OVC TOURNEY PAIRINGS REMAIN TOTALLY UNSETTLED

As Southeast Missouri State University's basketball teams begin the final week of the regular season, one thing is perfectly clear.

The Indians and Otahkians both have no idea who they might be facing in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament.

The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings on both the men's and women's sides qualify for the OVC tourney, with the top four finishers earning first-round home games.

Southeast's teams are assured of hosting first-round OVC Tournament games next Tuesday -- each squad accomplishing that feat for the first time ever. The Otahkians will play at 5:30 p.m., with the Indians to follow at 7:30.

But other than that, not much else is known. That's how scrambled the OVC standings are on both sides.

For the men, the top two spots are basically pretty clear. Murray State clinched at least a tie for its 11th OVC title in the past 12 years by outlasting Eastern Illinois 94-89 in two overtimes Saturday night.

That leaves the Racers with a 15-1 OVC record. Southeast, which has locked up second place, is 13-3 after Saturday's 60-49 victory at Tennessee-Martin.

With only two regular-season games remaining for both squads, all Murray State needs to do is win one time to wrap up the outright championship. The Racers visit Tennessee State Thursday and Austin Peay Saturday.

"We pretty well knew after Murray State beat us (last Thursday) that we wouldn't have a chance to win the championship," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose squad plays at Eastern Kentucky Tuesday night and closes out the regular season Saturday at home against Eastern Illinois.

"Our goal is just to stay focused on finishing up strong so we can really have momentum going into the tournament."

After those top two spots, things are totally up for grabs. Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee are tied for third place at 8-8, Eastern Illinois is right behind at 8-9 and Tennessee Tech, Morehead State and Austin Peay are all just another notch back at 7-9.

The eight teams that will make the tourney field are pretty well set, since ninth-place Tennessee-Martin is basically out of the picture at 5-11. But outside of Murray and Southeast, the order is still very much up for grabs. The Indians, assuming they remain second, would face the seventh-place finisher in the OVC tourney's first round.

"We probably won't know who that's going to be until all the games are finished (Saturday night)," Garner said.

As for Southeast's women, not only is their first-round tourney foe very much still up in the air, but so is their OVC finish.

Saturday's 84-70 loss at Tennessee-Martin bumped the Otahkians out of first place and all the way into fourth -- but Southeast is still only one-half game behind a trio of teams tied for first: Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech and Middle Tennessee.

The Otahkians have only one more regular-season game, Saturday at home against Eastern Illinois. Southeast, 12-5 in OVC play, has clinched at least fourth place but could move up considerably, depending on what the other three teams do. Those three squads, all 12-4, each has two games left.

"It's going to be tough for us (ton win the title) now," said Otahkian coach Ed Arnzen. "But we have to concentrate on two things, getting ready for Eastern Illinois and getting ready for the (OVC) tournament."

Behind the Otahkians, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State are both 8-8 and Tennessee State is 7-9. Those squads have tourney berths locked up. But the eighth and final spot is still very much up for grabs between Austin Peay (4-12), Morehead State (3-13) and Eastern Illinois (3-14).

If the Otahkians end up in fourth place, they will take on the fifth-place finisher in the first round of the league tournament.