• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 4 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Wednesday, December 6
Harris-Stowe
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Coe College
at Western Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Green Bay
at SIUE, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, December 7
Little Rock at Central Arkansas, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
IUPUI
at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, December 9
Southern Indiana at Indiana State, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Kansas City
at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Green Bay, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Purdue Fort Wayne
at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, December 10
Winthrop
at Little Rock, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Ball State, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Ecclesia
at UT Martin, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at North Alabama, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Central Arkansas
at Eastern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at ETSU, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Lipscomb, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Riley Minix, F • 6-7, 235, Grad. • Vero Beach, Fla. • Morehead State
In a pair of Morehead State victories, Minix averaged 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists/game while hitting 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field. In a 61-50 win at Austin Peay, the graduate tallied 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting while adding nine rebounds, two assists and a steal in 40 minutes of action. He concluded the week with a career-high 25 points in an 87-80 victory over Chattanooga. In that contest Minix hit 11-of-19 field goals and added 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. That marked his third double-double of the season (tied for the OVC lead). Minix ranks third in the OVC in scoring (17.1 points/game) and sixth in rebounding (8.3/game) and field goal percentage (48.0%).
Others Nominated: Tiger Boker, Eastern Illinois; Darius Beane, Lindenwood; Bradley Douglas, Little Rock; Aquan Smart, Southeast Missouri; Damarco Minor, SIUE; Jack Mielke, Southern Indiana; Christian Brown, Tennessee State; Daniel Egbuniwe, Tennessee Tech; Jacob Crews, UT Martin; Ryan Myers, Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Riley Minix, F • 6-7, 235, Grad. • Vero Beach, Fla. • Morehead State
In a pair of Morehead State victories, Minix averaged 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists/game while hitting 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field. In a 61-50 win at Austin Peay, the graduate tallied 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting while adding nine rebounds, two assists and a steal in 40 minutes of action. He concluded the week with a career-high 25 points in an 87-80 victory over Chattanooga. In that contest Minix hit 11-of-19 field goals and added 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. That marked his third double-double of the season (tied for the OVC lead). Minix ranks third in the OVC in scoring (17.1 points/game) and sixth in rebounding (8.3/game) and field goal percentage (48.0%).
Others Nominated: Tiger Booker, Eastern Illinois; Darius Beane, Lindenwood; Bradley Douglas, Little Rock; Javius Moore, Southern Indiana; Daniel Egbuniwe, Tennessee Tech; Jacob Crews, UT Martin; Drew Cisse, Western Illinois.
CO-FRESHMAN
Jaylen Jones, G • 6-1, 160, Fr. • Nashville, Tenn. • Tennessee State
Jones repeated as Freshman of the Week after averaging 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game in a pair of contests. Now in the starting lineup, Jones had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steals in the team’s overtime loss at Alabama A&M. He followed that with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in a home court victory over Austin Peay. Jones has tallied six-straight double-digit scoring efforts for the Tigers.
CO-FRESHMAN
Rylee Samons, F • 6-7, 195, Fr. • Pikeville, Ky. • Tennessee Tech
Samons came off the bench to score a season-best 20 points on perfect shooting (6-of-6 field goals, five of which were 3-pointers, and 3-of-3 free throws) as the team topped Alice Lloyd 108-82 on Sunday. In 25 minutes of action he added two assists and a rebound. At North Alabama, Samons scored six points and added three rebounds.
Others Nominated: Isaiah Griffin, Eastern Illinois.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Tiger Booker (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Had 20 points in close loss at No. 5 ranked Kansas. In blowout win over UHSP, added six assists and six steals (most by an OVC player this season).
•
Bradley Douglas (G, Jr.), Little Rock. Averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds/game while hitting 65.4 percent from the field in two wins. Had team-high 26 points in win over Ball State; added 16 points and six assists in victory over rival Arkansas State.
•
Jacob Crews (G/F, Jr.), UT Martin. Averaged 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds/game while hitting 62.6 percent from the field in two road contests.
•
Daniel Egbuniwe (F, So.), Tennessee Tech. In three games averaged 13.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 blocks/game and hit 53.8 percent from the field. Had career-high tying 16 points at North Alabama; added 10 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks vs. Alice Lloyd.
•
Ryan Myers (G, Jr.), Western Illinois. Had season-high 25 points against South Dakota. Made seven 3-pointers, the most by an OVC player this season.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: WIU’s Drew Cisse’s had 20 rebounds on Sunday against South Dakota; it is the fourth-most rebounds by a Division I player this season and most in a game by a Western Illinois player since 1969 (24 by Dan Braun) ... Cisse ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebounds (4.56/game), ninth in total rebounds (10.9/game) and 37th in blocked shots (2.11/game) ... As a team WIU ranks second nationally in blocks (6.8/game) ... UT Martin’s 16 made 3-pointers on Saturday at McNeese tied the school record for most treys against a NCAA Division I opponent ... USI’s 107-49 victory against Easter-West University was its widest margin of victory since November 2019 and its first 100-point game since February 2020 ... SIUE is now 3-0 at home this season; in eight games, the Cougars have held six opponents to under 70 points ... Morehead State and Tennessee State are both 4-0 at home this year ... TTU’s Daniel Egbuniwe had six blocks against Midway; that ranks tied for ninth nationally this season ... Little Rock has won three games in a row ... Morehead State leads the OVC and ranks 18th nationally in rebounding margin (+10.6/game) ... UT Martin and WIU are tied for 11th nationally in rebounds/game (43.89) ... Eastern Illinois leads the OVC and ranks 30th nationally in scoring defense (62.8 points/game); they are the only OVC team in the Top 100 in that category ... EIU also leads the OVC in scoring margin, steals and 3-point defense ... TSU leads the league and ranks 25th nationally in turnovers forced per game (16.44).
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.