Breaking down the OVC Conference basketball tournament schedule

The OVC Conference Championship stretches from March 3rd through March 6th, with all games taking place at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The tournament will include top-eight teams of the Ohio Valley Conference, each playing a single-elimination game with no reseeding.

The first round of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the semifinals will air on ESPNU. The OVC Conference Championship game will air March 6, 2021 on ESPN2.

Belmont and Morehead State secured the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively in the OVC, which earned them each a bid to the semifinals. Belmont went undefeated in the conference with an 18-0 record, while Morehead State finished the year at 15-3. Belmont currently ranks No. 86 in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and No. 81 in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Morehead State ranks well-behind at No. 135 in the Pomeroy ratings and No. 134 the NET rankings.

March 3, 2021

Game 1: No. 1 Belmont 78-61 over No. 8 SIU-Edwardsville
Game 2: No. 2 Morehead State 61-54 vs. No. 7 Southeast Missouri

March 4, 2021

Game 3: No. 4 Jacksonville State 68-65 over No. 5 Murray State
Game 4: No. 3 Eastern Kentucky 70-67 over No. 6 Austin Peay

March 5, 2021

Semifinal 1: No. 1 Belmont 72-69 over No. 4 Jacksonville State
Semifinal 2: No. 2 Morehead State 67-64 over No. 3 Eastern Kentucky

March 6, 2021

Championship: No. 2 Morehead State 86-71 over No. 1 Belmont

Morehead State are the OVC Champions, and have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.