The men’s and women’s basketball teams both got off to slow starts to open Ohio Valley Conference play. While the men have played themselves back into the race, the women are currently tied for last place with Morehead State at 2-8 in the OVC.

Expectations were high for both teams coming home for four games after getting out of the gates with matching 0-4 starts. The men responded by winning three of four games, while the women came away with just one victory.

The men’s home stand was highlighted by a surprise victory over first-place and then lone undefeated team in the OVC, Samford.

Since the 0-4 start, the men are 4-2 and have four more home games remaining. If the men win out at home, and claim a victory at either Eastern Kentucky, or Morehead State, they will find themselves at 9-7 in the league with a legitimate shot at playing in the OVC tournament in March.

The women, on the other hand, have dug themselves a huge hole, and at this point, their conference tournament hopes are still very much up in the air. The Panther women must win out over the next six games to finish at .500 and will hope for an outside shot at finishing in the top eight to make the tournament.

For the women to make a serious run, senior center Pam O’Connor is going to need some help from her teammates. O’Connor has been stellar in the Panthers’ last eight games, as she has scored 10 or more points in each and gone for 20 or more six times.

Junior guard Megan Sparks has proven herself as a very capable second scorer, but has struggled offensively during the last two games.

If O’Connor and Sparks continue to score consistently, and junior forward Janelle Cazy continues heating up, the Panthers will find themselves playing meaningful game the rest of the way.

For the men, the two-guard attack of junior Josh Gomes and senior Emanuel Dildy must continue putting up big numbers and leading the team.

If freshman center George Tandy continues to mature, he gives the Panthers a very capable post-presence, which will equal out to the Panthers playing in the post-season.

Marcus Jackson is a senior communication studies major. He can be reached at [email protected].