The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournament field is set.
A total of 16 teams ― eight men and eight women ― will battle for the OVC title from March 4-7 inside the Ford Center in Evansville. The winner of each tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which starts March 17 for the men and March 18 for the women.
Below you will find everything you need to know about this year’s OVC tournaments. This page will be updated throughout the tournament, so check back daily for scores, stats and highlights!
OVC women’s basketball tournament scores, results
Wednesday, March 4 first round
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 68, LITTLE ROCK 65: The No. 8-seeded Redhawks knocked off 5th-seeded Little Rock to advance to the quarterfinals. Lexi McCully had 13 points, while Raissa Nsabua had 9 points and 10 rebounds for SEMO. Jordan Hulman had a game-high 26 points for the Trojans in the season-ending loss.
SIU-EDWARDSVILLE 63, UT-MARTIN 49: It was another upset as the 7 seed knocked off the 6 seed in the second game of the day. Kiyoko Proctor and Macy Silvey each had 15 points to lead SIUE to the win.
Thursday, March 5 second round
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 60, MOREHEAD STATE 55: Another day, another upset for the 8-seeded Redhawks, this time over 4-seed Morehead State. Kearra Jones had 15 points to lead SEMO into the semifinals.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 72, SIU-EDWARDSVILLE 44: The 3-seeded Screaming Eagles are the first favorite to win so far in this tournament. Shannon Blacher led four in double figures with 15 points. USI hit 10 threes and held SIUE to 30 percent from the field.
Friday, March 6 semifinals
WESTERN ILLINOIS 74, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66: The top-seeded Leathernecks ended the dream run of 8-seed SEMO in the semifinals Friday. Mallory Shetley had an impressive 27 points in the win for Western.
LINDENWOOD 82, SOUTHERN INDIANA 79: Read more about this game here.
Saturday, March 7 championship
WESTERN ILLINOIS 71, LINDENWOOD 65: The Leathernecks are going dancing for the first time since 2017/
All times Central
Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament schedule
The women play in the afternoon each day, while the men play at night.
OVC men’s basketball tournament scores, results
Wednesday, March 4 first round
EASTERN ILLINOIS 77, SIU-EDWARDSVILLE 71 (OT): The 8-seeded Panthers landed an early upset with an overtime victory over the Cougars. Zion Fruster had a game-high 23 points, while Terry McMorris added 15 points and 13 rebounds for EIU in the quarterfinal. Tyler King led SIUE with 19 points.
LINDENWOOD 72, LITTLE ROCK 62: Lindenwood became the only higher seed of the first day to win, advancing past Little Rock. Three players reached double-digit scoring for the Lions, led by Johnathan Lawson’s 17 points.
Thursday, March 5 second round
UT MARTIN 66, EASTERN ILLINOIS 63: The 4-seeded Skyhawks earned a tough win over the 8-seeded Panthers to earn a spot in the semifinals. Matas Deniusas and Filip Radakovic led the way with 17 points apiece. Preston Turner led four in double figures for EIU with 18 points.
SEMO 68, LINDENWOOD 66: Braxton Stacker hit a baseline jumper with 3.4 seconds left to send the 3-seeded Redhawks to the semifinals. The senior led five in double figures for SEMO with 16 points. Anias Futrell led Lindenwood with a game-high 17.
Friday, March 6 semifinals
TENNESSEE STATE 68, UT-MARTIN 55: Antoine Lorick III had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead top-seeded Tigers over 4-seed UT Martin.
MOREHEAD STATE 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61: Chase Dawson made the go-ahead shot with 27 seconds left, then the Eagles salted the game away at the free-throw line to advance to the championship game.
Saturday, March 7 championship
TENNESSEE STATE 93, MOREHEAD STATE 67: It was the largest win in OVC championship history, sending the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament.
OVC men’s basketball tournament schedule
How to watch Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament
All of the women’s games will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+. You will need either a cable provider login or an ESPN+ account to access the games.
Watch the OVC basketball tournament
The first two rounds of the men’s tournament are also exclusive to ESPN+. The semifinal games on March 6 will air live on ESPNU, though, which the championship game is on ESPN2. Those games are also streaming on ESPN+ concurrently.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Ohio Valley Conference men’s, women’s basketball tournament schedule
Reporting by Austin Hough, USA TODAY NETWORK / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
