By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Morehead State’s three-game losing streak has created quite the traffic jam at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball standings.

And it’s given Western Illinois a chance to win the regular-season title in its first season in the conference.

Morehead State (20-8 overall, 11-4 OVC) still leads the conference, but by only a half-game over the Leathernecks (17-10, 10-4), UT-Martin (17-10, 10-4) and Little Rock (16-11, 10-4) heading into the final two weeks of the season.

It’s such a mess that KenPom.com predicts a tie for first place between those four schools, all at 13-5, for the championship.

Western Illinois and Morehead State get the first chance to break the jam when the two teams meet in Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. game at Western Hall. The Eagles defeated the Leathernecks 64-50 at Morehead State earlier this season.

The Leathernecks would seem to have an edge in the race, with all of their last four games at home. But Western Illinois is just 7-4 at home this season, with all of their losses coming by three points or less.

The Leathernecks have 10 road wins, tied for the most in NCAA Division I play this season, which have helped get them into this position. Western Illinois’ only road loss was to Morehead State.

After Thursday’s game, the Leathernecks play Southern Indiana (8-20, 5-10) on Saturday, then close the regular season next Thursday against Eastern Illinois (13-14, 7-7) and SIU-Edwardsville (15-12, 8-6) on March 2.

How this jam shakes out is also important when it comes to the seeding for the OVC tournament, which decides the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The top two seeds get byes into the semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds get byes into the quarterfinals.

The Leathernecks haven’t won a conference title since sharing the 2012-13 Summit League regular-season championship.

WOMEN: Western Illinois’ women’s basketball team can’t get the regular-season title, but the next four games are important for the Leathernecks in terms of their conference tournament seeding.

The Leathernecks (16-9, 7-7) are in seventh place. They’re two games ahead of eighth-place teams Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee State, but only two games behind Eastern Illinois for second place.

The Leathernecks get sixth-place Morehead State (13-13, 8-7) in Thursday’s 5 p.m. game, then get conference leader Southern Indiana (19-6, 14-1) on Saturday. They will play Eastern Illinois (12-15, 9-5) next Thursday, then close the regular season with SIU-Edwardsville (5-22, 2-12).

Photo: Western Illinois’ JJ Kalakon goes in for a dunk in the February 10 game against UT-Martin. (Photo courtesy of WIU Athletic Communications)