NCAA Basketball: Unlikeliest Conference Tournament runs of the Decade

8. Austin Peay (2016 OVC, 8-seed) (14-17, 7-9)

For much of the decade, the Ohio Valley Conference has belonged to either Belmont or Murray State, but the 2016 OVC Tournament had a very unexpected result. Austin Peay, the 8-seed, was not expected to win their first round game, let alone take care of business for four straight days. The OVC Tournament only took the top eight schools and this was Austin Peay’s first appearance in four seasons. This team had started the season with blowout losses and failed to get on any kind of winning streak during the year.

They found themselves facing off with 5-seed Tennessee Tech to start the OVC Tournament. They were definitely the underdogs, but Chris Horton made sure the Governors weren’t going home after just one game. Horton scored a career-high 37 points and added a career-high 21 points. Austin Peay led by 12 at the half and kept pulling away, winning by an incredible 20 points. They shot 54% and flustered the Golden Eagles, scoring them the chance to live another day.

Anything they did against Tennessee Tech would be overshadowed by their efforts against 4-seed Tennessee State. The first 16 minutes of the game went back and forth until the Tigers went on a run. Their halftime lead was 38-27 and they built a 19-point lead in the second half. But these Governors fought and fought, clawing their way back into the game. A 3-pointer by John Murry in the final minute finally gave Austin Peay the lead and they hit their free throws late, securing the victory.

For their third game in third days, the Governors faced off with top-seeded Belmont, who had received the double bye and hadn’t played in nearly a week. In their toughest challenge, Austin Peay did not back down, even as the Bruins built a double-digit lead in the second half. They made shot after shot in a game where both teams shot over 50%. Forty minutes didn’t suffice, and Austin Peay pulled out an impressive overtime victory, sending Belmont to the NIT. Horton (30 points, 16 rebounds) led the way again and the Governors were heading to the OVC title game.

They had traveled to Nashville and already beaten three teams from Tennessee, and 2-seed UT-Martin was the last stepping stone for the Governors to complete their run. This time, they didn’t need a heroic comeback or a late charge. They built a steady lead with hot shooting and pulled away in the second half. The Governors were up by as many as 19 points en route to an 83-73 victory. They shot 51% from the 3 and got 24 points from sharpshooter Jared Savage.

Austin Peay was going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years. They were beaten badly by #1 Kansas in the first round, but that didn’t take anything away from their impressive run. They could have folded against Tennessee State or Belmont, but they never backed down. They won four games in four days and got a great effort from the entire team to do it.