One shot is all you get

From The Leaf Chronicle:

Life in OVC means one shot at NCAA Tournament

It hasn't been your typical season for the Duke Blue Devils.

So what.

When the NCAA selection committee announces its 65-team tournament field next Sunday, the Blue Devils will be there.

With an injured Chris Lofton on the sideline, Tennessee went through a January slump where it lost six of eight games. Now heading into the SEC tournament, the Vols are the conference's hottest team, winning seven of eight. The Vols don't have a great track record in the SEC Tournament, but again, so what — they will be a six or seven seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas won the Big 12 regular-season title on Saturday, and will receive a high seed for the tournament, even if it doesn't win the Big 12 tourney.

Austin Peay won the regular season OVC title, and was 2.9 seconds away from an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Now the Govs must settle for the NIT. Not a bad consolation prize, although that was of little consolation after Saturday's 63-62 loss to Eastern Kentucky in the OVC tournament title game.

Such is life when you don't call one of the super conferences your home.

Life in the OVC means winning the conference tournament title game.

The Govs know how to get there, only Murray State has reached more tournament title games (22), than Austin Peay, which has been there 14 times. But when it comes to walking off the floor with the trophy, Austin Peay has experienced that euphoria only three times.

For Austin Peay, watching another team cut down the net has become an all too familiar scene. Since 1995, the Govs have played in eight tournament title games, only to win twice.

And there have been some tough losses along the way.

The Govs lost in overtime to Murray State in the '97 title game, Eastern Illinois came from 18 down with less than nine minutes remaining to beat the Govs in the '01 title game, and three years later, Austin Peay was perfect in the OVC during the '03-04 season only to lose to Murray State in the title game.

The cruel reality of the OVC is you won't go dancing if you don't cut down the net.

Govs coach Dave Loos knows this all too well.

"It's down to one game, and it's not like the SEC or some of those other leagues that you can say, 'If we don't win, we're still going,'" said Loos, during his postgame interview Saturday. "We're not going. One team goes. That's the way it is... it is what it is."

The frustration of Saturday's loss will linger for a while, but the Govs were picked sixth in the preseason poll, and will return their entire roster next season.

"We're probably way ahead from a developmental standpoint than people thought we would be," Loos said. "These guys are going to play good again next year, I'm certain of it."

Another consolation for the Govs, and another reason to believe they will have another shot at cutting down the net.

Jimmy Trodglen is sports editor of The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by e-mail at jimmytrodglen@theleafchronicle.com or by phone at 245-0261.