Morehead State Wins Ohio Valley Championship, Punches First Ticket to NCAA Tournament
The Morehead State Eagles defeated the Little Rock Trojans by a score of 69-55 to win the Ohio Valley Conference championship game and be the first team to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Eagles got off to a scorching 21-4 start, and never ended up trailing in the game. The Trojans were able to cut the deficit to five heading into the break and tied it up several minutes into the second half. Midway through the half, Morehead State turned it up offensively and ultimately was able to pull away from the Trojans. The nearly 10 percentage point differential from the floor as a team was the difference in this game, as Little Rock was unable to string together buckets.
Morehead State looked to be the more prepared team out of the gate, with Little Rock struggling from the floor, especially in the first half. The Eagles were led by the duo of Riley Minix and Drew Thelwell who scored 26 and 21 points respectively. With the Eagles sticking to a tight seven-man rotation, Minix played all 40 minutes and Thelwell sat out just one minute. Little Rock’s scoring output was more balanced, also with only five players scoring but each of the five contributed eight or more points. Bradley Douglas, a senior guard off the bench, paced the Trojans with 14 points.
Morehead State will likely be a 15 seed in the NCAA tournament, while there is a small possibility that they are a 16 seed. The Eagles’ last NCAA tournament appearance came in 2021, where they were a 14 seed and lost in the first round to West Virginia. Back in 2011, they were able to upset Louisville in the first round as a 13 seed before losing to Richmond in round two. While the Ohio Valley Conference was the first to crown a tournament champion, there will be three more championships held tomorrow. The Big South championship features Longwood and UNC-Asheville, the ASUN championship has Austin Peay facing off against Stetson, and the Missouri Valley Conference, where two tournament hopefuls in Drake and Illinois State will battle.
