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It was a crazy Friday in college hoops. Between Austin Peay going back and forth with Belmont, Indiana State upsetting Illinois State, Monmouth struggling with Rider, Gardner-Webb upsetting top-seeded Coastal Carolina and Drexel knocking off Elon, the unexpected results are just beginning.
And now on Saturday night the first auto-bid will be given out in the Ohio Valley, as 8-seeded Austin Peay will take the floor against UT Martin.
Ohio Valley (Championship)
No. 8 Austin Peay vs. No. 2 UT Martin (in Nashville) 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2
The Governors have won five straight games, including their last three in the postseason tournament, and will look to be the first cinderella to make the Big Dance. Led by double double machine, Chris Horton, sophomore Josh Robinson and freshman Jared Savage (who had an excellent game versus Belmont), the Governors could pull off another remarkable upset.
Their game against the Bruins was one of the better games of the month so far, as both teams played with firepower and played an extra five minutes of action. Evan Bradds had a chance to win the game at the buzzer in regulation, but the layup clanked off the rim. Belmont had the last shot in overtime but Craig Bradshaw failed to get the tip-in off in time to beat the clock.
Meanwhile, UT Martin is coming off a win over Morehead State and has won nine out of it's last 10 games. They are led by forward Twymond Howard, who puts up 15.3 points per game and 2.4 assists per game.
The Skyhawks finished tied for first in the Ohio Valley West regular season standings thanks to solid defense and a somewhat efficient offense, 44 percent.
Other key conference tournament match-ups tonight:
No. 10 UIC vs. No. 3 Wright State 5 p.m. ET on ESPN3 (Horizon League 1st round)
No. 5 San Francisco vs. No. 4 Pepperdine 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (WCC Quarterfinal)
No. 6 Indiana State vs. No. 2 Evansville 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network (Missouri Valley semifinal)
No. 6 Manhattan vs. No. 3 Siena 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3 (MAAC Quarterfinal)
No. 7 Oral Roberts vs. No. 2 South Dakota State 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3 (Summit League Quarterfinal)
No. 5 Fairfield vs. No. 4 St. Peter's 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3 (MAAC Quarterfinal)
No. 8 Loyola (Mary) vs. No. 1 Saint Mary's 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (WCC Quarterfinal)
No. 7 Portland vs. No. 2 Gonzaga 11:59 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (WCC Quarterfinal)