2026 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament
| 2026 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Ford Center Evansville, Indiana |
| Television | ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+ |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UT Martin | 12 | – | 5 | .706 | 20 | – | 8 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southeast Missouri State | 12 | – | 5 | .706 | 17 | – | 11 | .607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 17 | – | 9 | .654 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morehead State | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 15 | – | 12 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 17 | – | 10 | .630 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lindenwood | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 16 | – | 11 | .593 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Illinois | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Little Rock | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 10 | – | 17 | .370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee Tech | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Indiana | 2 | – | 14 | .125 | 5 | – | 21 | .192 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 1 | – | 15 | .063 | 5 | – | 22 | .185 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 OVC tournament winner As of February 17, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament will be the final event of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The tournament will be held March 4–7, 2026, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.[1] The tournament winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Seeds
Only the top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the tournament. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[2]
| Seed | School | Conference Record |
Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | ||
| 2 | – | ||
| 3 | – | ||
| 4 | – | ||
| 5 | – | ||
| 6 | – | ||
| 7 | – | ||
| 8 | – | ||
| DNQ | – | ||
| DNQ | Southern Indiana | – | |
| DNQ | Western Illinois | – |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round – Wednesday, March 4 | ||||||
| 2 | 1 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 5 vs. No. 8 | – | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 6 vs. No. 7 | – | |||
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 5 | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 4 vs. Winner Game 1 | – | ESPN+ | |
| 4 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 vs. Winner Game 2 | – | |||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 6 | ||||||
| 6 | 5 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 1 vs. Winner Game 3 | – | ESPNU | |
| 6 | 9:30 p.m. | No. 2 vs. Winner Game 4 | – | |||
| Final – Saturday, March 7 | ||||||
| 8 | 7 | 8:00 p.m. | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 | – | ESPN2 | |
| All game times in Central Time Zone.[3] | ||||||
NOTE: The Ohio Valley Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments are held simultaneously as one event and, as a result, the sessions are numbered consecutively (1, 3, 5 and 7 are women's; 2, 4, 6 and 8 are men's).
Bracket
| First Round Wednesday, March 4 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 5 ESPN+ | Semifinals Friday, March 6 ESPNU | Final Saturday, March 7 ESPN2 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
Source:[4]
Game summaries
First Round
ESPN+
|
March 4
8:30 p.m. |
| No. 6 vs. No. 7 | ||
| Game 2 |
Ford Center
Evansville, IN |
Quarterfinal Round
ESPN+
|
March 5
8:30 p.m. |
| No. 3 vs. First Round Game 2 Winner | ||
| Game 2 |
Ford Center
Evansville, IN |
Semifinal Round
| No. 1 vs. Quarterfinal Round Game 1 Winner | ||
| Game 1 |
ESPNU
|
March 6
8:30 p.m. |
| No. 2 vs. Quarterfinal Round Game 2 Winner | ||
| Game 2 |
Ford Center
Evansville, IN |
Final Round
| Semifinal Round Game 1 Winner vs. Semifinal Round Game 2 Winner | ||
| Championship |
References
- ^ Glasscock, Griffin (January 8, 2026). "OVC Basketball Championships returning to Ford Center in March". WEVV 44News. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
- ^ "Men's & Women's Basketball Tiebreaker". ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
- ^ "2026 OVC Men's & Women's Basketball Championship - Ohio Valley Conference". ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
- ^ "(PDF) - Ohio Valley Conference" (PDF). ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.