The Ohio Valley is the first conference tournament to be completed each year by having its final a full eight days before Selection Sunday. While it can be assumed many teams will have earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament no matter what by then, the Ohio Valley champion is still the first team to officially punch their ticket. Recently, however, advancing to their tournament has been the best achievement of the OVC champions as the conference has not won a tournament game since Ohio's run to the Sweet 16 in 2012.
The tournament will feature the top eight teams out of twelve in a four round tournament. The top two teams received a double bye to the semifinals, the next two seeds received a bye to the quarterfinals and the fifth through eighth seeds play in the first round. The entire tournament will take place in the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
First Round-Wednesday, February 28th
#8 SIU-Edwardsville vs #5 Tennessee Tech
#7 Eastern Illinois vs #6 Tennessee State
Quarterfinals-Thursday, March 1st
#6 Tennessee State vs #3 Austin Peay
#5 Tennessee Tech vs #4 Jacksonville State
Semifinals-Friday, March 2nd
#4 Jacksonville State vs. #1 Murray State
#6 Tennessee State vs. #2 Belmont
Final-Saturday, March 3rd
Belmont and Murray State had a sizable gap in the standings between the two of them and the rest of the field. Belmont beat Murray State earlier in the season, but since then the Racers have ripped off eleven straight wins, which gave them the outright Ohio Valley title when Belmont struggled down the stretch. Belmont, however, dropped a stunner last year in the tournament after dominating the league and will be looking for redemption.
Belmont 76, Murray State 72
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