Busting Brackets
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OVC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Logan Butts

DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 19: The Belmont Bruins bench reacts during the second half against the Temple Owls in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 19, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 19: The Belmont Bruins bench reacts during the second half against the Temple Owls in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 19, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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SYRACUSE, NY – NOVEMBER 10: De’Von Cooper #1 of the Morehead State Eagles shoots the ball during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 10, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY – NOVEMBER 10: De’Von Cooper #1 of the Morehead State Eagles shoots the ball during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 10, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

No. 8 – Morehead State

2018-19 Record: 13-20 (8-10 in ASUN play)

Key Returnee: Jordan Walker

Exciting Non-Conference Matchups: at Missouri, at Butler, at Illinois State, Marshall

Senior Jordan Walker will be relied upon heavily to keep the Eagles out of the bottom quadrant as many of his key sidekicks from last season went out the door. Walker, a three-point sniper, could use some help from Northern Illinois transfer Justin Thomas as well as holdover De’Veon Cooper.

No. 7 – Eastern Illinois

2018-19 Record: 7-11 (14-18)

Key Returnee: Josiah Wallace

Exciting Non-Conference Matchups: at Texas Tech, at Wisconsin, at Purdue- Fort Wayne, Green Bay, at Grand Canyon

Josiah Wallace and Mack Smith make for one of the most potent scoring duos in the league, and Wallace is one of the best individual players in the conference. With Shareef Smith setting them up to score, perimeter play isn’t the problem, post play is.

No. 6 – Eastern Kentucky

2018-19 Record: 13-18 (6-12)

Key Returnee: Jomaru Brown

Exciting Non-Conference Matchups: at Kentucky, Western Kentucky, at Louisville, at Marshall

It’s going to be tough to replace star Nick Mayo’s production. The EKU star put up 23.7 points and 8.7 rebounds with pretty efficient shooting numbers last season. Sophomore Brown and NC State transfer Darius Hicks will be leaned upon to pick up the slack.

No. 5 – UT Martin

2018-19 Record: 12-19 (6-12)

Key Returnee: Quintin Dove

Exciting Non-Conference Matchups: ETSU, at Wichita State, at Northern Iowa, Gardner-Webb, Baylor

If anyone is going to break into the OVC’s top four, it will be the Skyhawks. They have two legit good players in Craig Randall II (last season’s leading scorer) and Quintin Dove (a little bit better all around than Randall). However, they lost their other three regular starters from last year.