Ohio Valley Conference tournament preview: Teams to watch and March Madness implications

After one of the most hotly contested regular seasons in recent Ohio Valley Conference recent history, the OVC Championships promise to be an all out war in Evansville, Indiana. Two teams tied for the regular season championship and one other finished one game back. 

The OVC’s unique bracketing gives the top two teams a double-bye into the tournament’s semifinal round. Teams with the three and four ranking enjoy byes into the quarterfinals. 

Tennessee State (21-9, 15-5) and Morehead State (19-12, 15-5) tied for the regular season title, and TSU earned the top seed by virtue of their two-game sweep of fourth place UT Martin. 

Third place Southeast Missouri (19-12, 14-6) won the regular season title last season and the surprising UT Martin Skyhawks (21-10, 13-7), the league’s top defensive team finished fourth. 

Defending tournament champion Southern Illinois Edwardsville (19-12, 12-8) and Lindenwood (17-14, 11-9) spent time near the top of the league standings, but struggled near the end of the season. 

Complete OVC Seedings

1. Tennessee State 15-5 (21-9)

2. Morehead State 15-5 (19-12)

3. Southeast Missouri 14-6 (19-12)

4. Tennessee Martin 13-7 (21-10)

5. SIUE 12-8 (19-12)

6. Lindenwood 11-9 (17-14)

7. Little Rock 8-12 (12-19)

8. Eastern Illinois 8-12 (12-19)

Opening Round - Wednesday March 4, 2026

Game 1 - # 5 SIUE vs. # 8 Eastern Illinois - 6 pm - ESPN+

Game 2 - # 6 Lindenwood vs. # 7 Little Rock - 8:30 pm - ESPN+

Quarterfinals - Thursday - March 5, 2026

Game 3 - # 4 UT Martin vs. winner of Game 1 - 6:00 pm - ESPN+

Game 4 - # 3 Southeast Missouri vs. winner of Game 2 - 8:30 pm - ESPN+

Semifinals - Friday - March 6, 2026

Game 5 - # 1 Tennessee State vs. winner of Game 3 - 7:00 pm - ESPNU

Game 6 - # 2 Morehead State vs. winner of Game 4 - 9:30 pm - ESPNU

Championship Game - Saturday - March 7, 2026

Game 7 - winners of games 5 and 6 - 8:00 pm - ESPN2