• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 18 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, December 18
Murray State
at Little Rock, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Eureka
at Western Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Central Christian
at SIUE, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin at Evansville, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, December 19
Morehead State at Indiana, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)
Tennessee State at Indiana State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
University of St. Francis (IL)
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Missouri State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, December 20
Western Illinois at Central Arkansas, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
William Woods
at UT Martin, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at Evansville, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, December 21
Alice Lloyd
at Morehead State, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Jacksonville State
at Little Rock, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Eastern Illinois at Iowa State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southeast Missouri at Illinois State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Bradley, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, December 22
Rockford University
at Lindenwood, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Southern Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Keenon Cole, F • 6-7, 215, Sr. • Streamwood, Ill. • Lindenwood
In two wins Cole averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 54.1 percent (20-of-37) from the field and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) at the foul line. Cole established new career highs in scoring in both games, tallying 25 points against Avila and 26 points against IUPUI. Against Avila he hit 9-of-18 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws in 35 minutes of action. The senior also added nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Four days later in the team’s 73-67 at IUPUI, Cole hit 11-of-19 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws in 37 minutes on the court. He added six rebounds a steal and assist in the win. Cole, who has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, ranks second in the OVC in scoring (18.3 points/game).
Others Nominated: Corey Sawyer Jr., Eastern Illinois; Jamir Chaplin, Little Rock; Riley Minix, Morehead State; Michael Shanks, Tennessee State; David Early, Tennessee Tech; Jordan Sears, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
David Early, G • 6-4, 235, Jr. • Logan, W.Va. • Tennessee Tech
Early, a transfer from Marshall, averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals/game while hitting 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field, 50 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line in a pair of victories. In 39 minutes against Bethel, the junior had 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4-of-8 3-pointers), as he helped the team overcome a 13-point first half deficit. He also added five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win. Early followed that with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (2-of-4 3-pointers) against North Alabama. He scored four of the team’s final six points as the Golden Eagles ended the game on an 11-0 run. Early added three rebounds in the game.
Others Nominated: Corey Sawyer Jr., Eastern Illinois; Darius Beane, Lindenwood; Jamir Chaplin, Little Rock; Riley Minix, Morehead State; Jacob Crews, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, F • 6-8, 230, Fr. • San Antonio, Texas • Little Rock
Crocker-Johnson earned the award for the second-straight week after he had 15 points, six rebounds and two assists in the team’s 93-84 home court victory over UTSA. It marked a career-high in points for the forward, who hit 5-of-11 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws in 39 minutes of action. Crocker-Johnson has recorded double-digit figure scoring five times this season including the past three contests.
Others Nominated: Colin Ruffin, Lindenwood; Eddie Ricks III, Morehead State; Jaylen Jones, Tennessee State.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Jamar Chaplin (G, Grad.), Little Rock. In team’s win over UTSA he scored 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-of-5 3-pointers) while adding five rebounds and two assists.
•
Michael Shanks (F, Grad.), Tennessee State. Shanks hit seven 3-pointers (tied for the most by an OVC player this season) on his way to 31 points (the second-most by an OVC player in 2023-24) in a win over Boyce College.
•
Riley Minix (F, Grad.), Morehead State. Minix had 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in MSU’s blowout win over St. Mary-Of-The-Woods. The grad student hit 10-of-17 shots and had a +/- of 46 for the contest.
•
Jordan Sears (G, Jr.), UT Martin. Registered a team-high 20 points, including a season-best seven rebounds in team’s game at NC State. Sears also added three assists and had a steal. Sears now
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: Due to final exams, there were only 11 games last week and three teams (SIUE, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois) did not see any action ... OVC teams were 9-2 during the week ... Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole has scored in double figures in 11-straight games and LU’s head coach Kyle Gerdeman picked up his 50th career win against IUPUI last week ... Morehead State’s 33 points allowed against St. Mary-of-the-Woods was the lowest opponent point total against MSU since Dec. 4, 1944 ... MSU’s Drew Thelwell had 13 assists in the team’s win over Saint Mary-Of-The-Woods last week; the 13 assists are tied for the sixth-most nationally this year ... TSU’s Michael Shanks hit seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points in the team’s win over Boyce College; the seven trifectas are tied for the 19th-most by a Division I player this season ... Morehead State is 10th nationally in rebound margin (+11.7) and 18th in field goal defense (38.2%) ... UT Martin is fourth nationally in rebounds/game (44.73) while Western Illinois is eighth (44.0); Western Illinois also ranks sixth nationally in blocks (6.7/game) ... WIU’s Drew Cisse is 19th nationally in blocks (2.36/game) and third in rebounding (11.9/game).
Recent Postseason Success: Following the 2022-23 season, OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 13 of the past 14 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, while Morehead State added to that with a NIT win in 2023.
OVC Basketball Championships To Be Held at Ford Center in Evansville For Seventh Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 6-9 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the seventh-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), which was exercised in fall 2022. It was announced in March 2023 the event was extended through 2026 with an option for 2027.
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, were 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 semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
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. This marks the 13th year the format has been used (it was not used in 2021), and teams with a double bye (e.g. No. 1 or 2 seed) have won the tournament seven times. The No. 1 seed has won five times, the No. 2 seed twice, the No. 3 seed twice, the No. 4 seed once, the No. 5 seed once (SEMO last year) and the No. 8 seed once (Austin Peay in 2016).
New Team: After welcoming three new teams last year, the OVC welcomes another new program in 2023-23. Western Illinois joined the OVC on July 1 after previously being in the Summit League. They are just the 25th full-time member in the 76-year history of the OVC.
OVC Players in the NBA: Six former OVC men’s basketball players were on National Basketball Association (NBA) Opening Night rosters for 2023-24. In 2021, Cameron Payne helped Phoenix advance to 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, Philadelphia 76ers (Tennessee State)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Cameron Payne, Milwaukee Bucks (Murray State)
• Ben Sheppard, Indiana Pacers (Belmont)
• Terry Taylor, Chicago Bulls (Austin Peay)
• Dylan Windler, Cleveland Cavaliers (Belmont)
OVC to Produce 10-Game Linear Television Package and Use “Wild Card” Selections: The OVC will once again produce a national television package in 2023-24 that will include nine men’s basketball games and one women’s basketball contest that will air on the ESPN Family of Networks. The regular season games will all air on ESPNU, as will the OVC Tournament semifinals. 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.
Freeman Named Preseason Player of the Year: The 2023-24 OVC Preseason Men’s Basketball Team was headlined by Morehead State senior guard
Mark Freeman, who was the 2022-23 OVC Player of the Year. Last year he averaged 15.0 points and 3.7 assists/game in leading the Eagles to the OVC Regular Season Championship and a NIT victory over Clemson. Overall seven different schools were represented on the Preseason All-OVC Team which included 12 individuals. The others included Lindenwood’s
Keenon Cole, Little Rock’s
DeAntoni Gordon, Morehead State’s
Drew Thelwell, SIUE’s
Damarco Minor,
Ray’Sean Taylor and
Shamar Wright, Tennessee State’s
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. and
Kinyon Hodges, Tennessee Tech’s
Jayvis Harvey and UT Martin’s
Jordan Sears and
KK Curry.
Morehead State Picked as OVC Preseason Favorites: In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, Morehead State has been picked the preseason favorites for the 2023-24 season. It marks the second-straight year the Eagles have been tabbed the favorites. The Eagles picked up 20 of 22 first-place votes (teams could not vote for themselves); Tennessee State picked up the other votes. MSU tallied 200 points and was followed by SIUE (162), who was picked second. Tennessee State (153) was picked third and followed by UT Martin (149), Southeast Missouri (124), Tennessee Tech (120), Little Rock (85), Western Illinois (80), Southern Indiana (63), Lindenwood (40) and Eastern Illinois (34).
Men’s Basketball Experimental Rules for Second Half Media Timeouts in Conference Play: For the second-straight year in Conference men’s basketball games, the OVC will participate with a NCAA 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, which was approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, is designed to help standardize the traditional “floater” media mark in the second half. The Experimental Rule will also be used in the NIT this season.
The 2023-24 Season: The 2023-24 season marks the 76th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 75 years, 13 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
ESPN+: This year marks the sixth 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 $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($15.99/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.