• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – November 13 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, November 13
Brescia
at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Hannibal-LaGrange
at Lindenwood, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Missouri, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, November 14
Mercer
at Morehead State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lipscomb
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tiffin University
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, November 15
Evansville
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Eastern Illinois at Illinois State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Portland, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, November 16
SIUE vs. Denver, 5:00 p.m. (Mobile, AL)
Lindenwood at Air Force, 5:30 p.m. (Altitude)
Midway
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, November 17
Lindenwood vs. Omaha, 3:00 p.m. (USAF Academy, Colo.)
Morehead State at Penn State, 6:00 p.m. (Peacock)
SIUE vs. Nicholls, 6:00 p.m. (Mobile, AL)
UT Martin at Eastern Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern
at Western Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Oregon, 8:00 p.m. (Pac 12 Networks)
Saturday, November 18
Little Rock vs. Northern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (Atlanta, Ga.)
Southern Indiana at La Salle, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Eastern Illinois vs. Coppin State, 2:30 p.m. (Oxford, Ohio)
Sunday, November 19
Eastern Illinois at Miami (Ohio), 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin vs. Prairie View A&M, 12:00 p.m. (Richmond, Ky.)
SIUE at South Alabama, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood vs. William & Mary, 12:30 p.m. (USAF Academy, Colo.)
Little Rock at Georgia State, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at Chattanooga, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
CO-PLAYER
DeAntoni Gordon, F • 6-8, 220, Grad. • Mobile, Ala. • Little Rock
Gordon averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while hitting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field in a pair of games to start the 2023-24 season. The grad student had 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in 34 minutes as the Trojans topped Texas State on opening night. He capped the week by once again scoring 19 points, this time in a road game versus UIC. In that contest Gordon hit 8-of-16 shots and 3-of-4 free throws while adding six rebounds and a block in 37 minutes.
CO-PLAYER
Riley Minix, F • 6-7, 230, Grad. • Vero Beach, Fla. • Morehead State
Minix, a transfer from Southeastern (Fla.) averaged 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals while hitting 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from the field and 100 percent (8-of-8) at the free throw line in a trio of contests. He had 19 points, a team-high five rebounds, two assists and two steals against No. 24 Alabama. He then posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Shawnee State; in that game he also added five assists and four steals. Minix capped the week against No. 3 Purdue where he had 18 points in 33 minutes.
Others Nominated: Tiger Booker, Eastern Illinois; Keenon Cole, Lindenwood; Shamar Wright, SIUE; Jason Jitoboh, Tennessee State; Josiah Davis, Tennessee Tech; Jordan Sears, UT Martin; James Dent Jr., Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Riley Minix, F • 6-7, 230, Grad. • Vero Beach, Fla. • Morehead State
Minix, a transfer from Southeastern (Fla.) averaged 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals while hitting 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from the field and 100 percent (8-of-8) at the free throw line in a trio of contests. He had 19 points, a team-high five rebounds, two assists and two steals against No. 24 Alabama. He then posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Shawnee State; in that game he also added five assists and four steals. Minix capped the week against No. 3 Purdue where he had 18 points in 33 minutes.
Others Nominated: Kooper Jacobi, Eastern Illinois; Jeremiah Talton, Lindenwood; KK Robinson, Little Rock; Jason Jitoboh, Tennessee State; Josiah Davis, Tennessee Tech; Issa Muhammad, UT Martin; James Dent Jr., Western Illinois.
FRESHMAN
Eddie Ricks III, F • 6-7, 205, Fr. • Clarksville, Tenn. • Morehead State
In his first three collegiate games, Ricks averaged 10.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from the field. He led MSU with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in a 96-40 win over Shawnee State. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in that game and had two blocks. Against No. 24 Alabama he had six points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal and he capped the week with seven points, seven rebounds and a steal at No. 3 Purdue while opposing reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey.
Others Nominated: Isaiah Griffin, Eastern Illinois; Colin Ruffin, Lindenwood; Jaylen Jones, Tennessee State; Kyle Layton, Tennessee Tech.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Keenon Cole (F, Sr.), Lindenwood. Averaged 17.0 points and 3.5 rebounds/game vs. Nebraska and Iowa State. Hit 12-of-13 (92.3%) from the charity stripe. Had 20 points in the team’s contest at Iowa State.
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Jordan Sears (G, Jr.), UT Martin. Tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists vs. Champion Christian. Had team-high 21 points in loss at Mississippi State, a game where he reached his 1,000 career point. Averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists/game for the week.
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James Dent Jr. (G, Jr.), Western Illinois. Knocked down 10 3-pointers in three games last week. Overall he averaged 15.7 points and 4.0 rebounds/game. He had a team-best 20 points off the bench in a win over St. Ambrose.
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KK Robinson (G, Sr.), Little Rock. Had a career-high 24 points in win over Texas State, while also netting five steals. Hit 17-of-21 (81.0%) from the foul line in two games.
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Jason Jitoboh (C, Sr.), Tennessee State. The Florida transfer averaged 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds/game in two wins. Had 12 points in 25 minutes vs. Fisk and 18 points vs. Kentucky State.