CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 15. Up next: The OVC Tournament.
The OVC moved up and down all season. For a while, UT Martin led the way, but they limped to the finish line. Meanwhile, Morehead State surged, winning seven straight to close the season and sharing the OVC title with Tennessee State.
Only eight of the 11 teams make the OVC Tournament, so if you were excited to watch Tennessee Tech, Southern Indiana, or Western Illinois, you’ll have to wait another year.
Last year could’ve been the least dramatic tournament of all time. The only upset was the 8 seed beating the 5, and the championship game was a 21-point victory by SIUE. The one seed hasn’t won the tournament since Murray State went perfect in conference play four years ago, so while there might be chalk, that doesn’t mean we’ll have a predictable winner.
You can argue that no conference format favors the regular season more, with the bottom three teams not making it, and the top two seeds getting auto-bids to the semifinals. Let’s see if they can take advantage of it.
2026 OVC Conference Awards
Player of the Year: Anias Futrell, Lindenwood
Freshman of the Year: Matas Deniusas, UT Martin
Transfer of the Year: Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood
Coach of the Year: Nolan Smith, Tennessee State
First Team:
- G: Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State (17.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG)
- G: Travis Harper II, Tennessee State (17.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.4 BPG)
- G: George Marshall, Morehead State (13.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG)
- G: Anias Futrell, Lindenwood (17.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.9 BPG)
- G: Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock (16.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 BPG)
Second Team:
- G: Luke Almodovar, SEMO (14.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 1.0 SPG)
- G: Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood (15.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG)
- G: Jadis Jones, Lindenwood (15.3 PPG, 8.5 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 58.8 FG%)
- F: Zion Fruster, Eastern Illinois (14.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.4 SPG)
- F: Andrija Bukumirovic, UT Martin (13.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG
2026 OVC Tournament Simulation
First Round – Wednesday, Mar. 4
5. SIUE (19-12, 12-8) vs. 8. Eastern Illinois (12-19, 8-12) – 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+
These two teams played in the final game of the regular season, and SIUE won by 27. Eastern Illinois barely made it into the tournament, and its stay won’t be very long.
Ariel’s Pick: 5. SIUE
6. Lindenwood (17-14, 11-9) vs. 7. Little Rock (12-19, 9-11) – 8:3o p.m. CT on ESPN+
These two teams split the regular season series, with the road team winning in both situations. While Johnathan Lawson can have a career day and propel Little Rock, Lindenwood’s guard trio is too dangerous, and that balanced scoring will advance them to the next round.
Ariel’s Pick: 6. Lindenwood
Quarterfinals – Thursday, Mar. 5
4. UT Martin (21-10, 13-7) vs. 5. SIUE – 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+
UT Martin was in the driver’s seat all season long, but a 4-5 February dropped them all the way down to the 4 seed. Even during their struggles, they were able to beat this SIUE team on the road. If SIUE only gets 6 bench points like they did last time around, they have no chance in this one.
Ariel’s Pick: 4. UT Martin
3. SEMO (19-12, 14-6) vs. 6. Lindenwood – 8:3o p.m. CT on ESPN+
Both times these teams played, the road team won by double digits. Does home court advantage not apply in the OVC? Since February 1st, SEMO’s defense has really stepped up. They’re the fifth lowest in opponent field goal percentage, and they’ve completely shut down the three-point scoring, as we saw in the recent win, where Lindenwood went 3-16 from deep. SEMO advances.
Ariel’s Pick: 3. SEMO
Semifinals – Friday, Mar. 6
1. Tennessee State (21-9, 15-5) vs. 4. UT Martin – 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU
Tennessee State embarrassed UT Martin in the season finale, winning 67-42 on the road. UT Martin committed 19 turnovers and got outrebounded 39-28. Usually, with a result that recent and the higher seed, it would be easy to pick the better seed. However, UT Martin has a lot of players with a lot of maturity, and a great coach who will make those adjustments. UT Martin allowed the 4th least amount of points in the entire country, and got their revenge in this one.
Ariel’s Pick: 4. UT Martin
2. Morehead State (20-11, 13-7) vs. 3. SEMO – 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU
Morehead State finished the season red hot, winning seven straight. Their last loss, though, was to this SEMO team. These two teams have similar profiles, and while Morehead State is the hot hand, SEMO’s defense will once again play a factor and send them to the final.
Ariel’s Pick: 3. SEMO
Championship – Sunday, Mar. 8
3. SEMO vs. 4. UT Martin – 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2
This one could be ugly. When these teams played in mid-February, the final score was 56-53, in overtime. The other time they played, UT Martin scored 50. So, take the under if you’re a betting man (this is not real betting advice).
UT Martin started the season with wins over UNLV and Bradley, two impressive wins. They seem to play up to competition when it matters, but this team does not look like the one we saw early in the season. SEMO, meanwhile, has seen success in those slower half-court games. UT Martin is looking for their first D1 tournament appearance ever, while SEMO is looking to make it for the second time this decade after winning the conference in 2023.
With a couple of days to recover and the mindset that this is all or nothing for both teams, the upper hand goes to Coach Shulman and UT Martin, who have shown this season that they can win the big game.
Ariel’s Pick: 4. UT Martin