Eastern’s men’s basketball team will be up against an improved Ohio Valley Conference. Here are the teams it will have to compete against for a conference championship, listed in order of their preseason projections.

1st: Austin Peay

Head coach Dave Loos has put together another strong team. Last season, the Governors finished second in the league thanks to the emergence of guard TyShawn Edmonson.

Austin Peay is returning four of its five starters and is bringing back five more players, giving Loos a deep bench.

Edmonson was second in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring last season, averaging 17.1 points per game.

Also returning to the Governors is Anthony Campbell. In 2009-2010 Campbell was selected to the All-OVC second team. He averaged 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Campbell was forced to red-shirt after getting injured 10 games into the season last year.

Austin Peay should be a force with a veteran team and experienced coaching.

2nd: Tennessee Tech

Tennessee Tech is led by Kevin Murphy, a preseason player of the year forward. Murphy averaged 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds and helped the Golden Eagles become the best offensive team in the OVC.

Georgia transfer, guard Zac Swansey, made an immediate impact, hitting four game-winning shots. He also ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game at 6.4.

The Golden Eagles are under new coaching after Mike Sutton retired. Long-time assistant coach Steve Payne now controls a team that returns 11 players and four starters.

3rd: Murray State

Murray State won its 22nd regular season title last year, but fell short of the NCAA tournament by not winning the conference tournament.

The Racers are under new coaching staff as well, with the departure of Billy Kennedy. His assistant Steve Prohm has been elevated to head coach.

Murray State is led by guard Isaiah Canaan, who led the team with 11.7 points per game last season. The Racers return three seniors on what should be one of the more offensively balanced teams in the OVC.

The losses of guards B.J. Jenkins and Isacc Miles hurt the team, but the experience the other players gain in last year’s National Invitation Tournament should make up for that.

4th: Tennessee State

Tennessee State has not had a winning season since 1996, but this could be the year that changes.

Three players will make their debuts after sitting out last season because of transfer eligibility rules. Center Muniru Bawa transferred from the University of Indiana, guard Jordan Cyphers transferred from the University of Utah and forward Kellen Thornton transferred from Illinois State.

In addition to the transfers, the Tigers are returning All-OVC forward Kenny Moore who averaged 14.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season, as well as Robert Covington who scored 13.4 per game and led the OVC, shooting 46 percent from the three-point line last season.

5th: Morehead State

Morehead State could have suffered the harshest off-season of any team in the OVC. The Eagles lost NBA draft pick Kenneth Faried and Demonte Harper.

Last season Morehead State won the OVC tournament and beat No. 4 Louisville in the NCAA tournament.

The Eagles have brought in nine new players to go along with their returning players that are led by Terrance Hill.

Hill averaged 10.7 points per game and made 64 three-point shots last season. Also returning for the Eagles is Ty Proffitt who averaged 7.1 points per game.

6th: Southeast Missouri

Southeast Missouri is led by Leon Powell, who averaged 14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Powell led the entire NCAA in field goal percentage at 63 percent.

The Redhawks qualified for the OVC tournament for the first time since 2007. Head coach Dickey Nutt is a returning three starters including Powell. Marland Smith averaged 12.0 points per game and Lucas Nutt averaged 10.0 points per game.

University of Missouri transfer Tyler Stone and Missouri State transfer Michael Porter make their Redhawk debuts after sitting out last season.

7th: Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky had a .500 record in OVC play last season, finishing 9-9 and earning the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.

The Colonels led the OVC in three-point shooting last season.

They are returning nine players, including two starters. The leader of that group is senior guard Joshua Jones, who averaged 10.7 points last season.

8th: Tennessee-Martin

Tennessee-Martin made strides last season going from four wins in 2010 to 12 wins in 2011.

The Skyhawks are led by a trio of sophomores: Mike Liabo, who averaged 11.2 points per game; Troy King, who averaged 9.6 points per game; and Terence Smith, who averaged 11.3 points and 3.1 assists per game.

Liabo and King both made more than 50 three-point shots.

9th: Eastern Illinois

10th: Jacksonville State

Jacksonville State is led by head coach James Green. Green has brought in 11 new players: four freshmen and seven transfers.

The leading returning player is senior forward Stephen Hall, who averaged 11.1 points and five rebounds per game last season. Promising sophomore Brian Williams is ready for an expanded role, after averaging 4.6 points and 1.5 assists per game in his first season.

11th: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville cannot win the OVC tournament this year, but it can win the regular season crown because the team is in the final stages being reclassified to a Division-I school.

The team is led by red-shirt junior Mark Yelovich, who averaged 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 2010. He had to sit out last season after getting injured in the team’s first game.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].