It’s March and that means the college basketball conference tournaments are in full swing. While the big conferences are set to wrap up next week, the Mid-Major conferences have been playing their tournaments first. Morehead St. became the first team to punch their ticket to the Big Dance as they won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
Morehead St. put forth an almost dominant effort against Little Rock in the tournament final. The Eagles jumped out to an early 21-4 lead and held on as they cruised to the 69-55 win in Evansville. The Little Rock Trojans managed to cut the lead to five in the first half but never got any closer.
Little Rock won the Ohio Valley regular season championship, making them the favorite to secure the automatic bid from the conference. However, Morehead St. got hot in the tournament with wins over SIU-Edwardsville, UT-Martin and Little Rock. The win secured the ninth trip to the NCAA tournament for the Eagles. Morehead St. last made the Big Dance in 2021. Little Rock must wait until Selection Sunday to see if they will make the tournament, as well.
Next Tickets Punched
While one team clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament Saturday, three more will join Morehead St. Sunday. The Atlantic Sun, Big South and Missouri Valley Conferences all wrap up their tournaments next. The Big South takes center stage first as Longwood faces UNC Asheville. That game airs at 12 pm Eastern on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Austin Peay takes on Stetson for the Atlantic Sun title. That game can be seen at 2 pm Eastern on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Finally, Drake and Indiana St. square off in the Missouri Valley Conference. That’s another 2 pm tipoff and can be seen on CBS.
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