Racers set torrid pace as OVC play approaches

Murray State was picked third in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason men's basketball poll, based on voting by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

But if ballots were collected now, the perennial OVC powerhouse Racers -- who slumped to a fourth-place tie last year -- would no doubt be the heavy favorite.

The Racers, featuring several of their top returning players and two big-time junior-college transfers, have been by far the OVC's most impressive team as the new year -- and the start of conference play -- approaches.

The first conference game is Saturday as defending champion Austin Peay visits Jacksonville State and there is also one game on Jan. 6, but league play begins in earnest on Jan. 8, at which time all 11 teams will have opened their OVC schedules.

Murray State, led by the sensational play of senior forward Cuthbert Victor and the addition of stellar juco forward Kelvin Brown -- and featuring a new coach in former Louisville and Cincinnati assistant Mick Cronin -- has bolted to a 9-1 start, including some impressive victories, most notably a 15-point second-half comeback triumph over Southern Illinois. The Racers' lone loss was at 16th-ranked Pittsburgh.

Defending OVC regular-season and tournament champion Austin Peay, returning all five starters, was deservedly picked as the favorite to repeat. The Governors (3-6) have struggled so far but, like most conference teams, they've played a rugged schedule and figure to be very much in the title chase.

Morehead State, which tied Austin Peay for last year's regular-season crown, returned OVC player of the year Ricky Minard along with standout Chez Marks, so the squad was understandably selected No. 2. The Eagles (4-4) have been up and down but, like the Govs, have too much talent not to be a major factor in the championship race.

Southeast Missouri State University, despite struggling mightily the last two years, was somewhat surprisingly picked fourth. But the Indians (6-3) have been fairly impressive and given indications that they could indeed challenge for an upper-division finish.

Tennessee Tech, coming off a third-place showing but returning just one starter, was picked fifth. But the Eagles (5-4) have been perhaps the OVC's most surprising team in non-conference play, posting several impressive wins and making some solid showings against high-profile programs.

Tennessee-Martin, the No. 6 preseason choice, continues to improve its athleticism. The Skyhawks (4-6) have also been up and down but still figure to be a darkhorse contender, as many of the league's coaches predicted.

No. 7 selection Samford, an OVC newcomer that runs the seldom-seen Princeton offense, figured to be a handful for the conference because of its unique style of play. The Bulldogs (4-5) have given no indication they won't cause problems with some solid showings, including a recent one-point loss at Memphis.

No. 8 Eastern Kentucky (3-6) has been up and down; No. 9 Eastern Illinois (1-7) has really struggled after losing scoring whiz Henry Domercant; No. 10 Jacksonville State (5-4) has posted a winning record but against by far the league's weakest non-conference schedule; and No. 11 Tennessee State (1-9) faces a major rebuilding process under new coach Cy Alexander. The Tigers, winless in OVC play last year, have lost 30 of their last 31 games.

While it's true that everything that has happened so far will mean little once the conference season begins, non-league play does offer a decent indication of what to expect entering OVC action.

Based on what's transpired to date -- and what some OVC coaches have told me -- Murray State appears to be the only team capable of running away with the championship. The Racers are hands down the league's most talented team.

But that doesn't mean the Racers WILL run away with things. If recent history is any indication, at least several squads will make a strong push for the title. And, of course, anything can happen in the always-thrilling conference tournament, where teams chase the coveted automatic NCAA berth knowing one loss and their hopes are dashed.

Let the conference season begin!

Southeast has an interesting road trip planned this week as it closes out its non-conference schedule. The Indians play DePaul in Chicago on New Year's Eve afternoon, then proceed to Fort Wayne, Ind., where they will take on Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Saturday.

DePaul -- which is paying the Indians $45,000, just as Arkansas did -- is talented and will be hard to beat. IPFW has struggled against a brutal schedule made up primarily of road games but doesn't figure to be a pushover on its home court.

The Indians would love to squeeze out at least one victory this week heading into their OVC opener on Jan. 8 against defending champion Austin Peay. No matter what happens, they're assured of entering league play with a winning record for the first time since the 2000-2001 season.

Southeast's women have struggled so far with their overall play, but Otahkian fans shouldn't be alarmed by the team's disappointing 4-5 record.

It's doubtful that many mid-major squads -- or programs of any level -- have played a tougher non-conference schedule to this point than the Otahkians.

The Otahkians have lost at nationally ranked Oklahoma and Utah, along with a road setback against a powerful Southwest Missouri State squad that is receiving votes for the top 25. And Southeast still has to play nationally ranked Kansas State Tuesday in the Texas-San Antonio New Year's Classic.

But even though the Otahkians will -- barring a huge upset of Kansas State -- probably have a losing record when they begin OVC play on Jan. 8 against defending champion Austin Peay, preseason conference favorite Southeast still figures to be a prime contender for its first OVC championship.

As usual, the annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament produced its share of major blowouts during the first two days of action, but things figure to heat up significantly -- as is always the case -- Monday and Tuesday, when the final two rounds are played.

And kudos to KGIR-1220 for once again providing wire-to-wire radio coverage of the tournament as every game is being broadcast.

The KGIR-1220 announcers deserve special props for being able to slog through some of the early first-round games that are generally the most lopsided of the tournament. Calling those massacres can't be easy, but those guys always seem to make it sound at least halfway interesting, which is no small feat.

Is it just me, or have other people noticed how unorganized the University of Missouri basketball team always appears to be on the offensive end of the court?

The Tigers have supreme talent, but they never seem to have much of a plan of attack other than to use their considerable one-on-one skills. That's fine when they play overmatched squads, but it's usually not good enough against teams of similar personnel.

Watching the Tigers play, it's not all that surprising they've struggled to a 4-3 start, which includes several unimpressive wins over mid-major programs. But the season is a long one and Mizzou has too much talent not to get things rolling in the very near future.

Nobody can deny that, from a purely basketball standpoint, Bobby Knight is one of the greatest college coaches of all time.

But Knight proved once again last week during an ESPN interview that he also ranks as one of the most classless coaches ever. It's a mystery why Knight, despite all his success, continually seems to be angry at the world.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian