RACERS LEAD OVC's PRESEASON PACK

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The way Gary Garner figures, it didn't take a rocket scientist to pick Murray State to win yet another Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball championship."They're the defending champions and they have four starters back," said Garner, Southeast Missouri State University's coach, during Tuesday's OVC Media Day at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (formerly the Nashville Arena). "They have to be picked No. 1."The other OVC coaches all agreed with Garner as Murray State was made a unanimous choice to win its seventh consecutive regular-season title and its 12th crown in the past 13 years.Murray State, which went 27-6 last year, received all 18 possible first-place votes in a poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors (teams are not allowed to pick their own finish)."Last season was very special because it was my first year as head coach," said Murray State's Tevester Anderson. "I thank the coaches for having respect to pick us first. I hope we can defend our championship, but it will be a very tough road."Southeast, which had its best-ever Division I season last year, and Austin Peay tied for second in the balloting, with each team picking up one first-place vote.Garner's Indians went 20-9 last year, finished just one game behind Murray State in the regular-season and came within seconds of making the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time ever. Murray State's Aubrey Reese hit a miraculous shot at the buzzer to beat Southeast in the OVC Tournament finals.Although the Indians return just two starters from last season, a bumper recruiting class that features some highly touted junior-college transfers was evidently enough to impress the league's other coaches."I'm really surprised we were picked tied for second with so many new faces," Garner said. "I thought we'd be picked in the middle of the pack some place."I like our team and I think we"ll probably be more talented than we were last year. But how we replace Bud (last season's OVC Player of the Year Bud Eley) at center will be a big key. We call it the Bud factor. He was such a dominating player."Last year, Murray State and Southeast ran away and hid from the rest of the league, the Racers going 16-2 in OVC play and the Indians compiling a 15-3 conference record. No other OVC team won more than nine league games.Garner doesn't expect that to happen this season."It's going to be different than last year," he said. "I think our league will be really competitive. I think second through sixth could have been picked any way and I think four or five, maybe even six teams can give Murray State a run for their money."One of those figures to be Austin Peay, which suffered through a disappointing 11-16 season last year."I think our team is improved, but whether we've improved enough to contend, time will tell," said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos.Middle Tennessee State (12-19 last year) was tabbed to finish fourth in the 10-team league, followed by Tennessee Tech (12-15), Eastern Illinois (13-16), Morehead State (13-15), Tennessee State (12-15), Eastern Kentucky (3-23) and Tennessee-Martin (8-18).Murray State forward Isaac Spencer was named the OVC's preseason player of the year. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 16 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last year while shooting 53 percent from the field.Reese, the Racers' stellar senior point guard, joins Spencer on the preseason all-OVC first team, along with Austin Peay's Trenton Hassell, Tennessee State's Jamie Roberts and Tennessee Tech's Corey Hemphill.Southeast senior forward Roderick Johnson made the preseason second team while Indians' senior forward Mike Branson is on the honorable-mention list.The OVC has just one new head coach as former Austin Peay assistant Bret Campbell takes over at Tennessee-Martin.

MEN'S POLLPredicted order of finish as picked by league coaches and sports information directors with number of first- place votes in parentheses and total points (teams were not allowed to pick their own finish):1. Murray State (18) 1622. Austin Peay (1) 127(tie) Southeast Missouri (1) 1274. Middle Tennessee 113 5. Tennessee Tech 1116. Eastern Illinois 747. Morehead State 638. Tennessee State 609. Eastern Kentucky 4310. Tennessee-Martin 20

ALL-OVC

Members of the 1999-2000 preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball team as picked by league coaches and sports information directors:First TeamF-Isaac Spencer, Murray StateG/F-Trenton Hassell, Austin PeayG-Aubrey Reese, Murray StateG-Jamie Roberts, Tennessee StateG-Corey Hemphill, Tennessee Tech Preseason player of the year: Isaac SpencerSecond TeamF-Rod Murray, Murray StateF-Roderick Johnson, Southeast MissouriF-Cedrick Wallace, Middle TennesseeG-Josh Heard, Tennessee TechG-Kyle Hill, Eastern IllinoisHonorable MentionF-Mike Branson, Southeast MissouriF-Marc Polite, Eastern IllinoisC-Lee Nosse, Middle TennesseeG-Whitney Robinson, Eastern KentuckyG-Brad Cleaver, Morehead StateG-Nick Stapleton, Austin Peay