COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The scenarios are many for where the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team could be seeded in next week's OVC Tournament, but the Golden Eagles just need to know one scenario going into Saturday's game against Jacksonville State: Win and they are in.
Tech will take on the Gamecocks with an OVC Tournament berth at state for both teams. For TTU, a win will give the Golden Eagles a spot in the tournament as either the sixth, seventh or eighth seed while also eliminating JSU from postseason play. On the other hand, a JSU win on Saturday would guarantee the Gamecocks a spot in the tournament, while Tech would have to rely on a loss by Murray State or Tennessee State on Saturday to qualify.
As it currently stands, Tech (13-15, 7-10 OVC) is tied for sixth in the conference with Tennessee State and Murray State. Pending a loss by Tennessee State to Eastern Illinois on Saturday, the Golden Eagles would hold the tie-breaker over both teams.
Jacksonville State (9-19, 6-11 OVC) is in ninth place in the OVC and would hold the tie-breaker over the Golden Eagles with a win on Saturday.
The top three seeds in the conference are the only ones set in stone going into Super Saturday. Eastern Illinois has locked up the OVC regular season championship, while Morehead State and Austin Peay will also host first round OVC Tournament games as the second and third seeds.
Seeds four through eight are still up for grabs with Southeast Missouri State being the only team already eliminated from postseason play.
On Saturday, Tech will be seeking its fifth season sweep of Jacksonville State in the past seven years after the Golden Eagles defeated the Gamecocks, 68-59, in December for the team's first road win of the season. Kellie Cook scored a game-high 20 points as head coach Sytia Messer earned the first OVC win of her career.
Tech has been on a roll of late and will look for its momentum to carry over to Saturday. The Golden Eagles have won four of their past five games, while JSU is just 2-3 over its last five contests.
A key to the game on Saturday could be on the glass. Tech is third in the OVC in rebounding margin during conference play at plus-2.2 boards per game, while JSU ranks ninth and is being out-rebounded by an average of 4.2 boards per contest. The Golden Eagles are 9-4 this season when out-rebounding their opponent.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Eblen Center. For ticket information, visit or contact the Tennessee Tech Athletic Ticket Office located in Eblen Center at 372-3940.
Live stats will also be available for the game at TTUsports.com, while Roger Ealey will have the call of the game on AM 1400 WHUB in Cookeville and also on Teamline. The Teamline broadcast can be accessed through teamline.cc or by calling 1-800-846-4700 and entering Tech's team code 0654. Live Web streaming of the game will also be available at ovcsports.tv.
