2026 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

2026 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2025–26
Teams8
SiteFord Center
Evansville, Indiana
ChampionsWestern Illinois (1st title)
Winning coachJD Gravina (1st title)
TelevisionESPN+
2025–26 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Western Illinois † 16 – 4   .800 26 – 6   .813
Lindenwood 16 – 4   .800 25 – 8   .758
Southern Indiana 14 – 6   .700 21 – 10   .677
Morehead State 13 – 7   .650 18 – 15   .545
Little Rock 11 – 9   .550 15 – 15   .500
UT Martin 9 – 11   .450 13 – 17   .433
SIU Edwardsville 8 – 12   .400 16 – 16   .500
Southeast Missouri State 8 – 12   .400 14 – 18   .438
Tennessee Tech 8 – 12   .400 15 – 14   .517
Tennessee State 4 – 16   .200 5 – 24   .172
Eastern Illinois 3 – 17   .150 4 – 27   .129
† 2026 OVC tournament winner

The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament will be the final event of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The tournament will be held March 4–7, 2026, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.[1] The tournament winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Seeds

Only the top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the tournament. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[2][3]

Seed School Conference
Record 		Tiebreaker
1 Western Illinois 16–4 1–1 vs. Morehead State
2 Lindenwood 16–4 0–1 vs. Morehead State
3 Southern Indiana 14–6
4 Morehead State 13–7
5 Little Rock 11–9
6 UT Martin 9–11
7 SIU Edwardsville 8–12 3–1 vs. Southeast Missouri State/Tennessee Tech
8 Southeast Missouri State 8–12 2–1 vs. SIU Edwardsville/Tennessee Tech
DNQ Tennessee Tech 8–12 0–3 vs. SIU Edwardsville/Southeast Missouri State
DNQ Tennessee State 4–16
DNQ Eastern Illinois 3–17

Schedule

Game Time Matchup Score Attendance Television
First Round – Wednesday, March 4
1 12:30 p.m. No. 5 Little Rock vs. No. 8 Southeast Missouri State 65–68 728 ESPN+
2 3:15 p.m. No. 6 UT Martin vs. No. 7 SIU Edwardsville 49–63
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 5
3 12:30 p.m. No. 4 Morehead State vs. No. 8 Southeast Missouri State 55–60 1,202 ESPN+
4 3:00 p.m. No. 3 Southern Indiana vs. No. 7 SIU Edwardsville 72–44
Semifinals – Friday, March 6
5 1:00 p.m. No. 1 Western Illinois vs. No. 8 Southeast Missouri State 74–66 1,266 ESPN+
6 3:30 p.m. No. 2 Lindenwood vs. No. 3 Southern Indiana 82–79
Final – Saturday, March 7
7 3:00 p.m. No. 1 Western Illinois vs. No. 2 Lindenwood 71–65 922 ESPN+
All game times in Central Time Zone; ranking denotes tournament seed.[4]

Bracket

First Round
Wednesday, March 4
ESPN+		Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 5
ESPN+		Semifinals
Friday, March 6
ESPN+		Final
Saturday, March 7
ESPN+
1Western Illinois74
4Morehead State558Southeast Missouri State66
5Little Rock658Southeast Missouri State601Western Illinois71
8Southeast Missouri State682Lindenwood65
2Lindenwood82
3Southern Indiana723Southern Indiana79
6UT Martin497SIU Edwardsville44
7SIU Edwardsville63

Source:[5]

References

  1. ^ Glasscock, Griffin (January 8, 2026). "OVC Basketball Championships returning to Ford Center in March". WEVV 44News. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  2. ^ "Men's & Women's Basketball Tiebreaker". ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  3. ^ "Field Set for 2026 OVC Women's Basketball Championship Presented by United Fidelity Bank". OVCsports.com. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  4. ^ "2026 OVC Men's & Women's Basketball Championship - Ohio Valley Conference". ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  5. ^ "(PDF) - Ohio Valley Conference" (PDF). ovcsports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
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