Morehead State men take charge early in OVC race

Morehead State appears to be in the driver's seat in the Ohio Valley Conference's men's basketball race -- but the league's coaches have some words of caution.

Namely that the bulk of the conference schedule still remains to be played and nothing is even remotely close to being decided.

"No question, they're in the driver's seat, but there's a long way to go," Southeast Missouri State coach Gary Garner said. "A lot of things can happen."

Said Eastern Kentucky coach Travis Ford, "Any team can upset any other team and there are so many games left."

Still, Ford conceded that, "They are sitting pretty. I think it's going to be tough to catch them."

The Eagles, picked third in the OVC preseason poll after finishing second in the regular season last year, have bolted out of the gates with a 6-0 record that includes a huge win at two-time defending league champion Tennessee Tech.

Morehead State, which has won seven games in a row and is 11-5 overall, has already posted three conference road victories, which has caused just about everybody in the league to take notice.

But Eagles coach Kyle Macy isn't about to get carried away by the fast start.

"There are still 10 conference games to go for us. It's kind of a cliché, but we have to take one game at a time," Macy said. "We're happy that we're 6-0. It's better than being 0-6. But we're trying not to put too much into it.

"I still wouldn't be surprised if the conference race came down to the last week of the season."

What has really put the Eagles into a commanding early position is that the two heavy preseason favorites -- Murray State and Tennessee Tech -- have each already lost two conference games.

Tennessee Tech lost at home to Morehead State, which given the way the Eagles are playing has turned out to be not all that surprising. And Tech lost at defending OVC Tournament champion Murray State, which is not surprising at all.

But Murray State's two setbacks have been stunning to say the least. The Racers lost at home to Austin Peay and at Southeast Missouri, two teams who were not expected to seriously challenge for the league title.

Besides Morehead State and Tennessee State, which is 0-4 and has lost seven straight, the other seven OVC teams all have either two or three losses as one game separates second place from eighth place.

"I am a little surprised that so many teams have several losses this early," Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if it continues."

The early balance of the OVC -- except for Morehead State at the top and Tennessee State at the bottom -- has certainly given some of the supposed bottom feeders hope that they can, if not challenge for the title, at least contend for an upper-division finish and perhaps slide into a first-round conference tournament home game.

The top four finishers host opening-round contests before the tournament semifinals and finals are played in Nashville, Tenn.

"I think that's what a lot of teams who weren't picked that high are shooting for, trying to get that fourth spot and host a first-round game," Garner said. "Once you get to Nashville, anything can happen, but the big thing is getting there. And the best chance to get there is by being at home in the first round."

Eagles will be tested

Three conference games will be played tonight, none more intriguing than Morehead State's visit to Murray State.

Although, as the coaches pointed out, it is still early in the league race, the vaunted Racers would be in a serious hole if they fall three games behind the Eagles. And Morehead State would put itself even further into a commanding position by picking up another key road win.

While many people think Murray State has the best pure talent in the OVC, Racers coach Tevester Anderson points toward Morehead State.

"Morehead is probably the most talented team in our conference right now," Anderson said.

Women's race interesting

Unlike the men's race, where seven teams are bunched so close together, four women's squads appear to be separating themselves from the rest of the field.

Eastern Kentucky is 5-0, followed by Austin Peay (3-0), Southeast Missouri (4-1) and Morehead State (4-2). Those squads were picked to be among the league's top five teams, with Southeast Missouri being tabbed fifth and probably ranking as the OVC's biggest early-season surprise under first-year coach B.J. Smith.

Probably the most stunning early-season women's development is the struggles of Tennessee Tech, which has been the OVC's dominant program over the years.

The Eaglettes, the defending regular-season co-champions along with Eastern Kentucky, are 1-4 for their worst conference start in years. Tennessee Tech returned no starters this season and was expected to be a bit down, but maybe not quite this far.

Still, like the men's coaches, Smith cautions that it's still way too early to get carried away by anything that has happened so far.

"There is still so much basketball left to be played," Smith said. "Tech is really young and they could get going at any time."

Smith's Otahkians face a huge early-season game Saturday as they visit preseason favorite Austin Peay.

Marty Mishow covers Southeast Missouri State University and the OVC and for the Southeast Missourian.