The 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament starts tonight with four games hosted by the higher seeds.

Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Murray State host games tonight before the tournament moves to the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn., for the semifinal and final rounds.

Many coaches, even those hosting games in the first round, disagree with the current format. Jeff Neubauer, head coach of No. 2 seeded Eastern Kentucky said he thinks any conference that does not bring all of its teams to the conference tournament (only the top eight teams in the 11 school OVC advance to the postseason tournament) should at least have all the games in one location.

Neubauer’s opening round opponent, Donnie Tyndall of Morehead State, whole-heartedly agreed.

“It makes for a more tournament-friendly environment and brings in bigger crowds,” Tyndall said.

Debate concerns about OVC Tournament format

Tennessee Tech head coach Mike Sutton thinks, in addition to having all tournament games in Nashville, all the teams in the OVC should make the tournament.

He pointed to other conferences bringing all their teams to its postseason tournament but Sutton pointed out a major disadvantage OVC teams have once they get the NCAA tournament.

“Whoever our team is from the OVC, the opposing team has an extreme advantage,” Sutton said about the opening round game of the NCAA tournament. “The other team already has a full-fledged scouting report because our tournament ends so early.”

The OVC tournament final is on Saturday at 7 p.m. while the Big Ten has its tournament finale on March 11, which is Selection Sunday.

One OVC coach, however, disagreed with Sutton and went against the majority opinion.

Southeast Missouri head coach Scott Edgar likes the current tournament format, with only the top eight teams advancing and the top four seeds hosting opening-round games.

“We’re only going to reward one team in the end (by advancing to the NCAA tournament),” Edgar said. “You should be rewarded by how you play in the regular season and the top four teams should have a better chance to get to the OVC Championship.”

Rosters lacking stars

A handful of teams in the OVC Tournament will be without marquee players when they need them most.

SEMO is still without forward Mike Rembert, who injured his knee on Feb. 9 against Eastern Kentucky. The Bradley transfer was leading the team in rebounds with six per game and was third on the team in scoring, with 10.3 per game.

“He is improving,” Edgar said. “But as far as getting inside and banging inside with a guy like (Tennessee Tech forward Amadi) McKenzie, the difference is east and west.”

Morehead State upset Austin Peay in the final game of the regular season to grab the No. 7 seed in the OVC tournament despite not having leading scorer Shaun Williams.

The 6-foot-6 senior forward was suspended for the season after violating a team rule prior to the Eagles Feb. 22 game against Tennessee State.

“He is done, his career is over,” Tyndall said. “At the end of the day, a young man has to make good decisions and hopefully it will be a life lesson.”