Predictions
First Round
No. 5 Southern Illinois Edwardsville over No. 8 Eastern Illinois
No. 6 Lindenwood over No. 7 Little Rock
Quarterfinals
No. 5 Southern Illinois Edwardsville over No. 4 UT Martin
No. 3 Southeast Missouri over No. 6 Lindenwood
Semifinals
No. 1 Tennessee State over No. 5 Southern Illinois Edwardsville
No. 3 Southeast Missouri over No. 2 Morehead State
Finals
During our preseason power rankings we picked Tennessee State to win the regular season title. Now they are on the brink of an NCAA Tournament berth. SEMO is a veteran team that won last season’s regular season title and the Redhawks captured the OVC Tournament title three seasons ago. Brad Korn ‘s team knows how to perform in March.
We would pick SEMO in the upset if it didn't have to play three games in three days to cut down the nets. The fatigue factor pushes us to predict Tennessee State’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994.
The two teams split their regular season games with each team winning on the road. Each game was decided by nine or fewer points. TSU’s Antoine Lorick III could be the key to this game. Lorick scored 19 and 20 points during the teams’ two encounters.
This may be the most wide-open of any conference tournament this season. We believe there are actually five or six teams that could capture the OVC crown.