Ohio Valley Conference

• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – February 26 (PDF)

This Week’s Schedule
 
Tuesday, February 27
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Thursday, February 29
*Southeast Missouri at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Western Illinois, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Southern Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at UT Martin, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee State at Little Rock, 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)

Saturday, March 2
*Lindenwood at Morehead State, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Little Rock, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee State at UT Martin, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Southern Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
 

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OVC Players of the Week
 
PLAYER
Jacob Crews, G/F • 6-8, 210, Jr. • Hilliard, Fla. • UT Martin
In two road victories Crews averaged 29.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while hitting 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from 3-point range and 93.8 percent (15-of-16) at the free throw line. He had 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting (including a trio of 3-pointers) while adding 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals on Thursday at Lindenwood. He followed that by hitting 10-of-16 shots (including 3 3-pointers) and scoring 31 points in a win at Southeast Missouri. In that contest he added 11 rebounds and assist and steal. His play has helped UT Martin win five-straight (and nine of 10) to vault into a three-way tie for first place. Among OVC players Crews ranks second in 3-pointers made/game (2.76), third in scoring (19.0/game), field goal percentage (49.9%) and 3-point percentage (41.5%) and fifth in rebounding (8.2/game).
 
Others Nominated: Kyndall Davis, Eastern Illinois; Makhel Mitchell, Little Rock; Riley Minix, Morehead State; Damarco Minor, SIUE; Jeremiah Hernandez, Southern Indiana; Josiah Davis, Tennessee Tech; Jesiah West, Western Illinois.
 
NEWCOMER
Jacob Crews, G/F • 6-8, 210, Jr. • Hilliard, Fla. • UT Martin
In two road victories Crews, a transfer from Daytona State College, averaged 29.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while hitting 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from 3-point range and 93.8 percent (15-of-16) at the free throw line. He had 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting (including a trio of 3-pointers) while adding 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals on Thursday at Lindenwood. He followed that by hitting 10-of-16 shots (including 3 3-pointers) and scoring 31 points in a win at Southeast Missouri. In that contest he added 11 rebounds and assist and steal. Among OVC players Crews ranks second in 3-pointers made/game (2.76), third in scoring (19.0/game), field goal percentage (49.9%) and 3-point percentage (41.5%) and fifth in rebounding (8.2/game).
 
Others Nominated: Kyndall Davis, Eastern Illinois; Darius Beane, Lindenwood; Makhel Mitchell, Little Rock; Riley Minix, Morehead State; Josiah Davis, Tennessee Tech.
 
FRESHMAN
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, F • 6-8, 230, Fr. • San Antonio, Texas • Little Rock
Crocker-Johnson earned the award for the eighth time this season after he averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks/game while shooting 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the field and 100 percent (6-of-6) at the line in a pair of road victories. In 22 minutes at Southeast Missouri, the freshman scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while adding four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Two days later he once again had 13 points, this time at Lindenwood, where he hit 5-of-6 shots and added five rebounds, two blocks and an assist in just 14 minutes of court time.
 
Others Nominated: Colin Ruffin, Lindenwood; Eddie Ricks III, Morehead State; Jaylen Jones, Tennessee State; Kyle Layton, Tennessee Tech.
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
 
• Makhel Mitchell (F/C, Sr.), Little Rock. Led team to a pair of wins by averaging 19.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks/game while hitting 75 percent (15-of-20) from field.
 
• Riley MInix (F, Grad.), Morehead State. Poured in 26.0 points and 12.5 rebounds/game and hit 69 percent from the field. Had 30 points and 15 rebounds in 21-point win at WIU.
 
• Damarco Minor (G, Jr.), SIUE. Had eighth double-double of the year with 31 points and 12 rebounds at Tennessee State. He was first SIUE player with 30+/10+ in a game since 2010.
 
• Josiah Davis (G, So.), Tennessee Tech. Davis averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists/game while hitting 54.5 percent from the field. Had career-high 24 points in win over SIUE.
 
• Jeremiah Hernandez (G, Jr.), Southern Indiana. Averaged 27.5 points/game and hit 51.4 percent from the field. Had 28 points in road victory over Morehead State and added 27 points against Western Illinois.
 
• Kyndall Davis (G/F, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds/game in two road games. Had 25 points and 12 rebounds vs. Tennessee Tech.
 
 
Notes From Around the League
 
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: With one week to play, there is a three-way tie for first place between Little Rock, Morehead State and UT Martin, with Western Illinois just one game back ... Overall seven teams have clinched a spot in the eight-team OVC Tournament field: Eastern Illinois, Little Rock, Morehead State, SIUE, Tennessee State, UT Martin and Western Illinois ... Any tie for first place in the standings would result in co-champions (with tiebreakers determining seeding for the OVC Tournament); a regular season title would be the first for Little Rock or Western Illinois as members of the OVC, second for UT Martin (and first since 2008-09) and the second-straight and 11th overall for Morehead State ... Morehead State saw its 18-game home court winning streak end last week; the Eagles have the top NET in the OVC at 118 ... Little Rock has won seven-straight games, which is tied for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally as of Monday; overall the team has won 10 of its last 11 with its only defeat coming by two points at SIUE ... UT Martin’s 12 OVC wins are the second-most in program history (behind only 14 in the 2008-09 season); the team has won seven OVC road games this year, the most in program history (passing the 2007-08 and 2008-09 teams) ... Overall UTM has clinched a winning season, the program’s eighth such campaign at the NCAA Division I level (since 1992) ... In its win at Lindenwood last week UTM scored 106 points (tied for most in program history in an OVC game) while shooting 63.9 percent (the highest percentage in an OVC game since 2003); in that game Jordan Sears had a career-high 37 points, nine rebounds and 9 assists, his seventh career 30-plus point game ... Western Illinois has won 10 true road games this season, tied with five other teams for the most nationally; it is the most road victories for the program since the 1957-58 season ... WIU’s 11 conference wins and 18 overall wins are the most for the program since 2012-13 ... SIUE has tied its school record with 9 wins in OVC play.
 
OVC Basketball Tournament Scenarios: Heading into the week seven teams have locked up a spot in the eight-team OVC Tournament field: Eastern Illinois, Little Rock, Morehead State, SIUE, Tennessee State, UT Martin and Western Illinois.  The final spot will go to either Southeast Missouri, Southern Indiana or Tennessee Tech.  If Little Rock, Morehead State and UT Martin finish in a three-way tie for first-place, they would all be considered co-champions, but Little Rock would win the tiebreaker and earn the No. 1 seed for the OVC Tournament.
 
Road Victories: As of Monday (Feb. 26), Western Illinois has won 10 true road games this season, tied for the most nationally. It is the most road wins for WIU since the 1957-58 season.
     10 - Western Illinois, UMass Lowell, James Madison, Princeton, Charleston, UNCW
 
Hernandez Cashes in at Charity Stripe: Southern Indiana’s Jeremiah Hernandez has made 189-of-234 free throws this season. His 189 makes are more than every other player in the OVC has attempted except for Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole (who has attempted 200). Hernandez ranks ninth nationally in made free throws and his 17 made against Morehead State (Jan. 20) ranks the fifth-most nationally. Hernandez has also made 16 free throws in a game twice this season.
 
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).
 
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.
 
Triple-Doubles: Little Rock senior guard KK Robinson recorded the 24th all-time triple-double in OVC history on January 4 against SIUE. He tallied 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in the home court victory. There has been at least one triple-double in the OVC in seven of the eight seasons (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24).
 
Minix Named to Lou Henson Watch List: Morehead State forward Riley Minix has been named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List by CollegeInsider.com. The award honors the top Mid-Major Player nationally and is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com.
 
Crews Named USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week (Feb. 20): UT Martin junior G/F Jacob Crews was named one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week award winners by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on February 20. In two wins Crews averaged 30.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from 3-point range and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line. The transfer from Dayton State College had 32 points and six rebounds in a victory over Southern Indiana to start the week. He hit 6-of-12 3-pointers and 12-of-13 free throws in the win as UTM overcame a one-point halftime deficit. He closed the week with 29 points and eight rebounds as the Skyhawks knocked off first-place Morehead State to pull within a game of first place. In that win he hit 11-of-22 field goals (4-of-9 3-pointers) and added two steals.
 
Cole Named USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week (Jan. 16): Lindenwood senior Keenon Cole was named one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week award winners by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). This came after he averaged 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field and 87.1 percent (27-of-31) at the line in two games. Cole scored 42 points, the most by a Division I player in a game this season, in the team’s 74-68 win at Southeast Missouri. It also marked the most by a Lindenwood player in its Division I era and the most by an OVC player since February 2019. For the 2023-24 season, the USBWA has expanded its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. In past seasons, the USBWA has recognized just one player each week. The last OVC player to be named OVC Player of the Week was Murray State forward KJ Williams in February 2022.
 
New Team: After welcoming three new teams last year, the OVC welcomed another new program in 2023-24. 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, Los Angeles Lakers (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.