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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
- Belmont
- Murray State
- Jacksonville State
- Austin Peay
- UT Martin
- Eastern Kentucky
- Eastern Illinois
- Morehead State
- Tennessee State
- SIUE
- Southeast Missouri
- Tennessee Tech
MEDIA DAY OVC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Terry Taylor – Austin Peay, JR G/F
MEDIA DAY ALL-OVC PRESEASON TEAM
Jomaru Brown – Eastern Kentucky, SO G
Tevin Brown – Murray State, SO G
Jr. Clay – Tennessee Tech, SO G
Darnell Cowart – Murray State, SR F
Quintin Dove – UT Martin, SR F
Grayson Murphy – Belmont, SO G
Nick Muszynski – Belmont, SO C
Craig Randall – UT Martin, SR G
Terry Taylor – Austin Peay, JR G/F
Jordan Walker – Morehead State, SR G
Josiah Wallace – Eastern Illinois, JR G
NOTES FROM DAVID. Last year, the OVC had two really good top-40 caliber teams in Murray State (reached the Round of 32) and Belmont (earned an at-large bid and won a First Four game), two other pretty good teams in Jacksonville State and Austin Peay, and then eight more teams that were sub-200 caliber teams. The cavern between 4th and 5th was pretty wide. With those four teams once again picked in the top-four, we could see the same thing again this year.
Belmont won 27 games a year ago, which was good enough for an at-large bid and a trip to the First Four. They lost their best player in Dylan Windler due to graduation, and their legendary coach due to retirement, but they should still be one of the best teams in the league. Three starters are back, and Casey Alexander, the long time assistant and former Lipscomb head coach, takes over. Throughout the years, this is a program with a history of players being able to step in to new roles and immediately contribute. That will likely be the case again this year, and it won’t shock me to see them finish on top.
Murray State is coming off a fantastic year where they won 28 games and made the Round of 32. Ja Morant is gone, and lottery picks are simply not routinely replaced, but three starters are back, and their frontcourt may actually be a little bit better than it was a year ago. They add some pretty talented freshmen to the roster that should contribute as well. Will they make the Round of 32 again? That may be a stretch, but it’s not an impossibility. Head coach Matt McMahon has exceeded expectations seemingly every year he’s been there.
Jax State has just one starter back, but they once again have some solid JUCO tranfers coming in, as well as Elias Harden who transferred in from Xavier. Ray Harper is a fantastic coach and he’s good at getting his guys to play together despite the loss of contributing players from year to year. Don’t be shocked if they are once again near the top of the league.
Austin Peay is once again dealing with a lot of changes to their roster, but they have two starters back and some solid transfers to go along with it. Head coach Matt Figger did an unbelievable job in his second season last year. They were picked to finish 11th in the conference. They were in contention for first place all the way up until the end.
UT Martin is another school that seems to have an infusion of talent transferring in. They also have a really solid player returning in Quintin Dove.
Eastern Kentucky has missed the conference tournament the last two years, but they still looked noticeably better under first year head coach A.W. Hamilton last season. With three starters back and some quality transfers joining the roster, the Colonels should be much improved this year.
Eastern Illinois has all five starters back from a team that appeared to be on a roll about half way through conference play, and then totally crashed out at the end of the year. Injuries had a lot to do with, and they should be a lot better this year if they can stay healthy.
Morehead State saw significant improvement last year after missing the OVC Tournament two years ago, but still has a long way to go before they can contend for the top of the league. Still, three starters are back, and like seemingly all OVC teams, the will look to get some production out of transfers who are joining the roster.
SIUE has three starters back from a team that tied for 7th and made the OVC Tournament. They have a new coach and will look to get contributions out of some of their new players.
Tennessee State is in complete rebuild mode with all of their starters being gone from a year ago. SEMO and Tennessee Tech are potentially in for long seasons as well.