MOREHEAD ST. SLIPS INTO OVC TOURNEY

Out of all the teams that qualified for the Ohio Valley Conference post-season men's basketball tournament, Morehead State probably took the toughest path.

The Eagles entered their final regular-season game Saturday night knowing that Eastern Kentucky -- which was battling them for the eighth and final tourney spot -- had already won.

That meant the Eagles needed to upset defending OVC tournament champion Austin Peay, which had already locked up the No. 1 seed for the tourney but was gunning for an outright OVC regular-season title.

Well, the Eagles came through. They stunned the visiting Governors 107-100 in double overtime behind 40 points from Doug Wyciskalla. That offset 46 points from Austin Peay's brilliant Bubba Wells, the likely OVC Player of the Year.

So Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky both finished with 6-12 OVC records, but the Eagles owned the tie-breaker and will enter the OVC tourney as the eighth and final seed -- which earns them a rematch with Austin Peay.

The OVC post-season tournament for men and women gets under way Tuesday at campus sites, with the top four seeds hosting the bottom four seeds.

First-round winners will move on to the new Nashville Arena for Friday's semifinals. The championship games are set for Saturday.

Austin Peay and Murray State tied for the regular-season men's title at 12-6, but the Govs earn the top seed. Middle Tennessee State (11-7) is seeded third, with Tennessee Tech (10-8) fourth.

Southeast Missouri State University and Eastern Illinois tied for fifth place at 9-9, but Eastern Illinois gains the fifth seed because it beat the Indians twice during the season.

Tennessee-Martin (8-10) finished seventh, but the Skyhawks are ineligible for the tournament, so eighth-place Tennessee State (7-11) is the seventh seed. Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky tied for last place at 6-12, with the Eagles gaining the eighth and final seed.

First-round games Tuesday will pit Morehead State at Austin Peay, Tennessee State at Murray State, Southeast at Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois at Tennessee Tech.

On the women's side, Eastern Kentucky (16-2) rolled to the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed. Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay tied for second at 13-5, with Tech gaining the No. 2 seed.

Morehead State (9-9) finished fourth and Eastern Illinois (8-10) wound up fifth.

Then things got mighty scrambled. Middle Tennessee, Murray State, Tennessee State and Tennessee-Martin all tied for sixth at 7-11.

Based on tie-breakers, Tennessee-Martin (which is eligible for the women's tourney) was left out. Middle Tennessee is seeded sixth, with Murray State seventh and Tennessee State eighth.

Southeast (3-15), which finished last in the 10-team league, had long been eliminated from tournament contention.

First-round women's games Tuesday feature Tennessee State at Eastern Kentucky, Murray State at Tennessee Tech, Middle Tennessee at Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois at Morehead State.

OVC Tournament

MEN

Tuesday's Games

First Round

(Seeds in parentheses)

Morehead St. (8) at Austin Peay (1), 7:30 p.m.

Tenn. St. (7) at Murray St. (2), 7 p.m.

SE MISSOURI (6) at Middle Tenn. (3), 7 p.m.

Eastern Ill. (5) at Tenn. Tech (4), 7:30 p.m.

Friday's Games

Semifinals

(At Nashville Arena)

3 p.m., 7 p.m.

Saturday's Game

Championship

(At Nashville Arena)

1 p.m. (ESPN)

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WOMEN

Tuesday's Games

First Round

(Seeds in parentheses)

Tenn. St. (8) at Eastern Ky. (1), 6 p.m.

Murray St. (7) at Tenn. Tech (2), 5:30 p.m.

Middle Tenn. (6) at Austin Peay (3), 5:30 p.m.

Eastern Ill. (5) at Morehead St. (4), 6 p.m.

Friday's Games

Semifinals

(At Nashville Arena)

1 p.m., 9 p.m.

Saturday's Game

Championship

(At Nashville Arena)

3:30 p.m.