• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 27 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, December 28
*Tennessee State at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
*SIUE at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Eastern Illinois at Murray State, 7:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State, 7:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Belmont at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Morehead State at Tennessee Tech, 7:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Saturday, December 30
*Morehead State at Jacksonville State, 4:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
*Belmont at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*SIUE at Murray State, 7:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Eastern Illinois at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Sunday, December 31
*Tennessee State at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
adidas® OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Jonathan Stark, G • 6-0, 180, Sr. • Munford, Tenn. • Murray State
In a pair of games last week Stark averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals/game while hitting 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The Preseason OVC Player of the Year opened the week with 21 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting in a home game against SEC foe Auburn. He had five rebounds, five steals, five assists and a block in the contest. He followed that by once again scoring 21 points, this time in a win at Detroit Mercy. Stark hit 3-of-6 3-pointers and added five rebounds, two assists and a steal. In 76 total minutes of play, Stark committed only six turnovers. Stark currently ranks second in the OVC in 3-pointers made/game (2.9), fifth in assists (4.0/game) and minutes played (33.6/game), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and seventh in scoring (16.3 points/game) and steals (1.5/game). He is the seventh different player in seven weeks to earn OVC Player of the Week honors.
Others Nominated: Terry Taylor, Austin Peay; Dylan Windler, Belmont; Muusa Dama, Eastern Illinois; Nick Mayo, Eastern Kentucky; Malcolm Drumwright, Jacksonville State; Djimon Henson, Morehead State; Christian Ellis, SIUE; Christian Mekowulu, Tennessee State; Fatodd Lewis, UT Martin.
CO-NEWCOMER
Averyl Ugba, F • 6-7, 225, Sr. • Silver Spring Md. • Austin Peay
Ugba, a transfer from Grambling, averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from the field and 70 percent (7-of-10) from the free throw line. He had 16 points, five rebounds, an assist and steal as the team overcame an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Troy 75-73. In that game he hit 6-of-11 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws. Ugba closed the week with 10 points, nine rebounds and a steal against Western Kentucky.
CO-NEWCOMER
Jackson Davis, F • 6-8, 220, Jr. • Lexington, Ky. • Eastern Kentucky
In two games last week Davis, a transfer from Butler, averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks/game while hitting 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the field and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from the free throw line. Jackson opened the week with 15 points, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 18 minutes of action in a win over Norfolk State. He hit 6-of-9 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws in the game. Followed that with a season-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds, four steals and an assist at Marshall; hit 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line in the contest.
Others Nominated: D’Angelo Jackson, Eastern Illinois; Jason Burnell, Jacksonville State; Terrence Parker, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Ja Morant, G • 6-3, 170, Fr. • Dalzell, S.C. • Murray State
In two games last week Morant averaged 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 80 percent (8-of-10) at the free throw line. In the team’s 81-72 win at Detroit Mercy, the freshman nearly recorded a triple-double as he tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. In that contest he hit 6-of-11 field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers and all three of his free throw attempts. He opened the week with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal in an 81-77 home loss to SEC foe Auburn. Morant is the top rebounding guard in the OVC (6.5/game), leads the OVC in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2) and is second in each assists (6.7/game) and free throw percentage (87.5%).
Others Nominated: Terry Taylor, Austin Peay; Nick Hopkins, Belmont.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: Conference play begins on Thursday; this year marks a switch to an 18-game Conference schedule, as teams will now play a pair of Conference games each week leading up to the OVC Tournament...After being 3-8 heading into the Christmas break a season ago, Murray State is 8-3 in non-conference play this season with a trio of road victories; it is the best start to the season for MSU since 2012 (9-3)...Belmont senior Austin Luke now has 526 career assists, first in the Bruins Division I history, and just 5 away from 10th place in OVC history...Belmont junior Dylan Windler currently has nine double-doubles, which ranks in the top five nationally...Austin Peay’s top two scorers this season (Terry Taylor, Dayton Gumm) are freshman; only Kentucky (top six scorers), Alabama, Houston Baptist and UTSA also can claim its top two scorers are freshmen...Tennessee State capped a non-conference schedule that saw it play two-nationally ranked teams (Kansas, Purdue) and two other teams (Texas, Middle Tennessee) who were receiving Top 25 votes)...Eastern Illinois senior point guard Terrell Lewis had started all 100 games of his career until suffering an injury and missing the Dec. 16 game at South Alabama; he has now missed three games but expected to return soon...UT Martin won a pair of games last week and have now won four of its last five games overall.
UTM’s Lewis Record 16th Triple-Double in OVC History: UT Martin junior
Fatodd Lewis recorded the 16th triple-double in OVC history on Dec. 10 as UT Martin topped UC Clermont 127-92. He had 34 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. As of Dec. 11, it is one of just seven triple-doubles in Division I this season. Below is a list of all-time OVC triple-doubles.
Lorenzo Coleman, Tennessee Tech vs. Oral Roberts (12/21/94) - 18 pts., 11 reb., 10 bl.
Van Usher, Tennessee Tech vs. Eastern Kentucky (2/24/92) - 16 pts., 10 reb., 14 asst.
Bud Eley, Southeast Missouri vs. Morehead State (1/4/99) - 24 pts., 14 reb., 10 blocks
Trenton Hassell, Austin Peay vs. Morehead State (2/2/99) - 19 pts., 13 reb., 10 asst.
Trenton Hassell, Austin Peay vs. Tennessee State (2/26/00) - 19 pts., 11 reb., 10 asst.
Trenton Hassell, Austin Peay vs. UT Martin (2/22/01) - 27 pts., 13 reb., 12 asst.
Brandon Griffin, Southeast Missouri vs. Oakland City (12/13/03) - 12 pts., 12 reb., 10 asst.
Walker Russell, Jacksonville St. vs. Eastern Kentucky (2/28/06) - 21 pts., 11 reb., 11 asst.
Lester Hudson, UT Martin vs. Central Baptist (11/13/07) - 25 pts., 12 reb., 10 asst., 10 stl.
Lester Hudson, UT Martin vs. Southeast Missouri (2/16/08) - 26 pts., 12 reb., 10 asst.
Isacc Miles, Murray State vs. UT Martin (2/24/09) - 13 pts., 10 reb., 11 asst.
Chris Horton, Austin Peay vs. Berea (11/16/14) - 15 pts., 13 reb., 10 blocks
Deville Smith, UT Martin vs. Northwestern State (3/19/15) - 21 pts., 12 reb., 11 asst.
Kedar Edwards, UT Martin vs. Bethune-Cookman (12/17/16) - 15 pts., 10 reb., 11 asst.
Xavier Moon, Morehead State vs. Central Arkansas (12/19/16) - 25 pts., 10 reb., 11 asst.
Fatodd Lewis, UT Martin vs. UC Clermont (12/10/17) - 34 pts., 16 reb., 12 asst.
EIU’s Lewis Joins 1000-Point, 500-Assist Club: On December 6, Eastern Illinois senior
Terrell Lewis became the ninth all-time member of the OVC’s 1,000-Point, 500-Assist Club. Lewis currently has 1,009 points and 501 assists for his career. The other eight members of the club are: Kerron Johnson (Belmont), Bruce Jones (Eastern Kentucky), Matt Witt (Eastern Kentucky), Walker Russell (Jacksonville State); Don Mann (Murray State); Patrick Miller (Tennessee State); Anthony Avery (Tennessee Tech), Van Usher (Tennessee Tech).
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: In the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll (Dec. 18 - the newest poll was not yet out) no OVC teams were ranked but Belmont, Jacksonville State and Murray State were among the others receiving votes. Gonzaga picked up all 31 first-place votes to be ranked No. 1. Now in its 19th season, the Mid-Major poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC and West Coast. It is voted upon by coaches from those conferences, with one coach per conference casting a vote (Eastern Illinois coach Jay Spoonhour is the OVC representative).
OVC Men’s Basketball Eliminates Divisions, Increases Conference Schedule to 18 Games: After five years of East/West Divisional play, men’s basketball in the OVC has returned to standings that rank teams 1-12 overall. Divisional play began in 2012-13 after the league expanded to 12 teams for the first time. After six years of teams playing 16 Conference games, OVC teams will play an 18-game Conference schedule beginning this season. OVC basketball teams last played an 18-game schedule from 2008-09 through 2010-11.
2018 OVC Tournament Set for Ford Center in Evansville: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com will be held February 28 through March 3 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the first time the event has been held at the Ford Center after 23 of the past 24 events were held in Nashville (2002 being the exception). The Ford Center, which opened in 2011, is a 10,000-seat arena located in the core of Evansville’s downtown district. The 290,000-square foot facility serves as home of the University of Evansville’s men’s basketball team as well as the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Ford Center has serves as host to numerous sporting events and concerts on an annual basis. Evansville is the third-largest city in the state of Indiana with a population of nearly 120,000 in the city limit and 300,000 people in the metropolitan area.
Recent Postseason Success: OVC teams have won at least one game in each postseason for nine-straight years, the longest stretch in league history. Morehead State won a NCAA game in 2009, Murray State won in the NCAA Tournament in 2010, Morehead State won in the NCAA’s in 2011, Murray State won in the NCAA’s in 2012, Eastern Kentucky won in the CIT in 2013, Belmont (NIT) and Murray State (CIT) won games in 2014, Eastern Illinois (CIT), Eastern Kentucky (CIT), Murray State (NIT) and UT Martin (CIT) scored victories in 2015 (the four different teams to record a victory in the single postseason was an OVC record), Morehead State (CBI) and UT Martin (CIT) won in 2016 and Belmont (NIT) and UT Martin (CIT) scored wins in 2017.
OVC to Produce 15-Game National Television Package: The OVC will produce a national television package in 2017-18 that will include 14 men’s basketball games (and one women’s basketball contest) that will air on either the ESPN Family of Networks or the CBS Sports Network. The Conference will once again have seven men’s games (and one women’s game) on the ESPN Family of Networks, including four regular season games as well as the OVC Tournament semifinals and championship game. The OVC will also have a seven-game package on CBS Sports Network.
Three OVC Players on Lou Henson Award Watch List: Three OVC players have been named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is given to the Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. The three OVC players were Belmont senior
Austin Luke, Eastern Kentucky junior
Nick Mayo and Murray State senior
Jonathan Stark. The 2017-18 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award will be announced on March 31, 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, site of the men’s NCAA Basketball Championship.
EKU’s Mayo Named to Karl Malone Award Watch List: Eastern Kentucky junior
Nick Mayo was one of 20 players named to the 2018 Karl Malone Award Watch List in the preseason. The award is given annually to the top power forward in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the 20 candidates for the list. By mid-February, the Watch List will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2018 Karl Malone Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, California on Friday, April 6.
Byrd Ranks 5th Among Active NCAA Coaches: Belmont head coach
Rick Byrd (who is in his sixth year in the OVC and 32nd overall at Belmont) has 762 career victories, which ranks fifth among active Division I head coaches (and 16th all-time). Byrd is one of just five active Division I coaches to have coached at the same school for 25 or more years (the others are Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Oakland’s Greg Kampe and Davidson’s Bob McKillop).
OVC Players in the NBA: There are currently five former OVC players on NBA rosters (with a sixth currently injured). Those players included former Morehead State All-American
Kenneth Faried (who is in his seventh season with the Denver Nuggets and who is signed through the 2018-19 as part of a four-year, $50 million dollar extension), former Tennessee State standout
Robert Covington (who is in his fifth season in the league, fourth with the Philadelphia 76ers and just signed a four-year extension worth $61.6 million), former Belmont All-American
Ian Clark (who is in his fifth overall season and who won a NBA Championship with Golden State last year and who is in his first year with New Orleans), former Murray State All-American
Cameron Payne (who is in his third year in the NBA after being a lottery pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Chicago Bulls) and former Murray State two-time OVC Player of the Year and All-American
Isaiah Canaan (in his fifth year overall and first with the Phoenix Suns). Former Southeast Missouri State guard
Antonius Cleveland has been with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-way contract this season but suffered an injury in late December and was waived but is currently rehabilitating.
Murray State’s Stark Tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year: The 2017-18 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball team was headlined by Murray State senior
Jonathan Stark who was named the OVC Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches and SID’s. Overall seven different schools were represented on the team with Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Murray State having two selections apiece and Southeast Missouri, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin having one pick apiece. The squad features six players who were either first or second-team selections last season. The team was comprised of eight seniors, one junior and two sophomores. In addition to Stark the others named to the team included UT Martin’s
Matthew Butler, Jacksonville State’s
Malcolm Drumwright and
Norbertas Giga, Belmont’s
Amanze Egekeze and
Austin Luke, Eastern Kentucky’s
Nick Mayo and
Asante Gist, Tennessee Tech’s
Aleksa Jugovic, Southeast Missouri’s
Denzel Mahoney and Murray State’s
Terrell Miller.
Belmont Picked as OVC Preseason Favorite: In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors Belmont has been picked the preseason favorite for the 2017-18 season. It marks the third-straight year the Bruins have been tabbed preseason favorites. Belmont, who has won four of the past five OVC regular season championships, picked up 18 of 24 first-place votes in being picked the preseason favorites. The Bruins received 235 total points in being picked first. Jacksonville State, the defending OVC Tournament champions, picked up three first-place votes and were tabbed second with 213 points. Murray State received the other three first-place votes and 212 points in being picked third. The preseason poll was rounded out by Eastern Kentucky (139), Tennessee Tech (137), Eastern Illinois (135), Tennessee State (125), UT Martin (114), Morehead State (89), Southeast Missouri (82), Austin Peay (63) and SIUE (40).
OVC to Host 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship 1st/2nd Rounds: For the first time since 2012, the Ohio Valley Conference, in partnership with the Nashville Sports Council, will host the First and Second Rounds of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The event will be held March 16 & 18 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The 2018 event will mark the fifth time the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been at Bridgestone Arena since 2000 (2000, 2003, 2005 and 2012). More recently, the OVC served as host for the 2014 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four at the arena.
The 2017-18 Season: The 2017-18 season marks the 70th of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 69 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
OVC Digital Network: The OVC launched the OVC Digital Network (OVCDN) in August 2012. The OVCDN is the exclusive home for live web streamed athletic contests involving OVC schools. This marks the 12th year the OVC has streamed live events, but the sixth year the events have been offered free of charge and in an HD format. Fans can log onto
OVCDigitalNetwork.com and access the streams without any registration. The events are available on any computer, tablet or smart phone. In November 2015 the league also announced the addition of a channel on the Roku streaming player as well, making it even easier for fans to watch events on their television.