20/20

Morehead State's Kenneth Faried joined the rare 20/20 club on Thursday night in Nashville.

No he wasn't on set with Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs, but the junior center from Newark, N.J. scored 23 points and pulled down 21 rebounds in the Eagles 65-50 win over Tennessee State.

It marked only the sixth time this season a Division I player had compiled a 20/20 game this year.

Below is a list of the times it has happened this season.

Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford (26/20) at Duquesne (11/29/09)

Petras Balocka, Hawaii (20/20) vs. Lamar (12/6/09)

Kevin Thompson, Morgan State (25/23) vs. Towson (12/22/09)

Jamine Peterson, Providence (29/20) vs. Rutgers (1/9/10)

Chris Johnson, Dayton (26/20) vs. Duquesne in OT (1/9/10)

Kenneth Faried, Morehead State (23/21) at Tennessee State (1/28/10)

2010 Football Schedules

Although we are in the middle of hoops season, it is never too early to start thinking about football.

On Thursday Tennessee State announced it would being playing North Carolina A&T in the "Circle City Classic" at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Oct. 2, 2010. Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the NFL's Indianapols Colts and will play host to the NCAA Division I Men's Final Four this April.

The Circle City Classic marks one of four Classics that TSU will participate in next season, joining the John Merritt Classic (Nashville, Tenn. vs. Alabama A&M), Southern Heritage Classic (Memphis, Tenn. vs. Jackson State) and the Atlanta Classic (Atlanta, Ga. vs. Florida A&M).

Below are links to the four OVC schools how have already released their 2010 schedules.

Eastern Kentucky
Jacksonville State
Tennessee State
UT Martin

An Update on Streaks

Just a quick update on our streaking blog from Monday. After a few upsets this week, the Morehead State and Murray State men's basketball teams have moved up the national winning streak list.

Here is an updated list as of Thursday morning.

11 - Siena
10 - Morehead State
10 - Murray State
10 - Vanderbilt
10 - Villanova
9 - Michigan State
9 - Oakland

Morehead State will look to tie Siena for the longest streak nationally when the Eagles play at Tennessee State on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. CT).

OVC Insider - Episode 1 Now Available

As a companion to our new blog, fans can now catch a weekly show also labeled "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the OVC.

Below is the inaugural show which is hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

OVC Leads All FCS Conferences With Three Pro Bowl Selections ... And Other NFL Tidbits

The Ohio Valley Conference had 14 players on NFL rosters this season, a mark that was high, but not highest among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conferences.

For a league that has not won a playoff game in a decade, there is a perception that the OVC is not a good football league. That simply is not the case. Postseason difficulties aside, the league has produced top-notch talent over the years, including Super Bowl MVP's (Morehead State's Phil Simms) and quality teams who have unfortunately had to go on the road in the playoffs and not advanced.

When the Pro Bowl roster was finalized on Monday, there were 10 former FCS players on the teams. Which FCS conference had the most selections? Not the Colonial. Not the Southern. Not the Big Sky. Not the Missouri Valley.

Nope it was the Ohio Valley Conference who led the way with three picks ... Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois, a three-time selection), Yeremiah Bell (Eastern Kentucky) and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State - he is hurt and will not play in the game). You can read more about each players achievements in the article we posted at OVCSports.com last night by clicking HERE.

It is also the fourth straight season that the OVC has had at least one Pro Bowler (Romo was selected in 2006 and 2007, Cortland Finnegan appeared in the game in 2008).

On a side note, in last weekend's conference championship games, three of the four head coaches had a degree from an Ohio Valley Conference school. New Orleans coach Sean Payton, who will coach the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV in two weeks, is a graduate of Eastern Illinois (also known as the "Cradle of NFL Coaches") and topped fellow EIU alumnus Brad Childress in the NFL game. In the AFC, Rex Ryan didn't play collegiate football at Eastern Kentucky, but he did finish up his undergraduate degree there and complete his master's while coaching alongside OVC legend Roy Kidd.

So the next time someone tells you the OVC in not a good football league, remind them of all the talent (both on the field and the sidelines) that has come from the conference.

Who do you think is the best player or coach to ever come out of the OVC?

Here is a listing of all the FCS players in this year's Pro Bowl:

OVC (3)
Yeremiah Bell, Eastern Kentucky (Miami Dolphins)
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State (Arizona Cardinals)
Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois (Dallas Cowboys)

MEAC (2)
Antoine Bethea, Howard (Indianapolis Colts)
Nick Collins, Bethune-Cookman (Green Bay Packers)

Big Sky (1)
Jared Allen, Idaho State (Minnesota Vikings)

Colonial (1)
Darren Sharper, William & Mary (New Orleans Saints)

Independent (1)
Vincent Jackson, Northern Colorado (San Diego Chargers)

NEC (1)
Miles Austin, Monmouth (Dallas Cowboys)

SWAC (1)
Robert Mathis, Alabama A&M (Indianapolis Colts)

The OVC Goes Streaking!

That's right, we're going streaking! Through the quad to the gymnasium in fact, so bring your green hat with you as we
go streaking - OVC style - and take a closer look at some of the best streaking performances around the conference.

Leading the way is Frank the Tank Murray State (18-3, 10-0) who won its ninth straight and improved to 10-0 in the OVC with a 80-61 victory over Southeast Missouri (6-13, 3-6). The Racers have now won their last 17 regular season games dating back to February 7, 2009 when it lost to Austin Peay.

Western Kentucky has the best streak in conference history, winning 25 straight from '65-'67. Murray's current 17-game streak is the fifth longest in Conference history.

The Morehead State (14-6, 8-1) vs. Eastern Kentucky (14-7, 6-3) game included two streakers as Morehead State was looking for its 10th straight win and EKU tried to extend its home-court win streak to 19. One streak was bound to end, and it was the Colonels who were stopped in their tracks during a 69-53 loss.

It was the Colonels first loss at home in more than two seasons, and the first time since 1983-84 the Eagles have won 10 straight.

Before the loss Eastern Kentucky had the best current home record in conference, but it is Western Kentucky that has the best home-win streak in OVC history at 67 spanning from '49-'55.

The Eastern Illinois (12-8,8-1) women's basketball team is on a hot streak themselves, winning their 7th straight, a 74-48 win over UT Martin (4-14, 2-7) Saturday night. Every player on the Panther's squad that stepped on the court scored guiding the team to its best start as an OVC member. It marks the 7th time this season that every player on the team scored.

The longest win streak by a women's basketball team in the OVC is 23 by Austin Peay from '02-'03.

First Post

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