• OVC Men's Basketball Report - March 2 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
2026 OVC Basketball Championship Presented by United Fidelity Bank
Ford Center - Evansville, Indiana
Wednesday, March 4
#5 SIUE vs.
#8 Eastern Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
#6 Lindenwood vs.
#7 Little Rock, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, March 5
#4 UT Martin vs. Winner Game 1, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
#3 Southeast Missouri vs. Winner Game 2, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, March 6
#1 Tennessee State vs. Winner Game 3, 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
#2 Morehead State vs. Winner Game 4, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, March 7
Semifinal Winners, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN2/Westwood One)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
George Marshall, Jr., G • 6-4, 200, Sr. • Jackson, Miss. • Morehead State
Marshall earned his first OVC Player of the Week honor of the season in averaging 25.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 steals/game as he guided Morehead State to a pair of wins and a share of the OVC Regular Season Championship, the third in the past four seasons for the Eagles. The senior hit 65 percent (13-of-20) from the field, 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range and 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from the free throw line in the two wins. He started the week with 22 points, hitting 12-of-12 free throws including the game-winners with 6.9 seconds left, as MSU scored a one-point win over Southern Indiana. He also added six rebounds in the home win. Marshall closed the week with 28 points (including 17 in the first half) as the Eagles won at Little Rock. He hit 5-of-8 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and two steals. Marshall ranks second in the OVC in free throw percentage (84.1%)
Others Nominated: Kooper Jacobi, Eastern Illinois; Anias Futrell, Lindenwood; Brendan Terry, Southeast Missouri; Tyler King, SIUE; Tolu Samuels, Southern Indiana; Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State; Dani Pounds, Tennessee Tech.
NEWCOMER
Jon Carroll, F • 6-7, 215, Jr. • Tallahassee, Fla. • Morehead State
Carroll, a transfer from North Central Missouri College, averaged a double-double as Morehead State won a pair of games to claim a share of the OVC Regular Season Championship, its third in the past four seasons. The junior averaged 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists/game while hitting 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the field and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) at the free throw line. He had 12 points and nine rebounds in a home victory over Southern Indiana to open the week. He closed the week with his seventh double-double of the season (which is tied for second in the OVC), tallying 22 points and 13 rebounds in a road win over Little Rock. Carroll hit 9-of-13 field goals in tying his season-high. He ranks fourth in the OVC in rebounding (7.7/game).
Others Nominated: Meechie White, Eastern Illinois; Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood; Luke Almodovar, Southeast Missouri; Tyler King, SIUE; Tolu Samuels, Southern Indiana; Dani Pounds, Tennessee Tech.
FRESHMAN
Joseph Thomas, G • 6-1, 165, R-Fr. • Portal, Ga. • Little Rock
After playing only 63 minutes all season and scoring only 12 points, Thomas had a breakout week, averaging 15 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game in a pair of games to close the regular season. He opened the week by playing a season-high 25 minutes against Morehead State, scoring 11 points on 2-of-5 3-point shooting and adding two rebounds, an assist and steal. Forced into the starting lineup in a must-win game against USI in the regular season finale, Thomas hit 5-of-10 3-pointers and scored a season-best 19 points in 37 minutes of action. He added a rebound, assist and steal as the Trojans won to qualify for the OVC Tournament. For the week he hit 10-of-23 (43.5%) field goals and 7-fo-15 (46.7%) 3-pointers.
Others Nominated: Markus Blackwell, Eastern Illinois; Matas Deniusas, UT Martin.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Aaron Nkrumah (G, Sr.), Tennessee State. Led TSU to a share of OVC title and No. 1 seed after averaging 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 steals and 3.0 assists/game in two wins.
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Kooper Jacobi (F, Grad.), Eastern Illinois. In must-win game, he had 30 points and 13 rebounds in road victory over Lindenwood, including hitting 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
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Anias Futrell (G, Sr.), Lindenwood. Averaged 24.0 points/game in finishing the regular season as the OVC’s leading scorer (17.87 points/game).
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Tyler King (G, Jr.), SIUE. Helped the Cougars to a pair of wins, averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals/game while hitting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field.
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Brendan Terry (F, Sr.), Southeast Missouri. Averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists/game while hitting 42.9 percent from the field.
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Dani Pounds (F, Jr.), Tennessee Tech. In two road games, averaged 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds/game while hitting 64.3 percent from the field.
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Tolu Samuels (F, Jr.), Southern Indiana. Averaged a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds/game while hitting 53.8 percent from the field.
OVC Tournament Specific Notes
GENERAL TOURNAMENT NOTES
This marks the 63rd overall OVC Men’s Basketball Tournament; the event is the fourth-oldest Division I Championship nationally behind only the Southern, ACC and SEC ... The winner of this year’s event will be the first nationally to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament ... This marks the ninth-straight year the event has been held at the Ford Center in Evansville ... It was announced in October that the event will be held at the Ford Center through at least 2032 ... Seven years ago the event set an all-time OVC Tournament attendance record during the semifinals (8,294) and broke that a night later in the championship game (10,525) ... This marks the 14th time the bracket has used a merit-based format with the No. 1 and 2 seeds receiving double byes and the No. 3 and 4 seeds receiving single byes ... Seven of the eight teams in this year’s field also competed last year (EIU being the other).
EASTERN ILLINOIS
All-Time Record: 8-17
Titles: 1 (2001)
Eastern Illinois is back in the field for the first time in two years...The Panthers played SIUE on Saturday and will rematch with the Cougars in the First Round on Wednesday...EIU/SIUE also played in 2024 in the Panthers last appearance (SIUE won that matchup 68-57) ... EIU won the other OVC Tournament meeting between the two schools in 2015 in Nashville ... The teams split this year’s season series ... The winner will play No. 4 seed UT Martin on Thursday ... EIU head coach Marty Simmons was a star player at the University of Evansville, the city the OVC Tournament is held in.
LINDENWOOD
All-Time Record: 1-2
Titles: 0
Lindenwood is in the OVC Tournament for the third time since joining the OVC ... This is the first year they are eligible to earn the League’s AQ to the NCAA Tournament, as the Lions completed their three-year reclassification process to Division I prior to this year ... Lindenwood was also the No. 6 seed last year and topped Morehead State to earn its first-ever OVC Tournament victory (they lost to TSU in the Quarterfinals) ... Lindenwood set its Division I Era records for overall (17) and OVC wins (11) ... Senior Anias Futrell finished the year as the OVC’s leading scorer (17.87 points/game), 0.2 ahead of second-place (six total points) ... Dontrez Williams ranked fifth (15.3 ppg) and Jadis Jones was sixth (15.27 ppg) in scoring ... Lindenwood is matched up with Little Rock in the First Round; the two teams split the regular season series and the all-time series is all square at 4-4 ... The winner will play No. 3 seed Southeast Missouri ... Lindenwood leads the OVC in blocks and assists.
LITTLE ROCK
All-Time Record: 2-2
Titles: 0
Little Rock has won at least one OVC Tournament game in each of its two event appearances ... The team was the No. 1 seed two years ago and the No. 4 seed a year ago ...The Trojans are matched up with No. 6 seed Lindenwood in the First Round; the two teams split the season series and are all square (4-4) all-time ... The team won a pair of Sun Belt Tournament Championships during its time in that league (1992 through 2022), the last coming in 2016 (the other in 2011) under then head coach Chris Beard - the Trojans went on to top Purdue in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament ... Little Rock leads the OVC in 3-point percentage.
MOREHEAD STATE
All-Time Record: 41-48
Titles: 6 (1983, 1984, 2009, 2011, 2021, 2024)
Morehead State won its third OVC Regular Season Championship in the past four years by finishing 15-5 overall and tying with Tennessee State ... The Eagles are the No. 2 seed overall and get a double bye to the semifinals ... The team is under the direction of second-year head coach Jonathan Mattox who spent nine prior seasons with the program rising through the coaching ranks ... MSU is appearing in the OVC Tournament field for the eighth-straight season, the longest active streak among current OVC teams ... The team has appeared in the OVC Tournament Title Game in three of the past five seasons (2021, 2022, 2024) ... The Eagles have won at least one game in 12 of its last 16 appearances (only failing to do so in 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2025) ... MSU is 8-2 in its last 10 games ... MSU leads the OVC in field goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
All-Time Record: 17-17
Titles: 2 (2000, 2023)
Southeast Missouri lost in the OVC Tournament final last year after entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed ... The Redhawks won the Championship as the No. 5 seed in 2023 ... Entering this postseason, SEMO has won 10 of its last 12 games in earning the No. 3 seed, finishing one game behind co-champions Morehead State and Tennessee State ... The Redhawks will play the winner of the Lindenwood/Little Rock first round matchup; SEMO swept the Trojans and split with the Lions this season ... SEMO is 1-0 against each Little Rock and Lindenwood all-time in OVC Tournament play ... The Redhawks are second in the OVC in turnover margin.
SIUE
All-Time Record: 4-8
Titles: 1 (2025)
SIUE won its first-ever OVC Tournament Championship a season ago, going 2-0 as the No. 2 seed and beating SEMO 69-48 in the title game ... The team is in the OVC Tournament field for the sixth-straight season, the second-longest active streak among current OVC teams (only trailing MSU’s eight-straight appearances) ... After going 0-for-6 in its first six appearances, the Cougars have won a game in each of the past three tournaments ... Overall the Cougars have been in the tournament in eight of the nine years it has been at the Ford Center ... SIUE won seven of eight games in the middle of January/early February and capped the regular season with two wins last week, including beating EIU on Saturday ... The Cougars and Panthers will square off on Wednesday in the First Round, the third all-time meeting between the teams in the event (the teams have split the previous two meetings, EIU winning in 2015, SIUE winning in 2024) ... SIUE is second in the OVC in 3-point percentage, scoring defense, field goal defense (ninth nationally), 3-point defense and assist-to-turnover ratio ... Center Arnas Sakenis ranks 10th nationally in blocks entering the week (72).
TENNESSEE STATE
All-Time Record: 16-31
Titles: 2 (1993, 1994)
Tennessee State finished OVC play 15-5 to claim a share of the Regular Season Championship, its first since the 1994-95 season ... After the tiebreaker the team earned the No. 1 seed and earned a double bye to Friday’s semifinals ... It marks the first time TSU has had a top two OVC finish in a non-Division schedule (used from 2012-13 to 2016-17) since 2011-12 (when they finished second behind Murray State) ... TSU has 21 overall victories, the most of its Division I era; the team’s 15 OVC wins are also a program record ... TSU is in the OVC Tournament field for the fifth-straight season; the team advanced to the semifinals a year ago ... TSU has won at least one game in the event in four of its last five appearances ... TSU is looking for its first tournament crown since the second of back-to-back titles in 1994 ... This year marks the first for the team under head coach Nolan Smith ... TSU has won nine of its last 11 games entering the postseason ... TSU leads the OVC in scoring, steals and turnover margin ... The No. 1 seed has failed to win the OVC Tournament in four of the past five seasons (only Murray State in 2022 won) ... As of Sunday TSU has the highest NET ranking among OVC teams (189) ... As of Sunday, Aaron Nkrumah’s 87 steals are the second-most nationally (as is his 2.9 steals/game average).
UT MARTIN
All-Time Record: 7-15
Titles: 0
UT Martin is back in the OVC Tournament field for the fourth-straight year, and second-straight under head coach Jeremy Shulman ... UTM was at or near the top of the OVC standings for most of the season (they began OVC play 11-2 and held at least a share of the lead for 42 consecutive days) before ending up as the No. 4 seed, which earned the team a bye to the Quarterfinals ... The Skyhawks will play the winner of the Eastern Illinois/SIUE game; UTM swept both of those teams during the regular season ... UT Martin is also 1-0 against each of those teams in the OVC Tournament ... The Skyhawks roster includes 13 international players among 19 total individuals ... Freshman forward Matas Deniusas was named OVC Freshman of the Week 11 times this year, the second-most in OVC history ... UTM leads the OVC in rebounding, scoring defense (fourth nationally), field goal defense (fifth nationally), 3-point defense, 3-pointers made, scoring margin and rebounding margin ... The year marked the sixth 20-win season for UT Martin of its Division I era (since 1992-93); the team’s 21 wins are one away from tying the high mark set in 2016-17 and 2008-09.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The 63rd annual OVC Men’s Basketball Tournament takes place this week in Evansville ... There has been a different champion each of the past four years (Murray State, Southeast Missouri, Morehead State, SIUE) ... Morehead State and Tennessee State shared the OVC Regular Season Championship with identical 15-5 records (TSU earned the No. 1 seed after the tiebreaker) ... It was the third overall title and first since 1994-95 for the Tigers ... For MSU it was the third title in the past four years and 12th overall (the third-most in OVC history) ...TSU reached 21 regular season victory, the most of its Division I era (its 15 OVC wins were also its most-ever) ... Lindenwood reached 17 overall and 11 OVC wins, the most of its Division I era; the Lions also won seven overall road games, a new D! era record (the team won more OVC road games - 6 - than they did OVC home games - 5) ... Lindenwood’s Anias Futrell scored 48 points last week to finish the regular season as the OVC’s scoring leader (17.87 points/game), which was 0.20 points/game (six total points) better than TSU’s Aaron Nkrumah (17.67 ppg) and 0.50 points/game better than TSU’s Travis Harper II (17.37) ... Futrell averaged a league-best 20.5 points/game in Conference-only games.
2025-26 All-OVC Teams Announced on Tuesday: The announcement of the 2025-26 All-OVC Basketball Teams with the Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year awards will take place on Tuesday, March 3 between Noon and 1 p.m. CT on social media.
Morehead State and Tennessee State Share OVC Regular Season Title: Morehead State and Tennessee State finished OVC play with 15-5 records and each claimed a share of the OVC crown. It is the 12th regular season title for the Eagles (1956, 1957, 1961, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1984, 2003, 2023, 2024, 2026) and third in the past four years. It was the third overall title for the Tigers and first since the 1994-95 season.
OVC Basketball Championships Set For Ford Center in Evansville For Ninth Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the ninth-straight season the event will be held in the building. 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 October 2025 an agreement was reached to extend the partnership through the 2032 Championship.
OVC Tournament Championship Format: Once again the OVC Tournament will include a merit-based format. The format, which began in 2011, has the top eight men’s and women’s teams qualifying for the tournament. The No. 1 and 2 seeds will receive two byes to the semifinals while the No. 3 and 4 seeds will receive one bye into the quarterfinals. The first round will include the No. 5 seed against the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed against the No. 7 seed. The women’s bracket also uses a merit-based bracket.
All Teams Eligible for Postseason Play: Lindenwood and Southern Indiana have completed their reclassification to Division I and are now eligible to earn to compete in NCAA sanctioned postseason play (NCAA and NIT Tournaments).
Recent Postseason Success: OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 13 of the past 16 postseasons. 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) before no postseason was held in 2020. A streak of 11-straight years ended in 2021 (when only one team made the reduced postseason), but a new streak began with Murray State winning a NCAA Tournament game in 2022 and continued with Morehead State winning a NIT game in 2023.
Lawson Records 27th Triple-Double in OVC History: Little Rock senior guard
Johnathan Lawson recorded the 27th triple-double in OVC history on February 12 when he had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Western Illinois. It was the first triple-double by an OVC player since December 2024 when WIU’s Sean Smith had two in the same week (December 4 and December 6). There has been at least one triple-double by an OVC player in each of the past six seasons.
OVC Players in the NBA: Seven former OVC players started the 2025-26 season on NBA rosters (an eighth, Cam Payne, joined the group in February). That included three players who were drafted last year, Johni Broome (Morehead State), Will Richard (Belmont) and Taelon Peter (Tennessee Tech). In 2020 Ja Morant was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, making him one of three players from a non-Power 5 Conference to win the award since 1983-84 (joining Damian Lilliard of Weber State in 2012-13 and Larry Johnson of UNLV in 1991-92).
• Johni Broome, Philadelphia 76ers (Morehead State)
• Myron Gardner, Miami Heat (Little Rock)
• Riley Minix, Cleveland Cavaliers (Morehead State)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Cam Payne, Philadelphia 76ers (Murray State)
• Taelon Peter, Indiana Pacers (Tennessee Tech)
• Will Richard, Golden State Warriors (Belmont)
• Ben Sheppard, Indiana Pacers (Belmont)
Three in 2025 NBA Draft: Three players who played in the OVC were selected in the 2025 NBA Draft. That included Johni Broome (Morehead State/Auburn - Philadelphia 76ers), Taelon Peter (Tennessee Tech/Liberty - Indiana Pacers) and Will Richard (Belmont/Florida - Golden State Warriors). It marked the first time since 1987 that three OVC players were selected in the Draft, and first time since 1971 that three players were selected in the first two rounds of the Draft.
OVC to Produce Linear Television Package with ESPN: As part of its newly signed multi-year media deal with ESPN, the OVC will once again produce a national television package in 2025-26 that will include eight men’s basketball games that will air on the ESPN Family of Networks. The regular season games and the men’s tournament semifinals will air on ESPNU; the Men’s Championship game will air on ESPN2. Each of the regular season games will be “wild card selections” with the matchup picked approximately two weeks ahead of the game.
Select OVC Games to Simulcast on Gray Media Stations: As part of the Conference’s new multi-year contract with ESPN, this season select men’s and women’s basketball games will simulcast in 20 Gray Media TV markets in five states (in addition to airing on ESPN+). That includes markets in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Peoria, Quincy, Rockford, Evansville, Ft. Wayne, South Bend and Lexington. Prior to each game a listing of the stations that will broadcast each game will be made available at OVCSports.com.
Little Rock Picked as OVC Preseason Favorites: In a vote of OVC head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, Little Rock was picked the preseason favorites for the 2025-26 season. It marks the second-straight year the Trojans have been tabbed the favorites. The Trojans picked up 12 of 22 first-place votes to receive 188 points. Southeast Missouri, last year’s regular season champions, picked up six first-place votes and 177 points, while SIUE (163 points) and Tennessee State (135 points) each picked up a first-place point and were tabbed third and fourth respectively. Lindenwood and Morehead State (100 points) tied for fifth place, Tennessee Tech (80) was seventh, UT Martin (79) eighth and Southern Indiana (67) received the other two first-place votes and were picked ninth. The poll was rounded out by Eastern Illinois (63) and Western Illinois (57).
The Season is Here: The 2025-26 season marks the 78th of competition for the Ohio Valley Conference. Over the previous 77 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
ESPN+/ESPN Unlimited: The OVC signed a new multi-year media rights agreement with ESPN ahead of the season that continues the long-standing partnership to air games on the Family of Networks. 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 $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year). For the first time ever, ESPN now offers its full suite of 12 networks and services directly to fans within an enhanced ESPN App that integrates game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, commerce, multiview options, a synchronized two-screen experience, a vertical video feature called Verts and a personalized SportsCenter For You. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, these new features and functionality are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a special offer at launch for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months.