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Odds to win the Ohio Valley Conference tournament

Belmont enter as the favorite, but can someone else steal the automatic bid from the OVC?

Belmont Bruins center Nick Muszynski reacts during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio Valley Conference does have a top team in Belmont, and they’ll get a bit of help due to the format of the event. The OVC goes with a double-bye format, meaning the top two seeds in the No. 1 Belmont Bruins and No. 2 Murray State Racers will go directly to the semifinals of the event at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

It’s a huge edge having to only win two games instead of three (or four!) to cut down the nets, but it also could mean some rest might make things more difficult in a one-off situation against a team that might be in rhythm following a win the night before. The double-bye is relatively new to conference tournaments so the sample sizes aren’t huge, but it would seem Belmont and Murray certainly have an edge they earned based on the regular season.

Center Nick Muszynski is a huge factor for the Bruins, where he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, but shoots 63% from the floor for a team that hasn’t lost since January 25th.

If there was a challenger below the byes, look for Austin Peay and the backcourt of Terry Taylor and Jordyn Adams. They combine for a usage rate that’s over half of what the Governors have as a team, and Taylor is one of the best players in the league.

The following are the odds to win the Ohio Valley Conference tournament from DraftKings Sportsbook.

OVC Odds

Team Odds 3/3
Team Odds 3/3
Belmont -155
Murray State +145
Austin Peay +700
Tennessee State +5000
Eastern Illinois +8000
Eastern Kentucky +10000
Jacksonville State +10000
Morehead State +10000

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