SKYHAWKS OPEN UP OVC TOURNAMENT AGAINST NO. 8 TENNESSEE TECH
March 2, 2009
MARTIN, Tenn. - Bret Campbell and The University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks basketball team started focusing on this year's March Madness a year ago when they suffered a one-point loss to Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.
That focus of getting back to the OVC semifinals and championship in Nashville has turned into one of the goals for Campbell and his Skyhawks. However, the big goal is winning the OVC tournament and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Skyhawks (21-8, 14-4 OVC) punched their ticket to the OVC tournament as the top seed by winning the regular season championship Saturday night with a 79-65 decision over visiting Morehead State. The Skyhawks will open tournament play tomorrow night (Tuesday, March 3) against No. 8 seed Tennessee Tech. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. The winner advances to the semifinals at 6 p.m., Friday at the Sommet Center in Nashville.
"It won't take too long for this team to refocus after Saturday night's game against Morehead State," Campbell said. "The team knows our goal is to get to the NCAA tournament."
Sophomore Marquis Weddle led the Skyhawks with 30 points against Morehead State while senior Lester Hudson added 27 points.
"We are worried about all their players," Tennessee Tech head coach Mike Sutton said. "You are not going to stop Hudson and Weddle. We will have to contain their other players."
Sutton said seniors Olajide Hay and Djero Riedewald, along with junior guard Delrico Lane, will present the Golden Eagles with plenty of challenges. Hay enters the game with the OVC's best field goal shooting percentage, and is second on the team in rebounding. Riedewald is third on the team in rebounding, while Lane is second on the team in steals and first in the OVC in assists.
"The good teams in the league have upper classmen, such as Hudson and (Eastern Kentucky's Mike) Rose, making plays," Sutton said.
"We still have guys in Pampers. That's the difference between the top and the bottom teams in the league."
While Tech is seeded eighth in the tournament, Sutton is discounting senior Daniel Northern who averages 12.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Northern leads the league in blocked shots and is second in rebounding.
Tech also starts junior guards Will Barnes and Frank Davis, who both average 10 points per game. Unlike the Skyhawks, Tech will start freshman Kevin Murphy, a candidate for OVC Freshman of the Year, who averages 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Tech also locked up its tournament berth with a victory on Saturday, a 91-74 decision over Jacksonville State.
"Our March Madness started the last day of February (against Jacksonville State)," Sutton said. "We will try to compete and make this an exciting tournament game."
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