• 2021-22 OVC Men's Basketball Preseason Release (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors,
Belmont has been picked the preseason favorites for the 2021-22 season. It marks the fifth time in the past six seasons the Bruins have been tabbed preseason favorites.
Belmont picked up 17 of a possible 20 first-place votes to tally 161 total points in being picked first.
Morehead State picked up the other three first-place votes and 141 points in being ranked second, just ahead of
Murray State (136 points).
Southeast Missouri was tabbed fourth (101) and followed by
Tennessee State (84),
Austin Peay (76),
SIUE (65),
Tennessee Tech (62),
Eastern Illinois (43) and
UT Martin (34).
Last year Belmont won 18 Conference games, setting a new OVC record on its way to its third-straight and seventh overall OVC regular season championship. Along the way the Belmont won 28-straight OVC regular season games (2019-20 and 2020-21) which broke the previous record of 25 set by Western Kentucky in the 1960s. This season third-year head coach
Casey Alexander has all five starters returning from that team that won 26 overall games, including a NCAA-best 10 road games. Among those players is senior point guard
Grayson Murphy, the OVC Preseason Co-Player of the Year, who ranked 14th nationally in steals (2.25/game) and 16th in assists (5.8) while leading all point guard nationally in rebounding (8.0/game) and senior center
Nick Muszynski who has been a three-team first-team All-OVC selection during his career and who ranked 15th nationally in field goal percentage (58.6%). The returning starters also include senior guard
Luke Smith (78 made 3-pointers in his first year with the team), junior guard
Ben Sheppard (10.5 points and 4.4 rebounds/game) and senior forward
Caleb Hollander (9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds/game).
Last season Morehead State won 17 OVC games (the second-most in league history) and captured its first OVC Tournament Championship in a decade (2011), its fifth overall crown. Along the way the team won 12-straight games, which tied the 1983-84 Eagles team for the longest streak in program history. This season sixth-year head coach
Preston Spradlin returns six of his top nine players from last year’s rotation including reigning OVC Freshman of the Year and Tournament MVP
Johni Broome. Broome, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds in the OVC Tournament Final, was one of only three freshmen nationally a year ago to lead their teams in each scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocks (1.9 bpg). Also returning is redshirt junior
Skyelar Potter, a Preseason All-OVC selection, after averaging 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds/game while hitting 61 3-pointers in his debut season with the team. The Eagles also return redshirt sophomore forward
Tyzhaun Claude who started 19 of 30 games in 2019-20 before missing last season with an injury.
Murray State has one of the top duos in the league in fourth-year players
Tevin Brown and
KJ Williams, who have each earned first-team All-OVC honors each of the past two years. The guard Brown enters the 2021-22 season with 1,343 points 303 assists and 410 rebounds and is poised to make a run at the Racers career made 3-pointers record (he has 248, which is only 56 behind Isaiah Canaan’s school mark). Brown is also only 71 made trifectas away from the OVC career mark. The forward Williams enters the season with 1,054 points and 603 rebounds and is one of 15 players in MSU history to have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 600 rebounds in a career and has a shot at becoming the 10th Racer to reach 1,000/700 in a career. Head coach
Matt McMahon has eight additional players back from last year and welcomes five newcomers, including transfer guard
Carter Collins (Davidson) and
Trae Hannibal (South Carolina).
A season ago Southeast Missouri was picked last in the OVC preseason poll, but the team finished seventh in the then 12-team league in
Brad Korn’s first year as head coach. SEMO saw a +4 improvement in total wins and a +6 jump in OVC victories en route to making the conference tournament for the first time since 2016-17. The Redhawks’ nine conference wins were their most in a season in 20 years. This season the team returns all five starters and all but three players from last year’s roster. Included in the returning starters is Preseason All-OVC selection
Chris Harris (12.3 points/game), along with
Eric Reed Jr. (11.0 points/game, 61 3-pointers),
Nana Akenten (9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds/game),
DQ Nicholas (8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists/game) and
Nolan Taylor (8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds/game, 55.7 FG%).
Tennessee State dealt with injuries last year that ultimately limited the team to three Conference wins. Included among those injuries was 2019-20 All-OVC selection
Carlos Marshall Jr., who averaged 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists/game in his debut season with the team (when TSU won 18 total games) but missed all of 2020-21. He is joined this year by fifth-year forward
Shakem Johnson (11.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, an OVC-best 60.7 field goal percentage) and second-year guard
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. (12.5 points/game including scoring 32 points against SIUE, the second-most by a freshman nationally last year). Head coach
Brian “Penny” Collins, now in his fourth year with the program, welcomes 10 newcomers, including a pair of transfers who have had previously stints at OVC schools in
Dedric Boyd (Eastern Kentucky via Illinois State) and
Jalen Dupree (Murray State via Samford). Among the freshmen is
Hercy Miller (son of rapper Master P.), who played at Minnehaha Academy with the No. 1 ranked high school player in the country.
Austin Peay begins a new era under former Duke player and assistant coach
Nate James. James does have to fill a void left by two-time OVC Player of the Year Terry Taylor (now with the Indiana Pacers). The Governors return one starter in junior point guard
Carlos Paez who started 25 of 27 games a year ago and averaged 8.9 points and a team-best 4.2 assists/game while hitting 89.1 percent at the free throw line. Among the team’s newcomers are redshirt junior guard
Tariq Silver (Oregon State) and junior guard/forward
Cameron Copeland (College of Charleston).
A season ago SIUE qualified for the eight-team OVC Tournament field, finishing the year with seven OVC victories, the most for the program since winning eight in the 2014-15 season. The Cougars ranked 27th nationally in blocked shots (4.7/game), including 11 blocks in a game, which tied the school record. Third-year head coach
Brian Barone has three starters back from last year’s team including twin brothers
Shamar Wright and Lamar Wright and junior guard
Courtney Carter. Shamar is the team’s leading returning scorer at 9.0 points/game while Lamar led the team in blocked shots (50) a season ago, including blocking seven shots in the season finale against Belmont. Carter dished out a team-high 97 assists in 26 starts last season, while also averaging 7.1 points/game on 41.6 percent shooting.
Third-year Tennessee Tech head coach
John Pelphrey returns 10 players from last year including three-time All-OVC selection
Jr. Clay and backcourt mate
Keishawn Davidson, while adding seven newcomers, including five transfers from Division I institutions and two freshmen. Last season Clay ranked second in the OVC in scoring (17.3 points/game) while also averaging 3.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals/game while hitting a career-best 58 3-pointers. Clay is only the second player in Tennessee Tech history to score 400 or more points in three seasons. Davidson, who averaged 11.1 points/game, had 118 assists last year, becoming just the third TTU player to account for 100+ assists in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Among the team’s transfers are
Diante Wood (Jacksonville),
Daniel Ramsey (Xavier),
Mamoudou Diarra (Cincinnati),
Caleb Christopher (Arizona State) and
John Pettway (South Alabama).
Former Evansville standout player and head coach
Marty Simmons enters his first year as the Eastern Illinois head coach. Simmons, who spent the last three seasons on the staff at Clemson, has won 282 career games in stops at Wartburg, SIUE and Evansville. He grew up in Lawrenceville, Illinois, just 75 minutes from the EIU campus, and played games at Lantz Arena as a high schooler. This year the Panthers return one full-time starter (
Sammy Friday IV) from last season and welcome eight newcomers (three Division I transfers, three JUCO players and two high school signees). Friday posted the fifth-best single season field goal percentage (60.0%) in EIU history last season. Among the team’s Division I transfers are
Myles Baker (Central Connecticut State),
Jermaine Hamlin (Illinois) and
Elijah Wood (Nebraska).
First-year UT Martin head coach
Ryan Ridder starts from square one with the Skyhawks, as the program has entirely new roster, which includes five traditional transfers, four high school players, two JUCO players and two graduate transfers. Ridder spent the previous four seasons at Bethune-Cookman, winning 48 games (the team did not play in 2020-21 due to the pandemic).
The 2021-22 season will see the first regular season games played on Tuesday, November 9. The 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament will be held March 2-5 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, the fifth-straight year the event has been held at the venue.
2021-22 OVC Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Belmont (17 first-place votes) – 161 points
2. Morehead State (3) - 141
3. Murray State - 136
4. Southeast Missouri - 101
5. Tennessee State - 84
6. Austin Peay - 76
7. SIUE - 65
8. Tennessee Tech - 62
9. Eastern Illinois - 43
10. UT Martin - 34
2021-22 All-OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball Team
The 2021-22 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball Team is headlined by Co-Players of the Year, Belmont senior point guard
Grayson Murphy and Morehead State second-year forward
Johni Broome.
Murphy is the fourth Belmont player to pick up the award (joining Craig Bradshaw, Evan Bradds and Dylan Windler) while Broome is the first Morehead State player to earn the honor since Kenneth Faried was tabbed with the honor in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Overall, five different schools were represented on the team with Belmont leading the way with three selections, Morehead State and Murray State having two picks apiece and Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech having one pick apiece. Six of the 10 picks earned All-OVC first or second-team honors last year.
Murphy earned his second-straight OVC Defensive Player of the Year honor a year ago in addition to being named to the 2021 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America Team by CollegeInsider.com. He averaged 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game while leading the nation in rebounding from the point guard position for a second consecutive year. He ranked among OVC leaders in 12 different statistical categories and posted the first triple-double of Belmont’s NCAA Division I era with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Morehead State (2/13/21). Over the last three seasons, Murphy is the only player in college basketball to record at least 900 points, 600 rebounds, 550 assists and 200 steals, and he is on pace to become the OVC career leader in assists and steals.
Broome was named OVC Freshman of the Year in addition to being named a first-team All-OVC and earning MVP honors at the OVC Tournament after leading the Eagles to its first title since 2011. He was one of only three freshmen nationally leading their teams in each scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocks (1.9 bpg). He had 13 double-doubles (11th most nationally) and set the Morehead State freshman rebounding record (breaking the mark held by Faried, who would go on to become the NCAA modern era rebounding champion). He was named OVC Freshman of the Week nine times during the year, two off the OVC all-time record.
Other returning first-team All-OVC selections from 2020-21 include Murray State redshirt junior guard
Tevin Brown (14.7 points and 4.3 assists/game, 73 made 3-pointers) and redshirt junior forward
KJ Williams (15.6 points, 8.5 rebounds/game, 56.7 FG%) and Belmont senior center
Nick Muszynski (15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks game, 58.6 FG%) while Tennessee Tech redshirt junior guard
Jr. Clay (17.3 points, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals/game, 58 made 3-pointers) was a returning second-team pick. Additionally, Tennessee State senior guard
Carlos Marshall Jr. (11.8 points and 4.4 rebounds/game, 51 made 3-pointers), earned second-team All-OVC honors in 2019-20, but missed all last year due to injury.
The team was rounded out by Southeast Missouri redshirt junior guard
Chris Harris (12.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds/game), Morehead State redshirt junior guard
Skyelar Potter (12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds/game) and Belmont senior guard
Luke Smith (12.6 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals/game and 78 made 3-pointers).
2021-22 Preseason All-OVC Team
F - Johni Broome, Morehead State
G - Tevin Brown, Murray State
G - Jr. Clay, Tennessee Tech
G - Chris Harris, Southeast Missouri
G - Carlos Marshall Jr., Tennessee State
G - Grayson Murphy, Belmont
C - Nick Muszynski, Belmont
G - Skyelar Potter, Morehead State
G - Luke Smith, Belmont
F - KJ Williams, Murray State
Preseason Co-Player of the Year: Grayson Murphy, Belmont
Preseason Co-Player of the Year: Johni Broome, Morehead State