OVC Men's Basketball Report - March 14

OVC Men's Basketball Report - March 14


• OVC Men's Basketball Report - March 14 (PDF)

This Week’s Schedule
 
2016 NCAA Division I Championship
Thursday, March 17 - First Round (South Region - Des Moines, Iowa)
#16 Austin Peay (18-17) vs. #1 Kansas (30-4), 3:00 p.m. (TNT)

Saturday, March 19 - Second Round
Kansas/Austin Peay vs. #8 Colorado/#9 UConn, TBA


2016 National Invitation Tournament (NIT)
Wednesday, March 16 - First Round (Valparaiso Quadrant)
#6 Belmont (20-11) at #3 Georgia (19-13), 6:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

Second Round (Date TBD)
Belmont/Georgia vs. Saint Mary’s/New Mexico State, TBA


2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT)
Tuesday, March 15 - First Round
Ball State (19-13) at Tennessee State (20-10), 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 16 - First Round
UT Martin (19-14) at Central Michigan (17-15), 6:00 p.m.


2016 College Basketball Invitational (CBI)
Tuesday, March 15 - First Round
Morehead State (19-12) at Siena (21-12), 6:00 p.m.

Monday, March 21 - Quarterfinals
Morehead State/Siena vs. Duquesne/Omaha, TBA


2016 Vegas 16
Monday, March 28 - First Round
Tennessee Tech (19-11) vs. Old Dominion (22-13), 2:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Tuesday, March 29 - Semifinals
Tennessee Tech/Old Dominion vs.UC Santa Barbara/Northern Illinois, TBA (CBS Sports Network)
 

Notes From Around the League
 
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: After setting a record with five teams in national postseason tournaments a season ago, the OVC established a new record this season as six OVC teams will be competing in national postseason tournaments as Austin Peay is playing in the NCAA Tournament, Belmont competing in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), Tennessee State and UT Martin in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) , Morehead State in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and Tennessee Tech in the inaugural Vegas 16...Austin Peay became the lowest seeded team (No. 8) to ever win the OVC Tournament when the Governors won four games in four days to claim its fifth OVC Tournament crown and first since 2008...The Govs are playing in its seventh overall NCAA Tournament and are 2-7 in six previous appearances...Belmont won its third OVC regular season championship in just four years in the league but lost to Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament semifinals; the Bruins are appearing in the NIT for the third time and first since 2014 when they won a pair of games to advance to the quarterfinals...UT Martin is competing in its second-straight CIT event; last year the Skyhawks won three road games to advance to the semifinals of the event...Tennessee State is competing in its third CIT (2012, 2013) and will host its first ever Division I national postseason tournament game on Tuesday; the Tigers enter the postseason with 20 wins, tied for the most in its Division I history...Morehead State is competing in the CBI for the third time (2010, 2014); the Eagles have now competed in five national postseason tournaments in the past eight years...Austin Peay’s Chris Horton is just the ninth player in NCAA Division I history to reach 1,700 career points, 1,200 career rebounds and 300 career blocks...Horton was named MVP of the OVC Tournament after averaging 22.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists/game and hitting 66.7 percent from the field (30-of-45) and 30-of-46 at the free throw line; included in those totals was 37 points and 21 rebounds against Tennessee Tech, 15 points and 12 rebounds against Tennessee State and 30 points and 16 rebounds against Belmont..Horton ranks first nationally in offensive rebounds (4.94/game), fourth in double-doubles (24), fifth in rebounding (12.0/game), 19th in field goal percentage (60.4%), 53rd in scoring (18.9 points/game) and 60th in blocked shots (1.80/game)...Belmont’s Evan Bradds continues to lead all Division I players in field goal percentage (72.0%); he led the country in field goal percentage a season ago and if the season ended now he would establish a new OVC single-season record (the current mark is 70.0%)...Belmont head coach Rick Byrd has 731 career victories which puts him just past UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian and Missouri’s Norm Stewart (729 apiece) for 31st on the NCAA Division I career list...Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos, the winningest coach in OVC history, will coach in his 800th career game on Thursday against Kansas; Loos celebrated his 69th birthday in his team’s OVC Championship victory over UT Martin.
 
OVC Sets League Record With Six Postseason Teams: After setting a record with five postseason teams a year ago the OVC established a new record this season as six OVC men’s basketball teams are competing in national postseason tournaments (1 NCAA, 1 NIT, 2 CIT, 1 CBI, 1 Vegas 16). Prior to 2015 the old mark had been four teams in each 2011 and 2014. OVC teams were a combined 7-3 in postseason games in 2014 and 8-5 in 2015.
 
Recent Postseason Success: Last year (2014-15) the OVC placed five teams in the postseason (1 NCAA, 1 NIT, 3 CIT) which established a new record for the league (breaking the previous mark of four teams). Those teams combined for an 8-5 overall record, the most wins in a single postseason for the league. Overall OVC teams have now at least won one game in each postseason for seven-straight years, the longest stretch in league history. Morehead State won a NCAA game in 2009, Murray State won in the NCAA Tournament in 2010, Morehead State won in the NCAA’s in 2011, Murray State won in the NCAA’s in 2012, Eastern Kentucky won in the CIT in 2013, Belmont (NIT) and Murray State (CIT) won games in 2014 and last season (2015) Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Murray State and UT Martin scored victories; the four different teams to record a victory in the single postseason was also an OVC record.

OVC Teams All-Time in the NCAA Tournament: Entering the 2016 NCAA Tournament, OVC teams have won NCAA Tournament games in four of the past seven years. After going 19 years without winning a game (1990-2008), Morehead State broke through for the league by winning in 2009 and ending the losing streak. Murray State won a game in 2010 (Vanderbilt) followed by Morehead State besting Louisville in 2011; the streak reached four-straight years in 2012 when Murray State topped Colorado State. OVC teams are now 24-67 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Austin Peay is 2-7 all-time in the event and are making its seventh overall appearance this year (1973, 1974, 1987, 1996, 2003, 2008 and 2016). The Govs topped Jacksonville in 1973 and Illinois in 1987.
 
OVC Teams All-Time in the NIT: Belmont earned an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) by winning the OVC regular season championship but failing to win the league’s tournament. This year marks the third overall appearance in the NIT for Belmont who also appeared in 2004 and 2014. All-time the Bruins are 2-2 in the event including wins over Green Bay and Robert Morris in 2014 when they advanced to the quarterfinals before falling at Clemson in the final seconds. All-time OVC teams are 17-15 in the NIT including sending teams to the Quarterfinals in each of the past two years (Murray State in 2015, Belmont in 2014).
 
OVC Teams All-Time in the CIT: Two OVC schools (Tennessee State and UT Martin) will participate in this season’s CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). This marks the eighth year for the national event. OVC teams are 12-9 all-time in the event including Murray State going 5-0 and winning the CIT Championship in 2014. Last season UT Martin won three road games to advance to the semifinals in its first appearance. Tennessee State is appearing in the CIT for the third time (2012, 2013). The CIT is a 32-team field that is drawn from non-BCS schools and all 31 games of the tournament are played at campus sites. In an effort to minimize travel and missed class time, the CIT uses a format that determines future opponents by previous results. This means second round pairings are made after first round games are completed. Teams in the same geographical area are likely to be paired. The CIT was created in 2009; what began as a 16-team event, quickly expanded to 24 teams in 2011 and to 32 teams in 2012.
 
OVC Teams All-Time in the CBI: Morehead State is playing n the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) for the third time this season after appearances in 2010 and 2014. MSU is 1-2 all-time in previous CBI events. The Eagles will play at Siena on Tuesday night as part of the 16-team invitational event which began nine years ago. Overall this marks the fifth national postseason tournament for Morehead State in the past eight years (three CBI’s and two NCAA Tournaments). All-time OVC teams are 1-4 in CBI action while Eastern Kentucky (2010) and Austin Peay (2011) having also previously participated in the event.

Tennessee Tech to Compete in Inaugural Vegas 16: The Tennessee Tech will play in the inaugural Vegas 16 event. The event is an eight-team, single-elimination, three-day (March 28-30) event that will be played at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The entire tournament will be broadcast live by CBS Sports Network. Tennessee Tech is competing in a national postseason tournament for the seventh time in school history and first time since 2012. The Golden Eagles were in the 1958 and 1963 NCAA Tournament, the 1985 and 2002 NIT and the 2011 and 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). In 2002 Tech won three games in the NIT before falling to Memphis in the quarterfinal round.
 
Austin Peay Wins 2016 OVC Tournament Championship; Becomes Lowest-Ever Seed to Claim Title: Austin Peay made history during the 2016 OVC Basketball Tournament when the No. 8 seeded Governors won four games in four days to claim its fifth OVC Tournament Championship and first since 2008. APSU has also won titles in 1987, 1996, 2003 and 2008. Austin Peay was the lowest seeded team to ever win the crown; the previous lowest seed was No. 4 by the 1987 APSU team and 2009 Morehead State squad. Under the current merit-based bracket (which has existed since 2011), no team had ever advanced from the first round to the title game, yet alone win the title. Along the way the Govs topped No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech, No. 4 seed Tennessee State, No. 1 seed Belmont and No. 2 seed UT Martin.
 
Belmont Wins Third OVC Regular Season Championship: Belmont (12-4) claimed the 2015-16 OVC Regular Season Championship, its third since joining the OVC in 2012-13. The Bruins also won the outright title in each 2013 and 2014 and tied for second a year ago. Overall Belmont has won eight regular season conference championships in the last 11 seasons (the other five coming in the Atlantic Sun).
 
Horton One of Nine Players in NCAA Division I History With 1700 Points, 1200 Rebounds and 300 Blocks: Austin Peay’s Chris Horton is now in rare company as one of nine players in Division I history to reach 1,700 points, 1,200 rebounds and 300 blocks in a career. Note that blocked shots did not become an official NCAA stat category until the 1985-86 season (although a few players below have confirmed block totals).
            Edmond Lawrence, McNeese State (1973-76) - 1986 points, 1212 rebounds, 311 blocks
            Mike Gminski, Duke (1977-80) - 2323 points, 1242 rebounds, 345 blocks
            Ralph Sampson, Virginia (1980-83) - 2228 points, 1511 rebounds, 462 blocks
            David Robinson, Navy (1983-87) - 2669 points, 1314 rebounds, 516 blocks
            Shaquille O’Neal, LSU (1990-92) - 1941 points, 1217 rebounds, 412 blocks
            Tunji Awojobi, Boston U. (1993-97) - 2308 points, 1237 rebounds, 302 blocks
            Tim Duncan, Wake Forest (1994-97) - 2117 points, 1570 rebounds, 481 blocks
            Shelden Williams, Duke (2003-06) - 1928 points, 1262 rebounds, 422 blocks
            Chris Horton, Austin Peay (2012-present) - 1705 points, 1251 rebounds, 325 blocks
 
Horton Enters 1,000 Rebound Club: Against Wofford on Dec. 22 Austin Peay senior Chris Horton became the 15th member of the OVC’s 1,000-Rebound Club. He was the first player to join the exclusive club since Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried in 2010-11 (and just the second in the past 20 years). Horton now has 1,251 career rebounds which ranks him eighth in OVC history.
 
Bradds Field Goal Percentage: Entering this week Belmont junior Evan Bradds ranks first nationally in field goal percentage at 72.0 percent (208-of-289). If the season ended today that would be the all-time OVC single-season record, topping the mark of 70.0 percent by Middle Tennessee’s Warren Kidd in 1990-91. Bradds also led Division I in field goal percentage a year ago and if he does so again this year would be the first Division I player to repeat that feat in back-to-back years since Belmont’s Adam Mark did in 2002 and 2003.
 
Bradds Named to USBWA All-District Team: Belmont junior Evan Bradds was named to the United States Basketball Writers’ Association (USBWA) All-District Four Team. The USBWA announced teams from nine districts including a Player of the Year from each one; Bradds was the only OVC selection on an All-District Team. USBWA District-4 consists of schools from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
 
NCAA Stats Leaders: In the latest set of NCAA statistical leaders (March 14), Belmont ranks fifth in field goal percentage (49.5%) and 3-pointers made/game (10.5), ninth in assists (17.2/game) and 10th in scoring (82.4 points/game). Morehead State is 25th in steals (7.9/game), 35th in rebounding margin (+5.5/game), 44th in 3-point percentage (37.5%) and 63rd in scoring defense (67.2 points/game). Individually Austin Peay’s Chris Horton is first in offensive rebounds (4.94/game), fourth in double-doubles (24), fifth in rebounding (12.0/game), 19th in field goal percentage (60.4%), 53rd in scoring (18.9 points/game) and 60th in blocked shots (1.80/game). Belmont’s Evan Bradds is first nationally in field goal percentage (72.0%), 32nd in double-doubles (14) and 37th in rebounding (9.4/game). Belmont’s Austin Luke is 15th in assists (6.3/game) while teammate Craig Bradshaw is 49th in 3-pointers made/game (2.74). Tennessee State’s Wayne Martin is 47th in offensive rebounding (3.17/game), 54th in rebounding (9.0/game) and 74th in double-doubles (10) while teammate Tahjere McCall is ninth in steals (2.27/game). Eastern Illinois’ Cornell Johnston is ninth in minutes played/game (37:42), 28th in assists (5.7/game) and 27th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.95). Murray State’s Wayne Langston is 11th in field goal percentage (62.9%) while teammate Bryce Jones is 24th in free throw percentage (87.1%) and Jeffery Moss is 48th in 3-point percentage (41.5%). Eastern Kentucky’s Nick Mayo is 18th in field goal percentage (60.7%).
 
Bradds Ties Field Goal Mark: Belmont junior Evan Bradds tied the OVC record for most consecutive field goals in one game when he was 13-of-13 from the field at Evansville on November 21. That tied the mark originally set by Morehead State’s Leonard Coulter in 1966-67. Over a three-game stretch Bradds made 22-straight field goals, which was just four off the NCAA record (and believed to be an OVC record).
 
TSU’s Martin Records 20/20 Game: In his first game in a Tennessee State uniform, junior Wayne Martin scored 27 points and pulled down 21 rebounds in a victory at Loyola (Md.). It marked the first 20/20 game by an OVC player since Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried accomplished the feat three times during the 2010-11 season (the last on Feb. 3). His 21 rebounds were the most since Faried had 23 on Jan. 27, 2011 and it was one of just three 20-plus rebound games by an OVC player over the past four seasons.
 
Belmont’s Laidig Named to Allstate Good Works Team: Belmont senior Jeff Laidig is one of five Division I men’s basketball players nationally named to the 2016 Allstate Good Works Team® as announced by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). One of the most prestigious awards in all of college basketball, the Allstate Good Works Team® honors college basketball athletes that have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back to their communities. Laidig is a member of Belmont’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and campus branch of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and has spearheaded a number of community service projects in the Nashville area, and beyond. He has taken part in three mission trips as part of the Belmont Sports Evangelism ministry, two to Haiti and one to Honduras. He has also volunteered as a reading mentor at a Nashville area elementary school and has served as an activities leader at Camp Bruin - an annual fitness and wellness awareness day around NCAA National Student-Athlete Day.
 
Bradshaw and Bradds Named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans: A pair of Belmont student-athletes have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American men’s basketball teams. The selections were senior Craig Bradshaw and junior Evan Bradds. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and first be named to the All-District Team. Bradshaw currently has a 3.47 GPA in public relations while Bradds has a 3.53 GPA in finance. Overall the OVC has had 245 student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors since 1970; the duo are just the 11th and 12th OVC men’s basketball student-athlete to earn the honor.
 
Bradshaw Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award: Belmont’s Craig Bradshaw has been selected as one of 30 candidates nationally for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award in college basketball. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four®. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
Bradds on Updated Lou Henson Preseason Award Watch List: Belmont junior forward Evan Bradds was the only OVC player on the Updated Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List as announced by CollegeInsider.com in early January. The award is given to the top mid-major player in Division I basketball and named about the legendary coach who spent 41 years combined at Illinois and New Mexico State. Belmont teammate Craig Bradshaw was on the preseason list but not among the 30 players on the updated list.
 
Loos is All-Time Winningest Coach in OVC History; Byrd Ranks 8th Among Active NCAA Coaches: With a 68-66 victory at Ohio on Dec. 9, 2009, Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos recorded his 320th career victory while in the OVC, a mark that ranks first all-time. Loos passed Cal Luther (319 wins at Murray State and UT Martin) for the all-time mark. Loos, the Dean of OVC coaches, is now in his 26th year at Austin Peay. Loos now has 408 victories in his tenure at Austin Peay and 490 for his career. Belmont head coach Rick Byrd (who is in his fourth year in the OVC and 30th overall at Belmont) has 731 career victories, which ranks eighth among active Division I head coaches. Loos and Byrd are two of just six active Division I coaches to have coached at the same school for 25 or more years (the others are Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Oakland’s Greg Kampe and Davidson’s Bob McKillop).
 
OVC Tournament Once Again at Municipal Auditorium: The 2016 OVC Tournament will once again be played at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee (March 2-5). It marks the sixth-straight year the tournament has been at the venue and the 11th time the combined men’s and women’s tournaments have been held at the venue (1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015); the men’s tournament was also held there in 1967 and 1989. The OVC recently signed an extension with Municipal Auditorium to hold the tournament there through 2017. Beginning in 2011 the Championship switched to a format where the top eight men’s and women’s teams play in the merit-based format. The No. 1 and 2 seeds receive two byes to the semifinals while the No. 3 and 4 seeds receive one bye into the quarterfinals. The first round includes the No. 5 seed against the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed against the No. 7 seed. That format remains the same for the men’s team, although the women’s teams have switched back to a traditional bracket (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.) bracket in 2015. As part of the deal to host the tournament at Municipal Auditorium, the Nashville City Council and Municipal Auditorium committed $200,000 to improvements at the venue, which opened in 1962. Among the major improvements included upgrades to the dressing rooms, two new scoreboards and the new OVC-branded playing surface. The floor was built by Horner Sports Flooring, whose corporate headquarters are in Dollar Bay, Mich. The company has made floors for many collegiate and National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, including building the floor for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game which was held at Texas Stadium.
 
OVC to Produce 22-Game Men’s Basketball National Television Package: The OVC will produce the largest national television package in its history in 2015-16 as 22 Conference games will air on either the ESPN Family of Networks, CBS Sports Network or the American Sports Network. The Conference will once again have seven men’s games on the ESPN Family of Networks, including four regular season games as well as the OVC Tournament semifinals and championship game. The OVC will also have a seven-game package on CBS Sports Network for the second-straight season. In addition the league has increased its number of games on the American Sports Network (ASN) with 10 total games, including two women’s games and three non-conference contests.
 
OVC Men’s Hoops in Fourth Year of Divisional Play: For the fourth year the OVC will use divisional play for men’s basketball (the OVC women’s teams are not using divisional play anymore). The addition of Belmont University on July 1, 2012 gave the OVC 12 member institutions, the largest the Conference has been since it was formed in 1948 (the OVC is currently the nation’s eighth-oldest Division I conference). The East Division includes Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech. The West Division includes Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Murray State, Southeast Missouri State, SIUE and UT Martin.
 
Former OVC Players in the NBA: There are currently five former OVC players on NBA rosters. That ranks the OVC No. 11 among all 32 Division I Conferences for total numbers of NBA players (ahead of the likes of the West Coast, Missouri Valley and Colonial). Former Morehead State All-American Kenneth Faried was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and is in his fifth season with the Denver Nuggets. Faried was a two-time OVC Player of the Year, three-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year and set the NCAA Modern Era (since 1973) Rebounding record during his career. Faried was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2012 and helped lead Team USA to a Gold Medal in the World Cup of Basketball in 2014. Former Murray State All-American Isaiah Canaan was drafted by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He is joined on the 76ers by former Tennessee State star Robert Covington was started his career with Houston before signing a free agent contract with Philadelphia. Former Belmont All-American Ian Clark saw time with the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets before signing with the World Champion Golden State Warriors this season. The newest NBA player is former Murray State star and OVC Player of the Year Cameron Payne who was a lottery pick (No. 14 overall) by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015. At the beginning of the NBA D-League season there were three former OVC players on roster including Eastern Kentucky’s Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws), Southeast Missouri’s Jarekious Bradley (Oklahoma City Blue) and Tennessee State’s Patrick Miller (Texas Legends).
 
The 2015-16 Season: The 2015-16 season marks the 68th of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 67 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
 
Belmont’s Bradshaw Tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year: The 2015-16 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball team was headlined by Belmont senior Craig Bradshaw who was named the OVC Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches and SID’s. Bradshaw is the first Belmont player to be tabbed Preseason Player of the Year since the Bruins joined the league prior to the 2012-13 season. Overall seven different schools were represented on the team with Belmont, Eastern Illinois and UT Martin having two selections apiece while Austin Peay, Morehead State, Murray State and Southeast Missouri each had one selection. The squad featured three players who were either first or second-team selections last season and three players who were selected to the 2014-15 OVC All-Newcomer Team. The team was comprised of seven seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. In addition to Bradshaw the others named to the team included teammate Evan Bradds, Eastern Illinois players Trae Anderson and Cornell Johnston, UT Martin’s Alex Anderson and Twymond Howard, Morehead State’s Brent Arrington, Southeast Missouri’s Antonius Cleveland, Austin Peay’s Chris Horton and Murray State’s Jeffery Moss.
 
Belmont Picked as OVC Preseason Favorite: In a vote of OVC head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors Belmont was picked the preseason favorite for the 2015-16 season. Belmont, the defending OVC Tournament Champions, picked up 21 of 24 first-place votes in being picked the preseason favorites as overall regular season champions. The Bruins were also tabbed the East Division favorites, picking up 22 of 24 first-place votes in that category, while defending regular season champion Murray State was picked the West Division favorites. In the overall champion voting, in addition to Belmont picking up 21 first-place votes, other teams with first-place votes included UT Martin (2) and Murray State (1). Since Belmont was picked as the overall champion, they were also an overwhelming favorite to take first place in its own division; the Bruins have finished first in the East in each of the first three years of divisional play. Belmont received 132 total points to top the East and were followed by Morehead State (1 first-place vote and 105 points), Eastern Kentucky (1 first-place vote and 88 points), Tennessee Tech (67), Jacksonville State (52) and Tennessee State (48). Murray State picked up 15 of 24 first-place votes and 125 points in being picked the West Division favorite while UT Martin received the other nine first-place votes and 115 points in being tabbed second. The West was rounded out by Eastern Illinois (88), Southeast Missouri (72), Austin Peay (57) and SIUE (35).
 
Westwood One Sports to Broadcast OVC Championship Game: For the seventh consecutive season, the OVC Men’s Basketball Championship game will be broadcast by the Westwood One Sports radio network, the largest provider of audio content in America. Westwood One Sports is the largest independent national audio media company in the U.S., delivering compelling, engaging, and fully-integrated audio content to over 8,200+ radio stations and digital media companies. Westwood One’s powerful portfolio of iconic media, sports and entertainment brands, combined with some of the most recognized live events in the world, provide strong and unique brand engagement to over 225 million consumers each week.
 
OVC Digital Network: The OVC launched the OVC Digital Network (OVCDN) in August 2012. The OVCDN is the exclusive home for live web streamed athletic contests involving OVC schools. This marks the 10th year the OVC has streamed live events, but the fourth year the events have been offered free of charge and in an HD format. Fans can log onto OVCDigitalNetwork.com and access the streams without any registration. The events are available on any computer, tablet or smart phone without needing any special downloads or apps thanks new streaming technology. In November 2015 the league also announced the addition of a channel on the Roku streaming player as well, making it even easier for fans to watch events on their television.