Keith Jaco
Staff writer
rjaco@murraystate.edu
The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, will be the site of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament once again this season as the Murray State men’s and women’s basketball team look to capture an OVC Championship.
The Racers are far from strangers to playing at the Ford Center in Evansville. The Racers women’s basketball team snuck in with the eighth seed last season, coming up short in the first round to Belmont 88-64.
Murray State’s men’s basketball team took down Jacksonville State in the semifinals last year before being crowned OVC Champions following a statement win over Belmont 68-51 in front of a packed crowd of Murray State fans.
Before the 2018 OVC Tournament, a trip to the NCAA tournament ran through Nashville, Tennessee, at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville. In recent years, many fans and teams complained of the unfairness of playing in Nashville, as Belmont was guaranteed a home game-like atmosphere every postseason.
While the new venue was not ideal for every team in the OVC, teams like Murray State reaped the benefits with massive crowds. The drive from Murray to Evansville was much like the trip to Nashville, yet no team was guaranteed a favorable crowd.
Racer fans made sure to support their team with this change, bringing in hoards of Murray State faithfuls to witness the Racers’ 16th OVC Championship in 2018.
Murray State senior Alex Millay thoroughly enjoyed his first trip to the OVC tournament last season.
“I really enjoyed my first OVC Tournament experience last year,” Millay said. “Racer nation travels well, which allowed for each game to have a home-game atmosphere and the short drive also allowed for my friends and I to all enjoy a fun-filled weekend of Racer basketball in Evansville.”
This year will be no different for Murray State as the Racers enter the final week of the season as favorites to make another deep run and possibly clinch their second-consecutive OVC Championship.
Murray State sophomore Christian Barnhill is eager to get the chance to go back home and experience another OVC Tournament.
“I’m super excited for this year’s tournament,” Barnhill said. “I’ll definitely be going back since it’s in my hometown and we have an even better chance of going to the Big Dance this year with Ja [Morant]. I know it’s going to be hyped up, too, with all of the attention Ja is getting right now.”
The OVC Tournament will begin Wednesday, March 6, with the first game featuring the No. 5 seed taking on the No. 8 seed at 6:30 p.m. at the Ford Center.