• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – November 21 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, November 21
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
at Eastern Illinois, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State vs. CSUN, 2:00 pm (San Juan Capistrano, CA) (FloHoops)
Tuesday, November 22
UT Martin at Arkansas State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Truett McConnell
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at St. Bonaventure, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Kentucky State
at Morehead State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
William Woods
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, November 23
Little Rock at #11 Indiana, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)
Idaho State
at Lindenwood, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee St. vs. High Point/C. Michigan, TBA (San Juan Capistrano, CA)
Friday, November 25
Eastern Illinois at Ohio, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Lindenwood at #14 Illinois, 8:00 p.m. (B1G+)
Saturday, November 26
Little Rock at Miami (Ohio), 12:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Southeast Missouri vs. Boston, 1:00 p.m. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Eastern Illinois vs. Alabama State, 1:00 p.m. (Athens, Ohio)
Southern Indiana at Bowling Green, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at Marshall, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Kansas City, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 27
Southeast Missouri vs. UC Davis, 12:00 p.m. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Tennessee Tech at Northern Kentucky, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Myron Gardner, G • 6-6, 220, Sr. • Detroit, Mich. • Little Rock
In a trio of games, Gardner averaged a double-double with 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds/game while adding 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals/game and hitting 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from the field, 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from 3-point range and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) at the free throw line. In the team’s come-from-behind win over Jackson State on Sunday, Gardner hit 5-of-6 3-pointers and finished the game with 23 points and nine rebounds while adding two assists and a steal. He opened the week with 12 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and five steals against Central Arkansas. In the team’s mid-week game at ETSU he flirted with a triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Gardner leads the OVC in rebounding (10.0/game) while ranking fourth in assists (3.6/game), fourth in 3-point percentage (47.4%), fifth in steals (2.4/game) and 10th in scoring (12.8 points/game).
Others Nominated: Kevin Caldwell Jr., Lindenwood; DeeJuan Pruitt, SIUE; Jacob Polakovich, Southern Indiana; Jr. Clay, Tennessee State; Jaylen Sebree, Tennessee Tech; Parker Stewart, UT Martin.
CO-NEWCOMER
Yaakema Rose Jr., G • 5-9, 185., Grad. • Springfield, Ill. • Eastern Illinois
In the team’s lone game last week, Rose had 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and an assist at Ohio State. He hit 6-of-16 field goals, including 3-of-7 3-pointers and added a pair of free throws. He was the only EIU player to score in double figures as the Panthers trailed the Buckeyes 26-20 at the half and closed to within three points in the opening minutes of the second half. Rose, a transfer from UMSL, ranks second in the OVC in steals (2.5/game).
CO-NEWCOMER
Kobe Clark, F • 6-6, 180, So. • St. Louis, Mo. • Southeast Missouri
Clark, a transfer from Georgetown, averaged 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals/game while hitting 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from the field and 50 percent (3-of-6) from 3-point range in a pair of games. He had 13 points, six rebounds and an assist in a road win over Evansville. Clark hit 1-of-2 3-points and 4-of-4 free throws in the six-point win. He had 10 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists at Bradley, hitting 2-of-4 3-pointers in the game. Clark ranks second in the OVC in rebounding (9.8/game) and 10th in field goal percentage (53.3%)
Others Nominated: Alex Gross, Morehead State; Trevor Lakes, Southern Indiana; Ty Perry, Tennessee Tech; Jordan Sears, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Chris Walker, G • 6-6, 195, R-Fr. • Wellington, Fla. • Little Rock
In three games last week Walker averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.0 rebounds/game while hitting 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range. He had 12 points and four assists in 17 minutes off the bench in the team’s 94-91 win over Jackson State. Walker canned 4-of-6 3-pointers in that win. He added 11 points, three assists and a block to open the week against Central Arkansas. At ETSU, he added eight points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Walker ranks eighth in the OVC in 3-point percentage (40.7%) and 3-pointers made/game (2.2).
Others Nominated: Jack Campion, Southern Indiana; Grant Strong, Tennessee Tech.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Kevin Caldwell Jr. (G,Sr.), Lindenwood. Averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists/game in three contests. Had 20 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds in overtime loss to Western Carolina.
•
Jaylen Sebree (F, Grad), Tennessee Tech. Averaged 17.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists/game while hitting 53.1 percent (17-fo-32) from the field and 90.9 percent (10-11) from the free throw line in three games. Had a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds vs. Coppin State.
•
Parker Stewart (G, Grad.), UT Martin. Averaged 16.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 2.0 assists/game in three games. Was the primary defender and rebounded the miss on Prairie View A&M’s last second opportunity in Sunday’s victory. Had a career-high six steals against Harris-Stowe.
Notes From Around the League
New Teams: The OVC welcomes three new teams this year in Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana. Little Rock moves over from the Sun Belt while Lindenwood and USI are reclassifying from Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The trio marks just the 22nd, 23rd and 24th full-time members in the 75-year history of the OVC.
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the highest seed going into the tournament.
OVC Basketball Championships Held at Ford Center in Evansville For Sixth Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 1-4 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the sixth-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, the OVC signed a three-year extension to keep the event at the venue through 2023, with an option for a fourth-year (2024).
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.
Recent Postseason Success: OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 12 of the past 13 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), and the OVC began a new streak with Murray State winning in the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
OVC Players in the NBA: Five former OVC men’s basketball players made National Basketball Association (NBA) rosters for 2022-23. In 2021, Cameron Payne helped Phoenix advance to the NBA Finals. It marked the fourth time in the past six years an OVC player had competed in the NBA Finals. 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).
• Robert Covington, Los Angeles Clippers(Tennessee State)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Cameron Payne, Phoenix Suns (Murray State)
• Terry Taylor, Indianapolis Pacers (Austin Peay)
• Dylan Windler, Cleveland Cavaliers (Belmont)
OVC to Produce 10-Game Linear Television Package and Use “Wild Card” Selections: The OVC will produce a national television package in 2022-23 that will include nine men’s basketball games and one women’s basketball contest that will air on the ESPN Family of Networks. Five of the seven regular season games and the men’s tournament semifinals will air on ESPNU with two regular season games airing on ESPNews. 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.
Simon Named Preseason Player of the Year: The 2022-23 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball Team was headlined by UT Martin senior guard
KJ Simon. He is the first Skyhawk to be named OVC Preseason Player of the Year since 2008-09, when All-American and future NBA player Lester Hudson earned the honor. Overall, seven different schools were represented on the team with Tennessee State leading the way with four picks. Southeast Missouri, SIUE and UT Martin had two selections apiece while Morehead State, Southern Indiana and Tennessee Tech each had one pick. Other returning All-OVC s
elections from last year who made the preseason team were Southeast Missouri sophomore guard Phillip Russell and Tennessee State graduate guard
Jr. Clay while SIUE sophomore
Ray’Sean Taylor earned All-Newcomer honors. Two other players previously earned All-OVC accolades before transferring away from the league and then back this season. Those players are Morehead State senior guard
Mark Freeman and UT Martin graduate guard
Parker Stewart. The team was rounded out by Southeast Missouri senior guard
Chris Harris, SIUE sophomore forward
DeeJuan Pruitt, Southern Indiana senior guard
Jelani Simmons, Tennessee Tech graduate guard
Ty Perry and a trio of Tennessee State players in sophomore guard
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., senior guard
Dedric Boyd and graduate forward
Zion Griffin.
Morehead State Picked as OVC Preseason Favorites: In a vote of OVC head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, Morehead State has been picked the preseason favorites for the 2022-23 season. It marks the first time since 2009-10 that the Eagles have been tabbed the preseason favorites. The Eagles were one of five different teams to pick up first-place votes, tallying seven top picks to finish with 138 points. They finished ahead of Tennessee State who had two first-place votes (130 points), UT Martin who had seven first-place votes (120 points), Southeast Missouri who had two first-place votes (115) and SIUE who picked up two first-place votes (111 points). The poll was rounded out by Little Rock (102), Southern Indiana (68), Tennessee Tech (62), Eastern Illinois (31) and Lindenwood (23).
Men’s Basketball Experimental Rules for Second Half Media Timeouts in Conference Play: This season in Conference men’s basketball games, the league will participate with an experimental rule which establishes a standard media timeout format for the second half of all OVC men’s basketball regular season and conference tournament games (the experimental rule does not pertain to non-conference games). The rule establishes the standard media timeout format for all OVC games which requires electronic media timeout marks that occur after the first stoppage of play following the 17-, 14-. 11-, 8- and 4- minute marks in the second half. The experimental rule is designed to help standardize the traditional “floater” media mark in the second half.
The 2022-23 Season: The 2022-23 season marks the 75th of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 74 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
ESPN+: This year marks the fifth 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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($13.99/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.