The Eastern men’s basketball team got off to a rough start in Ohio Valley Conference play this season, but have since rebounded to win two straight games.

The Panthers began conference play with a 1-3 record with one win coming against Jacksonville State as well as three losses to Belmont, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech.

Since then, Eastern hosted two straight OVC games and came away with two consecutive wins against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.

The Panthers sit at 6-12 overall on the season, while holding a 3-3 record in OVC play.

The Panthers have impressed in a way that all three conference wins have come against teams that are in the OVC East.

That stands out because the East side of the conference has stacked up to be better so far, as there are two undefeated teams, Tennessee State and Belmont, as well as a one-loss team, Tennessee Tech.

Part of the reason that Eastern got off to a slow start in the OVC may have to do with the fact that all three conference losses have come to those teams.

After the Panther’s win against Morehead State, Eastern coach Jay Spoonhour said that it is a big deal to beat a team out of the east because of how good that side is.

Eastern sits atop the OVC West after their recent victory, as they are ahead of 2-2 UT Martin.

Looking around at the rest of the conference, it seems clear that Belmont and Tennessee State will be the teams to beat.

Belmont stands at 5-0 in OVC play as well as 13-6 overall as they are on a six game win streak with the most recent victory coming against Austin Peay.

Tennessee State has also stood out with a 5-0 record in conference, while posting a 14-4 record overall.

After defeating Murray State 73-71, Tennessee State extended its winning streak to five games, with big conference matchup looming.

Belmont and Tennessee State will battle for the top spot in conference when they face off on Jan. 23 at 5p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.

While those two teams continue to succeed, teams like Southeast Missouri, SIUE and Austin Peay continue to struggle.

There are just two wins combined among those three teams in OVC play so far.

Southeast Missouri is the lone winless team in conference, as they sit at 0-6 on the season.

Numbers don’t lie and that is clear throughout the conference.

Top dog Belmont is sitting at the top for good reason as they are ranked number one in scoring offense with about 82 points per game.

Although Tennessee State is just 6th in scoring offense, they are 2^nd overall in scoring defense, as they are allowing just 65 points per game.

The Panthers are in the middle of all teams as they are 9^th in scoring offense with about 69 points per game and 8^th in scoring defense, as they have allowed 75 points per game.

In league scoring, Eastern Kentucky’s Jarelle Reischel leads the OVC with an average of 19.2 points per game.

Belmont junior Evan Bradds leads the conference in field goal percentage as he has been shooting 71 percent from the field so far.

Senior Trae Anderson leads the Panthers in scoring with 13.5 points per game and is 16^th in the OVC with that total.

After facing some of the conference’s best, Eastern’s schedule gets a little easier for the next few games.

The Panthers hit the road to take on a 2-3 Murray State team, and Austin Peay who sits at 1-4.

After two road games, Eastern will welcome 2-2 UT-Martin into Lantz Arena on Jan. 28.

Although Eastern’s schedule gets a little easier, they will still have to prove that they can be successful on the road as they hold just a 1-7 record away from Lantz Arena.

The Panthers return to action when they tip-off against Murray State on Thursday at 7p.m.

Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].