• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – November 10 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, November 10
Virginia-Lynchburg
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Indiana State
at SIUE, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Saint Louis, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, November 11
Morehead State at Clemson, 6:00 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Eastern Illinois at Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Oakwood
at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Cal State Bakersfield, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, November 12
Webster
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at South Dakota, 7:00 p.m. (Summit League Network)
Little Rock at Marquette, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin at Bradley, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, November 13
Berea College
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, November 14
Lindenwood vs. Charleston Southern, 5:30 p.m. (Huntsville, Ala.)
Eastern Illinois at #9 Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
SIUE at Drake, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Cal Baptist, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, November 15
St. Thomas
at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Ball State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, November 16
Kentucky Christian
at Morehead State, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Western Kentucky, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Loras
at Southern Indiana, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Alabama A&M, 3:00 p.m. (SWAC TV)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Andrija Bukumirovic, G/F • 6-7, 200, Jr. • Sjenica, Serbia • UT Martin
Bukumirovic led his team to wins over UNLV and Kentucky Christian to open the 2025-26 season by averaging 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals/game while hitting 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the field, 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from 3-point range and 75 percent (3-of-4) from the free throw line. The junior scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting (5-of-7 3-pointers) as the Skyhawks won 86-81 at UNLV. On Sunday he had 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action against KCU; in that game he was perfect from the field, going 7-of-7 from the field (2-of-2 from long range) and 1-of-1 at the free throw line.
Others Nominated: Zion Fruster, Eastern Illinois; Milos Nenadic, Lindenwood; Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock; George Marshall Jr., Morehead State; Braxton Stacker, Southeast Missouri; Ring Malith, SIUE; Ismail Habib, Southern Indiana; Travis Harper II, Tennessee State; Mekhi Cameron, Tennessee Tech.
NEWCOMER
Dragos Lungu, G • 6-8, 180, R-So. • Cluj-Napoca, Romania • UT Martin
Lungu, a transfer from the University of San Diego, averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game and hit 70 percent (14-of-20) from the field and 40 percent (2-of-5) from 3-point range as UT Martin topped UNLV and Kentucky Christian to open the season. He tied for the game-high with 23 points (18 in the second half) as the Skyhawks won 86-81 in Las Vegas; it marked the fifth-highest scoring game for a Skyhawk who was making their UT Martin debut in a season opener in program history. He followed that with 17 points (on 7-of-9 shooting) in just 19 minutes in Sunday’s home-opening triumph over Kentucky Christian.
Others Nominated: Preston Turner, Eastern Illinois; Robert Lewis, Lindenwood; Can Wallace, Little Rock; Jon Carroll, Morehead State; Luke Almodovar, Southeast Missouri; Darius Robinson, SIUE; Ismail Habib, Southern Indiana; Dante Harris, Tennessee State; Isaiah Griffin, Western Illinois.
FRESHMAN
Matas Deniusas, F • 6-9, 220, Fr. • Vilnius, Lithuania • UT Martin
In two UT Martin wins last week Deniusas averaged 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game. The forward hit 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from the field and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-of-9). In his collegiate debut at UNLV, he had 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists, a block and steal in 24 minutes of action as the Skyhawks pulled off the 86-81 upset. In Sunday’s home opener with Kentucky Christian, Deniusas had 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and a block in 15 minutes.
Others Nominated: Clayton Parker, Morehead State.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Ring Malith (F, Sr.), SIUE. Averaged 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds/game in two victories while hitting 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the field. Had 20 points in road win over UTSA.
•
Travis Harper II (G, R-Sr.), Tennessee State. Had back-to-back 15-point performances to open the season. Hit 50 percent from the field (10-of-20) and dished out four assists.
•
George Marshall Jr. (G, Sr.), Morehead State. Had 26 points against Wake Forest and 17 points at Georgia. In three total games during the week had eight assists and five steals.
•
Braxton Stacker (G, Sr.), Southeast Missouri. Averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 rebounds/game in two road contests including career-high 26 points in near upset of Missouri. Was 10-of-10 at the charity stripe.
•
Zion Fruster (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals/game including 25 points in home win over Nicholls.
•
Milos Nenadic (C, Grad.), Lindenwood. Had a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) at No. 10 Texas Tech before scoring 17 points in home win over UHSP.
•
Ismail Habib (G, Sr.), Southern Indiana. Tallied 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists/game in two contests.
Notes From Around the League
The Season is Here: The 2025-26 season marks the 78th of competition for the Ohio Valley Conference. Over the previous 77 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
All Teams Eligible for Postseason Play: Lindenwood and Southern Indiana have completed their reclassification to Division I and are now eligible to earn to compete in NCAA sanctioned postseason play (NCAA and NIT Tournaments).
Recent Postseason Success: OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 13 of the past 16 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), but a new streak began with Murray State winning a NCAA Tournament game in 2022 and continued with Morehead State winning a NIT game in 2023.
OVC Basketball Championships Set For Ford Center in Evansville For Ninth Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the ninth-straight season the event will be held in the building. 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 October 2025 an agreement was reached to extend the partnership through the 2032 Championship.
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.
OVC Players in the NBA: Seven former OVC players started the 2025-26 season on NBA rosters. That included three players who were drafted last year, Johni Broome (Morehead State), Will Richard (Belmont) and Taelon Peter (Tennessee Tech). 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).
• Johni Broome, Philadelphia 76ers (Morehead State)
• Myron Gardner, Miami Heat (Little Rock)
• Riley Minix, San Antonio Spurs (Morehead State)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Taelon Peter, Indiana Pacers (Tennessee Tech)
• Will Richard, Golden State (Belmont)
• Ben Sheppard, Indiana Pacers (Belmont)
Three in 2025 NBA Draft: Three players who played in the OVC were selected in the 2025 NBA Draft. That included Johni Broome (Morehead State/Auburn - Philadelphia 76ers), Taelon Peter (Tennessee Tech/Liberty - Indiana Pacers) and Will Richard (Belmont/Florida - Golden State Warriors). It marked the first time since 1987 that three OVC players were selected in the Draft, and first time since 1971 that three players were selected in the first two rounds of the Draft.
OVC to Produce Linear Television Package with ESPN: As part of its newly signed multi-year media deal with ESPN, the OVC will once again produce a national television package in 2025-26 that will include eight men’s basketball games that will air on the ESPN Family of Networks. The regular season games and the men’s tournament semifinals will air on ESPNU; 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.
Little Rock Picked as OVC Preseason Favorites: In a vote of OVC head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, Little Rock was picked the preseason favorites for the 2025-26 season. It marks the second-straight year the Trojans have been tabbed the favorites. The Trojans picked up 12 of 22 first-place votes to receive 188 points. Southeast Missouri, last year’s regular season champions, picked up six first-place votes and 177 points, while SIUE (163 points) and Tennessee State (135 points) each picked up a first-place point and were tabbed third and fourth respectively. Lindenwood and Morehead State (100 points) tied for fifth place, Tennessee Tech (80) was seventh, UT Martin (79) eighth and Southern Indiana (67) received the other two first-place votes and were picked ninth. The poll was rounded out by Eastern Illinois (63) and Western Illinois (57).
ESPN+/ESPN DTC: The OVC signed a new multi-year media rights agreement with ESPN ahead of the season that continues the long-standing partnership to air games on the Family of Networks. 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 $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year). For the first time ever, ESPN now offers its full suite of 12 networks and services directly to fans within an enhanced ESPN App that integrates game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, commerce, multiview options, a synchronized two-screen experience, a vertical video feature called Verts and a personalized SportsCenter For You. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, these new features and functionality are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a special offer at launch for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months.