With teams having just three or four games remaining in the Ohio Valley Conference regular season, each game becomes more and more important. Teams within fighting distance of a first round home tournament game find themselves watching the standings as each game passes.

“You can’t put that out of your mind,” Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said. “I think from the standpoint of the players is that we are playing one game at a time.”

The most interesting race is for the fourth and final spot for a home game. Tennessee Tech sits in the third spot after an overtime road win against Eastern Kentucky Monday while Murray State holds on to the fourth spot by a thread with only a half game ahead of Eastern.

The road win for Tech was huge because it moved them out of a tie with Murray and put them further ahead of the Panthers.

“Any road win in this league is big,” Tech assistant coach Steve Payne said. “Our destiny is in our hands right now.”

The other tight race is for the regular season championship crown. Morehead State only holds a half game lead over Austin Peay for the top spot in the OVC.

Austin Peay is the hottest team in the conference, winning its last nine games; the longest streak under current head coach Dave Loos.

The Governors have the privilege of facing Eastern at home on senior night. Loos said the team’s win streak could be in jeopardy when they visit Lantz Arena Thursday.

“How do you like having to face Henry Domercant on senior night?” Loos asked. “That is a scary thought. He could go off for 100.”

Domercant will not be the only thing on Loos’ mind entering the last weeks of regular season play. Austin Peay will host Morehead State in both teams’ final regular season game March 1, which will probably decide who will reign as OVC regular season champions.

While the Governors are trying to overtake the No. 1 spot, the Eagles will be trying to keep it. Morehead had two close calls last week with a one-point win over Eastern Kentucky and came back from 17 down against Tennessee Tech for an eight-point victory.

“We are trying to get our guys to understand that teams are not going to just lay down for us because we are in the conference race,” Morehead State head coach Kyle Macy said. “You can only test your fate every so often.”

The Eagles are featured in another important game of the week. They host Murray State Saturday at Johnson Arena. The Racers fell to the Eagles earlier in the season 83-76 and know they have a tough task on their hands.

“It’s going to be a tough road trip for us, but it is one of those trips you have to make,” Murray State head coach Tevester Anderson said. “Every team wants to host a first round game, but at the same time we are trying to get our kids ready for the tournament overall.”