2011 NCAA Tournament Field: Morehead State, Kenneth Faried Earn Ohio Valley’s Automatic Berth

Kenneth Faried’s had a fantastic collegiate career. And thanks to Morehead State’s victory over Tennessee Tech in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament final, it’s not over yet.

Faried, a senior forward with some of the best hair you will see come March Madness, led the Eagles past the Golden Eagles and into the NCAA Tournament field with an 80-73 victory. He scored 24 points and snagged 15 rebounds, and added five blocks, and helped the Eagles hold off one final run.

In the final minutes, Tennessee Tech put together a 12-1 run to cut the lead to four. But Faried threw down a dunk and hit two free throws with just over a minute left to keep the lead from dwindling to one possession, then put back a shot in the final minute to push it back to double digits and turn the game into a free throw exhibition.

Demonte Harper led Morehead State with 27 points; Tennessee Tech’s Kevin Murphy led all scorers with 30.

Faried’s double-double was the 84th of his career. The only two players in NCAA history with as many are Tim Duncan and Ralph Sampson, and both went on to become number one overall picks in the NBA Draft.

Faried probably won’t match that feat. But he could get closer to their collegiate records if he can lead Morehead State on an improbable run to the Sweet Sixteen: Chris Dobbertean had Murray State taking the Ohio Valley’s automatic bid and earning a 16 seed for their troubles.

For updates on every automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, keep this StoryStream bookmarked. For bracketology and 2011 NCAA Tournament field projections, be sure to visit SB Nation’s Blogging the Bracket.