The OVC typically holds its conference tournament much earlier than other ones in college basketball. This season, the conference will send the first autobid to the Ncaa Tournament. Jacksonville State earned a victory over UT Martin in the championship to secure a berth.
Jacksonville State Tournament Resume.
The Team finished with a record of 20-14 and finished 3rd in the OVC conference standings. Jacksonville State opened conference play with a bang by defeating major conference foe Tulsa on the road. The Gamecocks then lost three straight games and dropped off the map as a upset team.
In the regular season, Belmont beat Jacksonville State by a combined 30 points in two games. Belmont was expected to be the team that would win the conference tournament and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. Instead, Jacksonville State beat Belmont in the semifinals and won the subsequent championship.
Projected Tournament Seeding.
Prior to the upset, Belmont was projected as a 13 or 14 seed by most bracketologists. Unfortunately for Jacksonville State, it is unlikely that they will be anything but a 16 seed. In fact, the Gamecocks will almost certainly have to play in a first round game before facing a national championship contender in the second round. This team didn't give up in the conference tournament, and it won't give up when tournament time rolls around.
Don't expect Jacksonville State to lie down now that they've made it to the Big Dance.
Autobids.
Other conference autobids will be won throughout the week. These smaller and hopeful schools will try to take down some of the behemoths on a national stage. Some of the best projected mid-majors this season include Middle Tennessee State, UT Arlington, Winthrop, and others.
Gonzaga is technically considered a mid-major as well even though the Bulldogs have just one loss this season.
Jacksonville State will join the ranks of those teams, but will not be seen as one of the better ones by the NCAA tournament committee. The team should still be thrilled by the appearance and play hard in whatever game they are given.