Eastern’s men’s basketball season is over, but the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference is preparing for the most important part of their schedule, the conference tournament. 

The winner of which will receive an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The only team that is a sure thing to make the tournament is Murray State. Ranked No. 12 in the nation with a 28-1 record, the Racers are the OVC’s first sure thing in a long time. 

Murray State is 30^th in the nation in RPI despite having 200 teams boasting a harder schedule. This is due largely to the fact that the OVC is one of the weaker conferences in the nation. The Racers are also 2-0 against top 25 teams this season. They beat, at the time, No. 20 Memphis and No. 16 Saint Mary’s.

If the Racers would be eliminated from the conference tournament, they would be certain to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid, giving the OVC two teams in the field of 68. 

The OVC Tournament starts Wednesday with two games. No. 5 seed Southeast Missouri State against No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky, and No. 6 Austin Peay against No. 7 Jacksonville State. 

Austin Peay was picked as the pre-season favorite to win the conference, but a 0-9 start to the season hampered expectations. With a record of 8-8 the Governors still have the pieces that once made them the favorite to win the championship. 

The winner of the SEMO, Eastern Kentucky game will go on to play Tennessee Tech who earned a first round bye and the NO. 4 seed in the tournament. The Golden Eagles posted a 9-7 record in OVC play; however, they lost three of their last four conference games before entering the tournament. 

The winner of the Austin Peay, Jacksonville State game will play Morehead State. Morehead State grabbed the No. 3 seed in this year’s tournament and a first round bye. Last season the Eagles won the conference tournament and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA’s. They lost a few key seniors off that team and also lost their best scorer in guard Terrance Hill to injury this season. Despite the injuries, Morehead Still posted a 10-6 record in conference play, making it one of the more dangerous teams in the tournament. 

Whoever wins the Tennessee Tech game will go on to face Murray State, who earned a two round bye.

Whoever wins the Morehead State game will play Tennessee State. The Tigers are the only team that beat Murray State this season, and they finished the season with an 11-5 record in the OVC and also earned a two-round bye and the No. 2 seed.

The championship game will then be decided on Saturday, live on ESPN 2, and the winner will advance to the NCAA Tournament. 

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