For the third year in a row, Murray State will have at least a share of the OVC regular season crown. The Racers could have won the title outright, but on February 20, they visited Eastern Illinois -- where they led 52-28 with only 8:33 remaining in the game. From that point on, EIU outscored the Racers 35 to 8, beating Murray 63-60 with a three-pointer at the buzzer. That could have been an excuse for Murray to fall apart, but the Racers recovered to win their last three games, capping their season with a 75-61 win at home over Austin Peay. So the Racers tied Belmont for first place. Here are the final standings, with K-Pom rankings:
107. Belmont: 15-3, 24-7
137. Murray St: 15-3, 22-8
168. Austin Peay: 14-4, 20-11
286. E. Kentucky: 12-6, 15-16
235. E. Illinois: 9-9, 16-14
249. Tennessee St: 9-9, 17-14
277. Jacksonville St: 8-10, 13-18
317. Morehead St: 7-11, 13-18
331. Tennessee Tech: 6-12, 9-22
337. SIU-Edwardsville: 5-13, 8-23
338. UT-Martin: 5-13, 9-20
341. SE Missouri St: 3-15, 7-24
Now we all head to Evansville, where the real OVC title -- and its bid to the NCAA Tournament -- will finally be decided.
In an NCAA office full of Erics, each Division I conference would get its regular-season and tournament champion into the 64-team national tournament. The teams that won both their regular-season and tournament championships would host their first two games in the national tournament.
ReplyDeleteOn an Earth full of Erics, each state would host a tournament for its Division I teams. The 64-team national tournament would be filled first with the state-tournament winners, plus however many more wild cards determined by media poll.
Go, Murray State!