• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 21 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, December 21
Morehead State at #24 Clemson, 11:00 a.m. (ACC Network)
Belmont at Evansville, 6:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Murray State at Austin Peay, 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Eastern Illinois at SIUE (postponed)
Tuesday, December 22
Chattanooga
at Tennessee State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southeast Missouri at Indiana State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
UT Martin at Ole Miss, 4:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
High Point
at Eastern Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at Western Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday, December 27
Carver College
at Jacksonville State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
As games change,the most up-to-date league schedule can be found here:
http://ovcsports.com/calendar.aspx?path=mbball&.
OVC Players of the Week
CO-PLAYER
Nick Muszynski, C • 6-11, 235, Jr. • Pickerington, Ohio • Belmont
In a pair of wins last week Muszynski averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks/game while hitting 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the field and 70 percent (7-of-10) from the line. He hit 11-of-17 field goals on his way to a season-high 25 points while also adding six rebounds, four assists and a block against Kennesaw State. Two nights later he was limited with foul trouble but still managed 10 points, seven rebounds, a block and an assist in 18 minutes in a Conference win over Tennessee State. The junior hit 3-of-4 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws against the Tigers. Muszynski is tied for sixth in the OVC in scoring (16.8 points/game) and seventh in blocked shots (1.3/game).
CO-PLAYER
Tre King, F • 6-9, 225, Jr. • Lexington, Ky. • Eastern Kentucky
King averaged 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks/game while hitting 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field in two games last week. He opened the week with 17 points, three rebounds, three steals, a block and assist in a road game at Morehead State. King hit a pair of 3-pointers in the game. He concluded the week with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 27 minutes against CU Harrodsburg. He hit 12-of-18 field goals in that win. King ranks third in the OVC in rebounding (8.3/game) and is tied for sixth in scoring (16.8 points/game).
Others Nominated: Terry Taylor, Austin Peay; Kayne Henry, Jacksonville State; Skyelar Potter, Morehead State; Chico Carter Jr., Morehead State; Sidney Wilson, SIUE; Jr. Clay, Tennessee Tech; Cameron Holden, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
Sidney Wilson, F • 6-7, 180, Jr. • Bronx, N.Y. • SIUE
Wilson had a game-high 18 points while netting career-highs in rebounds (9) and assists (5) in a 69-65 road victory over Morehead State. The transfer from UConn hit 7-of-14 field goals and after MSU tied the game with 13 minutes to play in the second half, he scored nine of the team’s next 15 points as the Cougars pulled out to a 62-52 lead with 6:27 to play. Wilson ranks 10th in the OVC in scoring (13.3 points/game).
Others Nominated: Mike Peake, Austin Peay; Brandon Knapper, Eastern Kentucky; Brandon Huffman, Jacksonville State; Skyelar Potter, Morehead State; Shakwon Barrett, Tennessee State; Damaria Franklin, Tennessee Tech; Cameron Holden, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Johni Broome, F • 6-10, 235, Fr. • Plant City, Fla. • Morehead State
Broome earned his third OVC Freshman of the Week honor of the season after averaging 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 assists/game while hitting 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field in a pair of home games. He notched his third double-figure rebounding effort of the young season with 10 in the team’s 75-62 home win over Eastern Kentucky. Broome also scored six points, blocked two shots, had two assists and a steal in 30 minutes in that win. He followed that with a team-high 14 points, six rebounds and a block against SIUE. In that contest Broome hit 7-of-10 field goals. Broome is first among freshman (fourth overall) in rebounding (7.7/game) in the OVC and second among freshmen (19th overall) in scoring (11.3 points/game). He is the first Morehead State player to win at least three Freshman of the Week honors in the same season since Ricky Minard in 2000-01.
Others Nominated: Tai’Reon Joseph, Austin Peay; JaCobi Wood, Belmont; Curt Lewis, Eastern Kentucky; Marcus Fitzgerald, Tennessee State; Kenny White Jr., Tennessee Tech; Anthony Thomas, UT Martin.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: Nine Conference games have been played so far this season with two more scheduled for Monday...Teams will wrap-up non-conference play this week with the full OVC schedule set to begin on December 30...Belmont and Jacksonville State are both 2-0 in OVC play while Murray State, SIUE and UT Martin are each 1-0...Eastern Illinois is the only OVC school yet to play a Conference matchup (they play at SIUE on Monday)...Nine of 12 OVC teams have played at least five Division I games so far this season...Eastern Illinois senior guard Mack Smith tied the NCAA record by hitting a 3-pointer in his 88th consecutive game on December 12, tying the mark previously set by Cory Bradford of Illinois (ended in 2002); Smith can hold the record outright when the team plays on Monday...So far this season Austin Peay senior Terry Taylor became the 19th member of the OVC’s 2,000-Point Club and 17th member of the OVC’s 1,000-Rebound Club; Taylor is just the fifth player in OVC history with 2000 points & 1000 rebounds in a career...Taylor is one of just two active Division I players with 2,000 points (UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson is the other) and the only player with 1,000 rebounds...Murray State has a 25-game home court winning streak, the fifth-longest streak nationally...UT Martin started the season 3-0, the first time since 1989-90, which was three years before the program joined the Division I ranks; prior to its loss on Sunday, UTM was one of the final 33 DI teams to be unbeaten...TTU’s CJ Gettelfinger became the first known Golden Eagle to call Knoxville home to score against the Vols in their home gym with a mid-range jumper early in the first half on December 18; the Oakland University transfer finished with two points and a rebound in five minutes off the bench...Austin Peay is 4-0 when holding an opponent below 70 points this season, 0-3 when the opposition eclipses that mark.
Schedule Adjustments: In order to help address issues associated with the delayed start date and to be responsive to a desire to provide additional contests within the geographic region, the schedules increased from 18 to 20 conference games for the 2020-21 season. Overall teams will play every OVC team once and nine schools twice. In order to give teams flexibility to complete their non-conference schedules, schools were given discretion to schedule their two games with their “travel partner” separate from the remainder of the conference schedule. One of those two games must be scheduled before the holiday break and the other can be scheduled any time during the basketball season.
Smith’s 3-Point Streak Tied For Longest NCAA History: With a 3-pointer on Dec. 12 against Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois senior guard
Mack Smith tied the NCAA Division I record with his 88th consecutive game with a made 3-pointer. He can take sole possession of the record when the teams returns to the court on Dec. 21.
88 - Mack Smith, Eastern Illinois (active - next game on Dec. 21)
88 - Cory Bradford, Illinois (ended 2011)
73 - Wally Lancaster, Virginia Tech (ended 1989)
68 - Jaylen Minnett, IUPUI (active - next game on Jan. 1)
66 - Marshall Henderson, Ole Miss (ended 2014)
64 - Justin Jaworski, Lafayette (ended 2020)
60 - Fletcher Magee, Wofford (ended 2018)
60 - Pat Bradley, Arkansas (ended 1998)
Taylor Becomes Fifth OVC Player to Join 2000-Point/1000-Rebound Club: On December 8 Austin Peay senior
Terry Taylor became just the fifth player in OVC history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Here is a look at the elite list:
Jim McDaniels, Western Kentucky (2,238, 1,118)
Ralph Crosthwaite, Western Kentucky (2,076, 1,309)
Popeye Jones, Murray State (2,057, 1,374)
Kenneth Faried, Morehead State (2,009, 1,673)
Terry Taylor, Austin Peay (2,061, 1,022)
APSU’s Taylor Only Active Division I Player With 2,000 Points, 1,000 Rebounds: Austin Peay senior
Terry Taylor is the only active Division I player with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. He is currently one of only two active players with 2,000 or more career points (UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson is the other) and the only player with 1,000 rebounds.
Home Winning Streaks: Murray State has won 25-straight home game dating back to a loss on January 24, 2019. The streak is the fifth-longest streak nationally.
39 - Gonzaga
28 - Liberty
27 - Prairie View
26 - Oregon
25 - Murray State
24 - South Dakota State
17 - UNI
16 - North Carolina Central
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: In the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll (Dec. 14), four OVC teams were ranked in the Top 25. That included Belmont at No. 12, Murray State at No. 19, Austin Peay at No. 20 and Eastern Kentucky at No. 21. Now in its 22nd 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.
Murray State Sets NCAA Division I Record for Assists in a Game (Mark Now Second): Murray State dished out 45 assists in its 173-95 win over Greenville University on November 29. At the time that marked the most in NCAA Division I history, breaking the old mark of 44 set by Colorado (against George Mason) in an overtime game on December 2, 1995. The record was broken three days later when Illinois State dished out 57 assists in a win over Greenville.
Murray State Scores Fourth-Most Points Ever in a Division I Game (Now Fifth); Shatters OVC Record for Points in a Game: Murray State smashed the OVC record for points in a game with 173 points in a win over Greenville University on November 29. The previous record was 148 by Tennessee State against Fisk in the 1993-94 season. The Racers scored 87 points in the first half, which tied the OVC mark held by Eastern Kentucky (set against Brescia in the 2018-19 season). At the time, the 173 points were tied for the fourth-most by a Division I team in NCAA history at the time, but now ranks tied for fifth (after Illinois State scored 177 on December 2 against the same Greenville team).
186 - Loyola Marymount vs. Alliant International (1991)
181 - Loyola Marymount vs. Alliant International (1989)
179 - LIU Brooklyn vs. Medgar Evans (1997)
177 - Illinois State vs. Greenville (2020)
173 - Oklahoma vs. Alliant International (1989)
173 - Murray State vs. Greenville University (2020)
172 - Oklahoma vs. Loyola Marymount (1990)
Murray State Sets Four, Ties One OVC Record in Win over Greenville: Overall Murray State set four and tied one OVC record in its 173-95 win over Greenville University on November 29.
Points in a Game: 173 (old mark was 148)
Points in a Half: 87 (tied mark of 87 also held by EKU)
Most Points (Both Teams): 268 (old mark was 251)
Most Field Goals: 77 (old mark was 58)
Most Assists: 45 (old mark was 37)
OVC to Produce 10-Game Linear Television Package: The OVC will produce a national television package in 2020-21 that will include nine men’s basketball games and one women’s basketball contest that will air on the ESPN Family of Networks. The seven regular season games will air on ESPNU, as will the OVC Men’s Tournament semifinals, while the Men’s Championship game will air on ESPN2. Due to the fluid nature of this season, games appearing as a part of the linear television schedule will be announced throughout the season.
Taylor Named to Jerry West Award Watch List: Austin Peay senior
Terry Taylor has been named to the Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its seventh year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. This list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then 5 finalists will be selected in March that will be presented to Jerry West and the selection committee. The winner of this award will be presented on April 9, 2021.
OVC Basketball Championships Set For Ford Center in Evansville For Fourth Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships presented by Kentucky Wild will be held March 3-6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the fourth-straight season the event will be held in the building after a long run in Nashville. The Ford Center, which opened in 2011, is an 11,000-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 and the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Ford Center also serves as host to numerous sporting events and concerts on an annual basis. In September 2019 it was announced the tournament would remain at the Ford Center at least through the 2023 Championship with an option for 2024. The 2019 Championships saw record-breaking attendance at the venue, as the men’s semifinals drew an OVC neutral site record 8,294 fans, a mark that was broken the next night with an attendance of 10,525.
Recent Postseason Success: Entering this season OVC teams have won at least one game in each postseason for 11-straight postseasons (there was no postseason in 2019-20), 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, Belmont (NIT) and UT Martin (CIT) scored wins in 2017, Austin Peay (CIT) and Jacksonville State (CBI) won in 2018 and Belmont and Murray State in 2019 (NCAA).
OVC Players in the NBA: Last year six former OVC players played for NBA teams, with four of those players advancing to the NBA Bubble in Orlando. Included in that was Murray State All-American
Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Morant would go on to become the first OVC player to be named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game in 67 contests. Dating back to 1983-84, he is one of just three players to attend a non-Power 5 college to win the award, joining Damian Lilliard of Weber State (2012-13) and Larry Johnson of UNLV (1991-92). Here is a look at the five (5) former OVC players who are on NBA teams entering the 2020-21 season:
• Robert Covington, Portland Trailblazers (Tennessee State)
• Alfonzo McKinnie, Los Angeles Lakers (Eastern Illinois)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Cameron Payne, Phoenix Suns (Murray State)
• Dylan Windler, Cleveland Cavaliers (Belmont)
The 2020-21 Season: The 2020-21 season marks the 73rd of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 72 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
Taylor Tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year: The 2020-21 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball Team is headlined by Austin Peay senior
Terry Taylor who was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Taylor is the just the fifth player to be named OVC Preseason Player of the Year twice, joining Murray State’s Marcus Brown (1994-95 & 1995-96) and Isaac Spencer (1999-00 & 2000-01), Eastern Illinois’ Henry Domercant (2001-02 & 2002-03) and Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried (2009-10 & 2010-11) Overall, eight different schools were represented on the team with Austin Peay, Belmont, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State leading the way with two picks apiece. Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin each had one selection. The squad features three seniors, nine juniors and a sophomore. All 13 selections were named to the All-OVC Team last season, eight being first-team picks and five being second-team selections. The other selections included Austin Peay’s
Jordyn Adams, Murray State’s
Tevin Brown and
KJ Williams, Belmont’s
Grayson Murphy and
Nick Muszynski, Eastern Illinois’
Mack Smith and
Josiah Wallace, Eastern Kentucky’s
Jomaru Brown and
Tre King, Tennessee State’s
Carlos Marshall Jr., Tennessee Tech’s
Jr. Clay and UT Martin’s
Parker Stewart.
Austin Peay and Murray State Picked as OVC Preseason Co-Favorites: In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, rivals Austin Peay and Murray State have been picked the preseason favorites for the 2020-21 season. It marks the first time since 2009-10 that the poll has produced co-favorites. It also marks the first time since the 2011-12 season that the Governors have been picked first in the preseason poll, and first time since 2014-15 that the Racers have been tabbed the favorites. Dating back to 1979-80 (the first year preseason polls were available), Murray State (18) and Austin Peay (7) have been tabbed the favorites more than any other OVC team. Austin Peay picked up nine first-place votes while Murray State garnered 10 top nods as each finished with 226 points. Belmont received the other five first-place votes and 214 points in being tabbed third. Eastern Kentucky was picked fourth (173) and followed by Eastern Illinois (153), Tennessee State (139), Jacksonville State (124), Morehead State (87), Tennessee Tech (84), UT Martin (80), SIUE (48) and Southeast Missouri (30).
UT Martin Coach Stewart Passes Away: UT Martin head coach
Anthony Stewart passed away suddenly on November 15 at the age of 50. He was set to enter his fifth season with the program. He leaves behind a wife, Cheryl, and three children, Anthony, Parker and Skylar. This season for every game UTM will leave an empty seat draped with a sports coat on its bench.
NCAA Unity Pledge/Logo: This season you will see OVC teams sporting a Unity Patch on uniforms. The patch is part of a Unity Pledge and Logo approved by the NCAA’s three divisional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) and the NCAA Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee. They are symbolic gestures to continue generating stronger unity among the NCAA’s 1100-plus schools and nearly 500,000 student-athletes. The logo includes three different colored hands holding one another’s wrists inside a circle with “United As One” at the bottom. For more information on this and other OVC social justice initiatives visit
www.OVCSports.com/OVCforChange.
ESPN+: This year marks the third of the OVC’s media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $5.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($12.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at
www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.