Record: 24-9
RPI: 104
BPI: 140
Conference: Ohio Valley Conference
How They Qualified: Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Champions
Region: No. 15 seed in the South
The Belmont Bruins were the favorites going into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, but the Eastern Kentucky Colonels had other plans. Eastern Kentucky will represent the conference in the 2014 NCAA tournament.
The Colonels ended the season on a seven-game win streak. They may have finished three games back of Belmont in the standings, but it is all about the conference tournament when it comes to making the dance. The Bruins found that out the hard way.
What You Need to Know:
Leading Scorer: Glenn Cosey (18.8 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Eric Stutz (4.7 rpg)
Leading Passer: Glenn Cosey (4.2 apg)
Bad Losses: Youngstown State, SIU-Edwardsville
Good Wins: Belmont (twice), Murray State, IPFW
Eastern Kentucky clearly needed to win its conference tournament to earn a spot in the Big Dance. This team did very well in conference play, but it wasn’t overly challenged in non-conference play.
The Colonels did play North Carolina State, VCU and Wisconsin. However, they lost all three games.
Still, this team has a couple of players who can put the ball in the hoop at a high rate. Glenn Cosey is the go-to guy, but Corey Walden is averaging 14.1 points per game and he did have 29 points against Belmont in the conference tournament championship.
Outside of those two no other player is averaging double figures in points, but four others are averaging eight or more points per game. So, Eastern Kentucky still has a good amount of scorers.
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are dancing!
Trevor Lowry is a Senior Writer and Copy Editor at www.RantSports.com. If you’re a tweeter feel free to follow him @TheTrevorLowry or add him to your network on Google.