3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Terry Taylor, Jr., Austin Peay
Coach of the Year: A.W. Hamilton, Eastern Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year: Jordyn Adams, Fr., Austin Peay
Freshman of the Year: Jordyn Adams, Fr., Austin Peay
Season Storylines:
For the third year in a row Belmont and Murray State finish at the top of the Ohio Valley. Despite both squads losing pros this summer, the Bruins and Racers were as fierce as ever, dominating the league to the tune of a 15-3 OVC record. Surely this dominance cannot last forever – I’m sure the rest of the conference will have a shot next year. Oh wait, both teams are led by a cadre of underclassmen, ones that don’t have NBA teams calling for their services quite yet. 2020-21 will likely be yet another “rinse, wash, repeat” scenario in the “other” Valley.
Austin Peay’s star junior forward was overshadowed by Ja Morant, Dylan Windler, and Nick Mayo last season, but he asserted his dominance in 2019-20. Taylor led the OVC in both scoring (21.4 PPG) and rebounding (10.8 RPG) while ranking second in the conference in blocks per game (1.4 BPG). Not only does Taylor put up gaudy numbers, but he also does it in an incredibly efficient way, notching a 115.9 O-rating this season after posting a 121.1 and 121.4 as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. Taylor has a chance to be the best mid-major player in America next season as he tries to lift the Govs over the Murray / Belmont hump with the help of OVC Newcomer of the Year Jordyn Adams.
I gave A.W. Hamilton the nod for OVC Coach of the Year because his squad was really the only team in the league to significantly out-perform preseason expectations. Yes, EKU was 15-16 overall this season, but a 12-6 OVC record is nothing sneeze at, especially considering 5th place finished a full three games back. The Ohio Valley was not a good league this year, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that Hamilton led his program to a 6-game improvement over last season.
About that “not a good league comment” earlier… it’s sadly true. Per KenPom, this year’s OVC was the worst the conference has been since 2008, finishing 29th out of 32 leagues in adjusted efficiency margin. Only the Big South, SWAC, and MEAC had worse years, per Mr. Pomeroy. On the bright side, this league is heavy on underclassmen – only three seniors grace the All-Conference squads above.
Tournament Preview
The OVC Tourney is held in scenic Evansville, Indiana, home of the Purple Aces. Only the top eight teams make the bracket, so UT Martin, Tennessee Tech, SIUE, and SEMO are done for the year. The top two seeds get a huge advantage in this format (rightly so), needing just two wins to capture the auto-bid to the Big Dance. If either Belmont or Murray State end up winning the Tourney, a 14-15 seed is the most likely outcome. Anyone else is looking at a 16-seed, depending on how other mid-major postseason tournaments play out.
The college basketball world needs a rubber match between Belmont and Murray State, who split their season series. These two squads along with Austin Peay crushed the conference all year, so it would be shocking to see anyone else in this final game - especially with the bracket setup. If you want to take a flyer on a lower seed, Tennessee State is a good option. The Tigers are as athletic as any team in the conference and have the requisite talent to make a Cinderella run this week.
Tournament Predictions
(5) Tennessee State over (8) Morehead State
(7) Jacksonville State over (6) Eastern Illinois
(5) Tennessee State over (4) Eastern Kentucky
(3) Austin Peay over (7) Jacksonville State
(1) Belmont over (5) Tennessee State
(2) Murray State over (3) Austin Peay
(1) Belmont over (2) Murray State