the OVC and ranks in the top 30 in the nation.

In other Ohio Valley news, Tennessee Tech beat Jacksonville State 76-68 on the road.

Jud Dillard led Tennessee Tech with his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. The Golden Eagles improve to 8-4 in the OVC with the win and 16-9 overall, while Jacksonville State falls to 10-16 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or rdmortell@eiu.edu.