Busting Brackets
Fansided

OVC Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview, postseason outlook

By Brock Zimmermann

Belmont's Adam Kunkel (5) puts the Belmont Bruins sticker on the big-ticket after beating the Murray State Racers in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game at Ford Center Saturday evening, March 7, 2020.Ovc Championship 12
Belmont's Adam Kunkel (5) puts the Belmont Bruins sticker on the big-ticket after beating the Murray State Racers in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game at Ford Center Saturday evening, March 7, 2020.Ovc Championship 12 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Murray State’s KJ Williams OVC Basketball Ovc Championship 01
Murray State’s KJ Williams OVC Basketball Ovc Championship 01 /

8. SIU-Edwardsville: 9-16 (7-12)

The only sub-10 win team to make the conference tournament. COVID-19 has been as hard on the Cougars as anyone this year, with the team going a full month at one point in between games. As we know in a pretty wild year anything can happen but the fatigue from delays and rescheduling just does not bode well for SIUE against Belmont.

Outlook: Blowout first-round loss

7. Southeast Missouri:11-15 (9-11)

A nice improvement from finishing last in the league last year, SEMO has been competitive all year (including five OT games) but struggled to close out games late. Only three of their wins came against teams above .500 so an upset against a top-2 seed is unlikely.

Outlook: Double-digit loss in the opening round

6. Austin Peay: 14-12 (10-10)

Led by the league’s highest scorer in Terry Taylor, the Governors have put together a fairly disappointing season. Picked as pre-season co-favorites, the team ranks in the middle of the road in just about every category and has been up and down throughout the year. A total of 13 games have been decided by just six points or less, so anything but a competitive close game would be surprising.

Outlook: Halftime lead but a single-digit loss to EKU in the first- round

5. Murray State: 13-12 (10-10)

A few years removed from Ja Morant, the Racers took a fairly big step back this year after finishing as regular-season co-champions and making the conference tournament final. KJ Williams and Tevin Brown have led the way offensively and both have the ability to take over, but the team’s inconsistency throughout the year doesn’t set up for a deep conference run.

Outlook: First-round loss to JSU

4. Jacksonville State: 17-8 (13-6)

Led by three upperclassmen who each excel in their own area of the game, the Gamecocks quietly put together a strong season in the OVC. Outside of a blowout loss to Alabama (which looks great now), all six conference losses came against the top-tier teams, four by four points or less. They’re a dark horse to steal a bid but haven’t been able to prove it throughout the season.

Outlook: Comfortable first-round win and single-digit loss to Belmont