2023-24 OVC Men's Basketball Report - Final

4/9/2024 5:02:25 PM

• 2023-24 OVC Men's Basketball Report - Final (PDF)

OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: For only the fourth time in the 76-year of the OVC, there was a three-way tie for the regular season championship with Little Rock, UT Martin and Morehead State finishing at 14-4 and sharing the crown ... It was the first title for Little Rock, second title for UT Martin and 11th overall (and second-straight) for Morehead State ... Morehead State, the No. 3 seed for the OVC Tournament, won three games in three days to claim its sixth OVC Tournament Championship and first since 2021; the six titles are tied for the third-most in league history ... Morehead State earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and faced No. 3 Illinois in the first round; MSU is now 6-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having won games in three of its last five appearances, topping North Carolina A&T in 1984, Alabama State in 2009 and Louisville in 2011 ... OVC teams are 27-75 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won at least one NCAA game in two of the past five tournaments ... Little Rock participated in the 15-team College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in Daytona Beach, Florida; it was the first national postseason appearance for the Trojans since 2016 ... OVC teams are now 7-9 all-time in the CBI ... Four OVC teams reached the 20-win plateau on the season (Morehead State, Little Rock, UT Martin and Western Illinois); it is the first time since the 2018-19 season that four OVC squads have won 20 or more games overall ... This year marked the 61st OVC Tournament Championship and seventh year in a row it has been at the Ford Center in Evansville.

Recent Postseason Success: Following the 2023-24 season, OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 13 of the past 15 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 in 2022 Murray State won in the NCAA Tournament, followed by Morehead State winning in the NIT in 2023. No OVC team won a game in 2024.

OVC Teams in the NCAA Tournament: OVC teams are 27-75 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having won at least one game in two of the past five tournaments. After going 20 years (1990-2008) without a win, OVC teams won games in four-straight year from 2009-12 (the longest stretch in league history) and in 2019 the OVC not only put two teams in the field (for the second time ever) but also won two games (the first time two different teams had won NCAA games in the same postseason). In 2022, Murray State topped San Francisco in the First Round. This year Morehead State made its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2021. The Eagles have also appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1956, 1957, 1961, 1983, 1984, 2009, 2011 and 2021. After a loss to Illinois in the First Round, the Eagles are 6-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won games in three of its last five appearances, topping North Carolina A&T in 1984, Alabama State in 2009 and Louisville in 2011.

OVC Teams in the CBI: Little Rock participated in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), its first national postseason appearance since 2016. The 15-team tournament was played in Daytona Beach, Florida. After a loss to Fairfield, OVC teams are now 7-9 all-time in the CBI. Morehead State advanced to the best-of-three Championship Series in 2016.

Morehead State Wins 2024 OVC Tournament: As the No. 3 seed, Morehead State won three games in three days to win the 2024 OVC Tournament Championship. It marked the sixth title for the Eagles (1983, 1984, 2009, 2011, 2021, 2024), which ranks third in league history.

Little Rock, UT Martin and Morehead State Share OVC Regular Season Championship: Three teams (Little Rock, UT Martin and Morehead State) finished the year with 14-4 records to share the 2023-24 OVC regular season championship. It was the first title for Little Rock, who joined the OVC prior to the 2022-23 season. It marked the second title for UT Martin and first since 2008-09. For Morehead State it was the second-straight and 11th overall title for the Eagles (1956, 1957, 1961, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1984, 2003, 2023, 2024). This marks the fourth time there has been a three-way tie for first-place in OVC history (all of which have included Morehead State). The four instances are:
            1955-56 - Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, Western Kentucky
            1960-61 - Morehead State, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky
            1971-72 - Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Western Kentucky
            2023-24 - Little Rock, UT Martin, Morehead State

OVC Award Winners: Morehead State graduate forward Riley Minix was named the 2023-24 OVC Player of the Year, Little Rock’s Darrell Walker earned OVC Coach of the Year honors and the Trojans forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson was tabbed OVC Freshman of the Year while Western Illinois center Drew Cisse earned OVC Defensive Player of the Year honors in voting by league head coaches and communications directors. This year’s first and second-team All-OVC squads included 15 players from nine different OVC schools. Little Rock and UT Martin led the way with three total selections while Morehead State and Western Illinois had two picks apiece. The first and second-teams included four graduate students, six seniors and five juniors.

OVC Basketball Championships Held at Ford Center in Evansville For Seventh Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships was held March 6-9 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marked 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).

Hernandez Cashes in at Charity Stripe: Southern Indiana’s Jeremiah Hernandez made 200-of-247 free throws this season. His 200 makes are more than every other player in the OVC has attempted except for Lindenwood’s Keenon Cole (who has attempted 205). 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.

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.

Morehead State Wins OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards: The Morehead State program was named the recipient of the 2023-24 Team Sportsmanship Awards for men’s women’s basketball. Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.

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.