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OVC MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Morehead State
- SIUE
- Tennessee State
- UT Martin
- SEMO
- Tennessee Tech
- Little Rock
- Western Illinois
- Southern Indiana
- Lindenwood
- Eastern Illinois
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL OVC:
-Keenon Cole – Lindenwood
-KK Curry – UT Martin
-Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. – Tennessee State
-Mark Freeman – Morehead State
-DeAntoni Gordon – Little Rock
-Jayvis Harvey – Tennessee Tech
-Kinyon Hodges – Tennessee State
-Damarco Minor – SIUE
-Ray’Sean Taylor – SIUE
-Drew Thelwell – Morehead State
-Shamar Wright – SIUE
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Morehead State was the first place finisher last year by three full games but missed out on the NCAA Tournament after falling in the OVC semifinals to SEMO. They did go on to the NIT and managed a big upset road win at Clemson, so with three starters back the expectations are once again high and they are the near-unanimous preseason favorite. Morehead State has had three straight 20+ win seasons and appears to be in position to make it four straight this year. Mark Freeman/Drew Thelwell were both double-digit scorers a year ago and both can score from the outside. They also have some key transfers coming in, particularly Riley Minix who was a standout forward at NAIA school Southeastern, so this team has the pieces to once again run away from the pack.
-On January 18th of last season SIUE was 14-5, had won a very impressive six out of seven, and appeared to be the only decent looking team in the OVC that would have been able to earn an NCAA Tournament seed better than #16. From that point on the bottom fell out and they ended up finishing just .500 in the league. I still cannot get past how good they looked early on, and with three starters back including Ray’Sean Taylor, who averaged over 17ppg last year, I think this team can challenge Morehead State. This is not a program that has experienced a whole lot of success, but Coach Brian Barone has them going in the right direction.
-Tennessee State heated up down the stretch last year and ended up finishing in a tie for 3rd, and is getting quite a bit of love this preseason despite having just one starter back from a year ago. They are tasked with replacing Jr. Clay, who was one of the best players in the league last year. They do have some good looking transfers coming in with a fair amount of D1 experience, so while their roster was overhauled I think we will see them near the top of the standings.
-UT Martin looked pretty solid in the first half of conference play, but then went into a bit of a tailspin where they lost five of their last eight games. Still, it was a huge turnaround with 19 total wins after three consecutive years of winning fewer than ten, and I think their program has taken a huge step forward. Just two starters are back so they are relying on some incoming transfers to keep them in the top half of the league this year.
-SEMO finished the regular season just 10-8 and had to play in the opening round of the OVC Tournament, but they managed to win four games in four days, including knocking off Morehead State in the semifinals for the second time last season, and ended up capturing the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They did lose their top two players who transferred out and like a lot of teams in this conference they are looking to rebuild their roster.
-Tennessee Tech had a decent year last year where they went 11-7 during the conference regular season, and it was likely the best year Coach John Pelphrey has had since he took over, but this team still has a long way to go. Jayvis Harvey returns at guard so the Golden Eagles to appear to have a solid backcourt, but the frontcourt and just overall depth could be an issue.
-Last year Little Rock was a very unimpressive 6-12 in league play and they had just eight overall D1 wins. What is unbelievable about their season a year ago is that 8 of their 12 OVC losses were by 6 pts (two possessions) or less. I have never seen a team almost win so many games. DeAntoni Gordon is the only returning starter so it could be another frustrating year for the Trojans.
-Western Illinois is new to the league, and while they don’t have the richest tradition when it comes to basketball, I don’t see them finishing quite this low. Chad Boudreau takes over as head coach after being an assistant last year and is tasked with replacing their top player along with two other starters, but Quinlan Bennett/Jesiah West are both solid players, and the typical level of competition in the OVC is a little more manageable than what is at the top of the Summit League. There is no Oral Roberts, South Dakota State, or North Dakota State. There is no group of teams that anyone looks at and thinks, “We will be lucky if we win one of those six games.” I do not think they will finish as high as SIUE/Morehead State, but I do think they will finish better than 8th.
-Southern Indiana had a fairly successful debut season as they begin the transition to D1, but the second/third years are usually the hardest. It is a situation where a team’s key players from the previous year either graduate/transfer, and then they are hard to replace with D1-caliber players because guys just do not want to play for a team that is not postseason-eligible. Lindenwood will be dealing with the same issues.
-Eastern Illinois is picked to finish last. They were 5-13 in the league last year and were actually playing their best ball during the last few weeks of the season. Granted, their best ball still was not all that good…but they were getting better. Three starters are back and they have added some standout JUCO players. I would not just assume that this team will be the league’s doormat.