OVC

Poll: Who Will Win the OVC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:25:35 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Conference Tournament Odds: Mid-Majors

Evan Dorey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:47:53 -0400

Tournament Odds: Mid-Major Conferences

These are conference tournament log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find.

- more odds coming soon!

America East - March 6-14

The first three rounds will be played in Albany’s home court, SECFU Arena, with the final happening on Saturday morning at the higher remaining seed.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Binghamton	100.00%	85.45%	53.64%	26.52%
2	Vermont	100.00%	87.92%	62.85%	45.92%
3	Boston University	100.00%	86.45%	32.33%	18.97%
4	New Hampshire	100.00%	28.09%	7.94%	0.82%
5	Stony Brook	100.00%	71.91%	34.71%	6.86%
6	UMBC	100.00%	13.55%	1.39%	0.19%
7	Albany	100.00%	12.08%	3.43%	0.47%
8	Maine	75.37%	12.98%	3.54%	0.24%
9	Hartford	24.63%	1.57%	0.18%	0.00%

Hometown team Albany got the worst possible opening draw, as the favorite, #2 Vermont will be a tough task. Binghamton and BU should be the main challengers, with Stony Brook a team from outside the top 4 that could cause a big surprise.

Atlantic Sun - March 4-7

With only seven eligible teams, champions Jacksonville get an opening round bye, while the bottom 6 teams play for the other semifinal spots. All games are held at the Allen Center, home to #4 Lipscomb.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Jacksonville	100.00%	54.37%	35.75%
2	East Tennessee St.	84.10%	52.47%	20.87%
3	Belmont	76.41%	37.58%	12.64%
4	Lipscomb	84.83%	43.25%	28.80%
5	Campbell	15.17%	2.38%	0.66%
6	Mercer	23.59%	5.87%	0.81%
7	Stetson	15.90%	4.07%	0.46%

Jacksonville’s first round bye doesn’t help them a whole lot, while Lipscomb’s home court advantage will give them a serious shot of breaking through to steal the bid.

(Ed: ETSU ended up winning, one of the few upset conference champions so far.)

Big Sky - March 7-11

The Big Sky Tournament features just 6 of the conference’s 9 teams, with the top two teams getting automatic semifinal byes. The first round games are played at campus sites, while Weber St. hosts the semis and final at the Dee Events Center.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Weber St.	100.00%	87.17%	73.11%
2	Portland St.	100.00%	58.13%	13.29%
3	Montana	94.12%	41.37%	7.97%
4	Idaho St.	70.40%	9.54%	4.30%
5	Northern Colorado	29.60%	3.30%	1.31%
6	Montana St.	5.88%	0.50%	0.02%

Weber would have been favorites at a neutral site. At home, they should be able to win the two games they’ll need.

Big South - March 3-7

The semis and finals will be hosted at regular season champs Radford.

#	Team	F	W
1	Radford	86.18%	69.39%
2	Virginia Military Inst	47.51%	12.44%
3	Liberty	52.49%	14.59%
4	NC Asheville	13.82%	3.58%

Radford’s home advantage should see them through, but the Liberty-VMI winner will give the Highlanders a tough fight

(Ed: As expected, Radford locked up the title.)

Big West - March 11-14

Hosted in Anaheim, the Big West conference tournament uses a bizarre style, which I don’t faithfully reproduce here, as they have a two-team double-level bye, just like the WCC, but also re-seeded at each level. These odds reflect the tournament without reseeding, so they somewhat hurt the top teams, but still give a basic idea of the overall picture.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	CS Northridge	100.00%	100.00%	59.70%	32.34%
2	Long Beach St.	100.00%	100.00%	58.41%	30.28%
3	Pacific	100.00%	73.63%	35.02%	17.31%
4	UC Santa Barbara	100.00%	60.42%	26.20%	12.48%
5	UC Irvine	71.81%	32.63%	12.71%	5.48%
6	UC Riverside	58.88%	17.18%	4.67%	1.35%
7	Cal St. Fullerton	41.12%	9.19%	1.90%	0.42%
8	UC Davis	28.19%	6.95%	1.39%	0.32%

The top two seeds get a huge boost by avoiding the opening two rounds, and look the likeliest to advance to the NCAA tournament. The two teams with single byes also have decent chances.

MAC - March 10-14

The MAC Tournament, held in Cleveland, gives four first round byes, and is mostly notable for the fact that the two division champs get the top two seeds, which elevates a below-.500 Ball St. team out of the first round up to #2.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Bowling Green	100.00%	57.17%	18.32%	7.90%
2	Ball St.	100.00%	52.39%	13.83%	3.75%
3	Buffalo	100.00%	43.91%	30.38%	13.72%
4	Miami OH	100.00%	43.91%	29.09%	16.40%
5	Akron	94.36%	55.65%	41.06%	26.52%
6	Kent St.	90.15%	54.67%	42.38%	23.49%
7	Central Michigan	77.03%	41.65%	12.33%	3.74%
8	Western Michigan	39.43%	14.41%	3.09%	0.96%
9	Ohio	60.57%	28.42%	8.37%	3.38%
10	Eastern Michigan	22.97%	5.97%	0.68%	0.08%
11	Northern Illinois	9.85%	1.42%	0.40%	0.05%
12	Toledo	5.64%	0.45%	0.07%	0.01%

This conference is simply insane. The top two favorites don’t even get a bye, and Akron fans in particular must be steamed at the division winners rule. There look to be five teams that can potentially win the tournament, all from the East division, and no matter who gets it in the end, the MAC will retain its reputation for eating its own. Don’t be too surprised if you see the #5 or #6 seed make a long run in Cleveland.

MEAC- March 9-14

The MEAC Tournament features the 11 eligible teams meeting in Winston Salem, with the bottom six playing for spots in the quarterfinals.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Morgan St.	100.00%	95.15%	83.06%	69.88%
2	South Carolina St.	100.00%	67.26%	36.98%	9.43%
3	Norfolk St.	100.00%	61.85%	33.51%	8.22%
4	NC A&T	100.00%	50.79%	8.05%	3.58%
5	Coppin St.	100.00%	49.21%	7.62%	3.33%
6	Bethune Cookman	90.11%	37.43%	17.18%	3.35%
7	Hampton	48.95%	15.79%	5.84%	0.90%
8	Florida A&M	41.68%	1.66%	0.37%	0.07%
9	Howard	58.32%	3.19%	0.91%	0.22%
10	Delaware St.	51.05%	16.95%	6.43%	1.02%
11	MD Eastern Shore	9.89%	0.72%	0.06%	0.00%

Morgan St. is a dominant favorite, but after that, its truly a free-for-all. Delaware St. is a fascinating potential long-shot, should it survive its first round game.

Northeast - March 5-11

The NEC Tournament has all game played at the higher seed with 8 of the 11 teams making the quarters.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Robert Morris	94.76%	82.61%	64.72%
2	Mount St. Mary's	91.99%	66.85%	22.16%
3	Sacred Heart	91.38%	31.18%	9.09%
4	Long Island	72.84%	12.75%	3.11%
5	Quinnipiac	27.16%	3.76%	0.71%
6	Central Connecticut	8.62%	0.98%	0.06%
7	Wagner	8.01%	0.99%	0.07%
8	St. Francis NY	5.24%	0.88%	0.09%

Robert Morris has separated itself from the rest of the conference all season, and with it hosting every game it plays, it should be on course for the NCAA bid.

Ohio Valley - March 3-7

With the semifinals set, all games will be played in Nashville from now on in the tournament.

#	Team	F	W
1	Tennessee Martin	62.54%	31.86%
2	Austin Peay	28.48%	10.72%
3	Murray St.	71.52%	42.86%
4	Morehead St.	37.46%	14.56%

Murray and Martin are both favored to make the final, where a battle between the two would be a lot of fun.

(Ed: Like ETSU above, Morehead St managed to defy the odds.)

Patriot League - March 4-13

All games in the Patriot League tournament are at the higher seed’s arena.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	American	99.07%	97.22%	86.03%
2	Holy Cross	93.81%	80.21%	12.37%
3	Navy	85.31%	17.26%	1.28%
4	Army	66.79%	1.75%	0.16%
5	Lehigh	33.21%	0.83%	0.08%
6	Colgate	14.69%	1.39%	0.04%
7	Bucknell	6.19%	1.14%	0.03%
8	Lafayette	0.93%	0.19%	0.01%

American has had an excellent season, and should head back to the NCAA tournament, especially with all its games at home.

Southland - March 12-15

Eight of the league’s 12 teams meet in Katy, TX to decide the Southland title.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Stephen F. Austin	70.74%	46.69%	28.36%
2	Nicholls St.	80.97%	40.99%	19.77%
3	Sam Houston St.	76.46%	46.90%	25.31%
4	Texas A&M Corpus Christi	63.42%	28.37%	14.03%
5	Texas Arlington	36.58%	11.81%	4.32%
6	Texas San Antonio	23.54%	8.15%	2.23%
7	Texas St.	19.03%	3.96%	0.74%
8	Southeastern Louisiana	29.26%	13.13%	5.23%

Prepare for good four-way battle between the top seeds, with the #8 Southeastern Louisiana potentially poised to bust some brackets.

Summit League - March 7-10

The Summit League Tournament is a pretty simple 8-team affair, with all games in Sioux Falls, SD.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	North Dakota St.	92.48%	83.64%	52.90%
2	Oral Roberts	88.37%	61.87%	31.48%
3	Oakland	81.52%	32.35%	12.02%
4	IUPUI	54.58%	7.58%	1.39%
5	Southern Utah	45.42%	5.50%	0.87%
6	IUPU Fort Wayne	18.48%	2.75%	0.41%
7	South Dakota St.	11.63%	3.04%	0.48%
8	Centenary	7.52%	3.28%	0.46%

North Dakota St. will be a team to watch for an upset in the NCAA tournament, but only if they can get by tough challenges from the winner of an ORU-Oakland semifinal.

SWAC - March 11-14

Eight teams meet in Birmingham to determine the SWAC automatic bid.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Alabama St.	94.70%	81.39%	63.36%
2	Jackson St.	84.03%	57.22%	20.15%
3	Prairie View A&M	72.56%	31.36%	8.01%
4	Arkansas Pine Bluff	70.73%	14.11%	6.07%
5	Southern	29.27%	3.05%	0.75%
6	MVSU	27.44%	6.57%	0.84%
7	Texas Southern	15.97%	4.84%	0.55%
8	Alabama A&M	5.30%	1.44%	0.27%

Alabama St. is a big favorite, with only the top four looking to have any kind of shot, and the top two in particular dominant favorites to meet in the title game.

Also: BCS Tournament Odds

Also: High-Major Tournament Odds

More: Championship Week Coverage

+2009 NCAA Tournament
	• All Tournament Coverage • NCAA Tournament Capsules • NIT Capsules • NCAA Tournament Schedule • Venue Info & Tickets • Bracketology

OVC Tournament Preview & Predictions

Evan Dorey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:43:38 -0500

This is one in a series of my conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, giving a brief statistical review and picking out some of the key players, and presenting the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Ohio Valley

The OVC Tournament features the top 8 teams out of a 10 team league, with the quarterfinals being hosted at the home courts of the top 4 seeds, and the two later rounds hosted at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

OVC Tournament Odds

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Tennessee Martin	90.91%	58.86%	30.81%
2	Austin Peay	80.67%	25.43%	10.06%
3	Murray St.	93.43%	69.19%	42.55%
4	Morehead St.	73.48%	30.09%	12.17%
5	Eastern Kentucky	26.52%	8.67%	2.81%
6	Tennessee St.	6.57%	1.87%	0.35%
7	Eastern Illinois	19.33%	3.50%	0.82%
8	Tennessee Tech	9.09%	2.37%	0.45%

It’s interesting to see that the #1 seeds and league champions aren’t the favorites, a title that belongs to #3 Murray St. The first four teams were separated by just two games in the standings, but the efficiency stats tell us that Martin and Murray St. are in a separate class.

#1 – Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (21-8, 14-4) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.114

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Tennessee-Martin has had an excellent season, claiming its first OVC regular season title, powered by a ten-game winning streak early in the conference schedule. The Skyhawks aren’t spectacular in any area, but do a lot of things well, and don’t make a lot of mistakes. Their main weakness is long-distance shooting, where they sit last in the OVC, but they make up for it by shooting 74% at the free throw line and earning a lot of extra possessions on the glass and by avoiding turnovers. Martin also defends well, managing to dominate the turnover margin by forcing a lot.

Players to watch:

6-2 SR Lester Hudson, 26.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 50.8 eFG% - The only player more important to his team than Hudson is some Curry guy that you might have heard about once or twice. Like Curry, Hudson’s shooting percentages aren’t that impressive on their own, but when you consider how many shots he takes, you really get a sense of how valuable he is. He also is a key player in lot of other areas, leading the Skyhawks in rebounding and steals, and putting up a very good assist rate.

6-1 JR Delrico Lane, 5.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 51.5 eFG% - Lane doesn’t score much, but let’s face it, there’s not a lot of shots available once Hudson and second-best scorer Marquis Weddle get their share. Lane has done a good job getting the ball to Hudson, leading the OVC in assists, and like Hudson has an excellent steal rate.

#2 – Austin Peay Governors (17-12, 13-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.053

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

The Governors face the strange situation of being lucky, as their record is somewhat better than their efficiency margin would suggest, but also unlucky, as a couple of losses in overtime are the only thing separating them from a conference title. Still, it’s telling that this is the #4 favorite by the log5 method, and to see them suffer an ‘upset’ wouldn’t be a big surprise. Austin Peay is the best pure shooting team in the conference, well over 50% from inside and at 39% from behind the arc, and the second best OVC offense overall. For all their ability to make shots, though, stopping opponents from doing the same has been difficult, especially from long distance, where they put up the conference’s worst defensive mark. The Governors are the only team of the top 4 seeds to give up more than a point-per possession, and their defensive woes will probably be their downfall.

Players to watch:

6-5 SR Drake Reed, 22.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 59.0 eFG% - In a lot of other conferences in the nation, Reed’s numbers would be good enough to make him a clear top scorer and the favorite for player of the year, but with Hudson taking the spotlight, Reed has to settle for being the OVC’s #2 scorer. Reed doesn’t take as large a proportion of his team’s shots as Hudson does, but he’s much more efficient, nearly 60% from inside the arc and a 40% outside shooter. He’s also in the top 5 in the conference in rebounding and rarely turns the ball over.

6-3 JR Wes Channels, 16.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 51.1 eFG% - Channels takes a similar proportion of the Governors’ shots as Reed, but is much more dependent on the three-pointer, and isn’t quite as good a percentage shooter. Still, he’s a good scoring guard who leads the team in assists, and combines with Reed to form a deadly inside-outside duo.

#3 – Murray St. Racers (17-12, 13-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.129

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2006 (1^st Round)

Murray St. may be the third seed, but don’t be surprised to see it run off with a 14^th NCAA tourney appearance, the best of any OVC team. The worst of the Racers’ five losses came by 6 points, meaning that their efficiency margin is the highest in the league. This is mostly due to a defense that is clearly the best in the OVC; opponents make few threes and turn the ball over a lot, a clear sign of how good the Racers are on the perimeter. They aren’t great at making threes themselves, but tend to focus on scoring from two, where they are efficient enough to have a decent offense overall. The Racers’ style probably contributes to why they’ve had so many close losses; their defensive, slow-paced game makes it a lot more difficult to get a big margin against weaker teams.

Players to watch:

6-2 SO Isaac Miles, 10.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 48.2 eFG% - The team’s second leading scorer is entering the tournament on a roll, having scored in double digits in each of the last five games, and has done this despite taking a lot of bad shots from behind the arc, where he hits less than 30%. He’s a good scorer from two who gets a lot of chances at the line, and while he puts up a lot of assists, he also has occasional bouts of major turnover trouble.

6-4 JR Danero Thomas, 11.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 47.1 eFG% - Thomas isn’t a great offensive player, but leads the Racers in scoring, and is a decent shooter, though like Miles he struggles from behind the arc. His best performance comes on the defensive end, where he’s the team’s best shot-blocker and one of the conference leaders in steals.

#4 – Morehead St. Eagles (16-15, 12-6) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.066

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1984 (1^st Round)

The last of the teams that open the season at home, Morehead seemed to be destined for a tough year when they started 0-6, but had turned it around by the time conference play began, though they should be concerned after closing the season on a four-game losing streak. The Eagles are similar to Murray St., depending on inside play on the offensive end, but doing their best work defensively, but they aren’t as effective at either end as the Racers. Morehead isn’t too strong from the field, but is a good offensive rebounding team that does a great job getting to the line, and making shots once there. Defensively, the Eagles best play also comes inside, as they hold opponents to a conference-best 44.5% from two, and are good rebounders and shot-blockers.

Players to watch:

6-8 SO Kenneth Faried, 13.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 56.4 eFG% - Faried is probably the conference’s best big man, fourth nationally in rebounding and the only Valley player averaging more than nine boards a game. He’s a 56% shooter from the field who also sits in the top 3 of the conference rankings in steals and blocks. The only real weakness in his game is his free throw shooting, where he’s worse than from the field, but he looks like he’ll be a great player in the conference in the years to come.

6-5 SR Leon Buchanan, 15.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 53.5 eFG% - Buchanan is a great interior partner for Faried, a decent rebounder who shoots a good percentage, and unlike the sophomore, does a really great job at the free throw line. He’s an 81% shooter who makes a lot of appearances, and the points he gets there are enough to make him the team’s leading scorer.

#5 – Eastern Kentucky Colonels (18-12, 10-8) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.036

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2007 (1^st Round)

Eastern Kentucky are an ideal example of how a team’s tempo can confuse those who don’t take it into account. The Colonels are easily the slowest team in the OVC, and a look at their point-per-game numbers would lead you to suggest that they are merely average offensively. In reality, the Colonels tend to be involved in the conference’s most offensively efficient games, boasting the OVC’s best offense, and the worst defense of the teams qualifying for the tournament. The Colonels are an offensive dream, putting up a 55.7 eFG% in conference, and one of the nation’s best marks in the category of the whole season, and having the OVC’s lowest turnover rate. Their problems come inside, where they don’t get much of their offense (the second-most three-dependent team in the country), and are terrible on the glass. Opponents shred EKU’s defense seemingly at will, shooting 54%, and even the ability to force a lot of turnovers doesn’t help much.

Players to watch:

6-4 SR Mike Rose, 20.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 59.2 eFG% - The third 20 PPG player in the conference, Rose is the deadliest three-point shooter on a team that thrives behind the arc. Shooting 49% from long-distance is the kind of percentage we expect from an occasional shooter, not someone who puts up more than 200 attempts a season. He’s one of the team’s better rebounders and a solid defender, but his value is all in that shot.

6-7 SO Justin Stommes, 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 59.4 eFG% - Behind Rose, there are a group of other strong shooters, though none with the frequency, or the success, of the Colonels’ leading scorer. Stommes is the best of the bunch, and he provides a great alternative option from outside.

#6 – Tennessee St. Tigers (12-17, 9-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.048

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1994 (1^st Round)

The Tigers made a lot of headlines, and got a lot of criticism, for firing Cy Alexander mid-season, but it worked out pretty well, as they went 6-1, including six straight wins entering the tournament, to manage a .500 finish in the conference. Tennessee St.’s defense is almost as bad as EKU’s, one of the worst in the tournament, but unlike the Colonels, TSU’s offense isn’t good enough to bail it out. Tennessee St. is focused on attacking the inside, and does it decently, but struggles with turnovers and free throws. The Tigers should watch their opponents to find a better example of inside play, as they allow 52% of attempts from inside, and don’t do much on the defensive glass either. They actually have the poorest odds of any team in the tournament, and a #6 seed probably flatters them somewhat.

Players to watch:

6-7 SO Darius Cox, 10.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.9 BPG, 54.3 eFG% - Cox is just fourth on the team in scoring, but is the most efficient offensive option when Tennessee St. has the ball, shooting over 50% from the field. He’s also an excellent rebounder, and a good shot-blocker.

6-8 SR Jerrell Houston, 14.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 51.4 eFG% - Houston is another good interior player, with similar numbers to Cox, but with a larger role in the offense, and a much bigger problem with turnovers.

#7 – Eastern Illinois Panthers (12-17, 8-10) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.019

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2001 (1^st Round)

After talking about a couple of teams that struggle on the defensive end, Eastern Illinois are a bit of change of pace, decent defenders but the worst offensive team in the conference. A bright note for the Panthers’ offense is that they make a decent percentage of both threes and free throws; unfortunately, they don’t get to the line much, and take a large majority of their shots from inside the arc. Defensively, EIU is a solid team, especially inside, where it holds opponents to just 46% shooting. However, their offensive woes are too great to overcome, and they enter the tournament on a real low, losing their last six conference games.

Players to watch:

6-1 SO Tyler Laser, 11.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 56.5 eFG% - Laser isn’t a go-to scorer, but is the kind of pure shooter who can be really effective as a secondary option. He hits over 40% from behind the arc, and is 6^th nationally in free throw percentage, 50-of-52 on the season. He’s a good distributor of the ball and can also score from inside the arc, the kind of player who could really break out if he can handle a bigger role in future seasons.

6-3 JR Romain Martin, 15.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 53.5 eFG% - Martin is the other guy on the Panthers who can make threes, and while his percentage isn’t as high as Laser’s, he takes a lot more shots, and is much more important in the offense. Most of his value depends on his shooting, he doesn’t really contribute much in the other statistical areas.

#8 – Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (12-17, 6-12) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.034

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1963 (1^st Round)

Tennessee Tech is the OVC’s fastest paced team, but its high speed hasn’t equalled highly effective offensive possessions, especially from two-point range, where you’d expect such a team to score in transition. Instead, the Golden Eagles are best when they put up threes, over 38% from behind the arc. This doesn’t happen nearly enough, though, with poor rebounding, turnovers, and a fairly two-point-heavy offense combining to limit the Eagles’ long distance-scoring. Defensively, Tennessee Tech force a lot of turnovers, but are terrible defensive rebounders and commit a lot of fouls.

Players to watch:

6-9 SR Daniel Northern, 12.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.5 BPG, 49.4 eFG% - Northern is an excellent big-man in almost every area except field goal percentage, and it’s only his 49% from the field that holds him back. He’s the second-best rebounder in the OVC, and leads the conference in shot-blocking. He gets to the line a lot, and while his 65% from the stripe isn’t great, it’s not too bad, and shows a clear improvement from previous seasons.

6-2 JR Frank Davis, 10.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 59.2 eFG% - If you’re looking for a great example of how a player who isn’t the offensive focus can really thrive, Davis may be a perfect. He doesn’t take a lot of shots, but his contribution on the stat sheet will be basically limited to whatever he manages to score. He’s a 43% three-point shooter, and has taken more attempts from behind the arc than the Eagles’ next two most prolific shooters combined. He doesn’t turn the ball over much, but he’s not the kind of player who will do much beside shoot when he does get it.

My statistical all-OVC team:

Tennessee Martin SR G Lester Hudson, 26.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 50.8 eFG%

Eastern Kentucky SR G Mike Rose, 20.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 59.2 eFG%

Austin Peay SR F Drake Reed, 22.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 59.0 eFG%

Morehead St. SR F Leon Buchanan, 15.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 53.5 eFG%6-8,

Morehead St. SO F/C Kenneth Faried, 13.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 56.4 eFG%

NCAA Basketball Conference Ranking: 2008-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:30:46 -0500

CHN's 31 conference ranking, including 10 year historical averages based on average RPI finish. For more information on historical RPI averages, check out the Conference Data Page. Links lead to league preview pages.

Big East

10 Year Average: 3

10 Year Average: 1

10 Year Average: 2

10 Year Average: 5

10 Year Average: 6

10 Year Average: 4

10 Year Average: 10

10 Year Average: 7

10 Year Average: 9

WCC

10 Year Average: 12

11 Conference USA

10 Year Average: 8

12 Colonial

10 Year Average: 14

13 MAC

10 Year Average: 13

14 WAC

10 Year Average: 11

15 MAAC

10 Year Average: 17

16 Horizon

10 Year Average: 15

17 Southern

10 Year Average: 19

18 Sun Belt

10 Year Average: 16

19 Big West

10 Year Average: 18

20 Patriot

10 Year Average: 23

21 Southland

10 Year Average: 27

22 Ivy

10 Year Average: 24

23 Big Sky

10 Year Average: 20

24 America East

10 Year Average: 21

25 Summit

10 Year Average: 26

26 OVC

10 Year Average: 22

27 NEC

10 Year Average: 28

28 Atlantic Sun

10 Year Average: 25

29 Big South

10 Year Average: 29

30 MEAC

10 Year Average: 30

-Independents

31 SWAC

10 Year Average: 31

OVC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:39:52 -0500

Conference Rank: 26th

10 year average: 22nd

Conference Page

All-OVC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Marquis Weddle	UTM	So
G	Lester Hudson	UTM	Sr
G	Mike Rose	EKU	Sr
F	Daniel Northern	Tenn. Tech	Sr
F	Drake Reed	Austin Peay	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Lester Hudson		Points: Lester Hudson 25.7 Rebounds: Daniel Northern 9.3 Assists: DeAndre Bray (JSU) 6.3

Ohio Valley Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

106	Murray State*	OVC	1	NCAA
162	Tennessee Martin	OVC	2
184	Austin Peay**	OVC	3
204	Tennessee St	OVC	4
215	Morehead State	OVC	5
286	Eastern Kentucky	OVC	6
304	SE Missouri St	OVC	7
322	Jacksonville St	OVC	8
328	Tennessee Tech	OVC	9
340	Eastern Illinois	OVC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the OVC?

Other OVC Content

Conference Media Poll

Other

Top Shooting Guards: Lester Hudson

Rise & Fall: OVC

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the OVC?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:15:11 -0500