In the Ohio Valley Conference, one team has received all the attention this year. The Murray State Racers enter the conference tournament with a 26-4 record, winners of 24 consecutive games and ranked in both the AP and USA Today/Coaches polls.
Ohio Valley Conference Tournament 2015: Bracket, schedule and scores
Murray State is the favorite, but the OVC has several challengers waiting for the chance to knock them off.
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That makes the Racers the overwhelming favorites as the league’s top eight teams battle in Nashville, but it doesn’t mean you can pencil them in as champions yet. Murray State was tested throughout conference play, needing overtime to beat No. 2 seed Eastern Kentucky and sweeping No. 4 seed Tennessee-Martin by a combined nine points.
Sophomore Cameron Payne made a name for himself this year, leading the Racers with over 20 points per game, including 31 in the team's regular season finale at Tennessee-Martin. He was named conference Player of the Year earlier in the week. Double-double machine Jarvis Williams was the team's second-leading scorer and also led the team on the glass with 8.3 rebounds per game.
The format
The eight-team OVC Tournament is set up to favor the top seeds. The top two teams in the league get double byes, with the 3 and 4 seeds getting single byes. That leaves teams 5-8 to battle it out in the first round, needing to win four games of increasing difficulty to win the tournament. The worst four teams in the conference do not qualify for the postseason.
The teams
1. Murray State
2. Eastern Kentucky
3. Belmont
4. Tennessee-Martin
5. Morehead State
6. Eastern Illinois
7. SIU-Edwardsville
8. Southeast Missouri
Bracket
You can see the full bracket here.
Schedule and Results (all times Eastern)
Wednesday, March 4 (First Round)
Game 1: No. 5 Morehead State 79 No. 8 Southeast Missouri 74
Game 2: No. 6 Eastern Illinois 78 No. 7 SIU-Edwardsville 66
Thursday, March 5 (Second Round)
Game 3: No. 5 Morehead State 76, No. 4 Tennessee-Martin 65
Game 4: No. 3 Belmont 97, No. 6 Eastern Illinois 64
Friday, March 6 (Semifinals)
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State 80, No. 5 Morehead State 77
Game 6: No. 3 Belmont 53, No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 52
Saturday, March 7 (Championship)
No. 3 Belmont 88, No. 1 Murray State 87
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