• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 1 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, December 2
Charleston Southern
at UT Martin, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at North Florida, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Drake, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
at Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Northern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at Murray State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, December 3
Tennessee Tech at Lipscomb, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Western Michigan, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Central Arkansas, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Alabama A&M, 7:00 p.m. (SWAC TV)
Saturday, December 6
Tennessee Tech at West Georgia, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Michigan
at SIUE, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at Presbyterian, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Hannibal-LaGrange
at Western Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southeast Missouri at Chattanooga, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Arkansas State
at Little Rock, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, December 7
Southern Indiana at Indiana State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Alabama State
at UT Martin, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Aaron Nkrumah, G • 6-6, 175, Sr. • Worcester, Mass. • Tennessee State
Nkrumah earned the award for the second time in three weeks after leading Tennessee State to three victories (including two road wins), including the championship at the UTC Coke Zero Classic, after averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 steals and 4.3 assists/game and hitting 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from the field. He opened the week by setting the TSU single-game steals mark (9) in a two-point win at UNC Asheville. In that game he added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of action. He followed that performance with 16 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists in a neutral site win over Tennessee Wesleyan. He capped the week with 17 points, five assists and three rebounds in a 70-64 win at preseason Southern Conference favorite Chattanooga. The senior ranks fifth nationally with 3.38 steals/game.
Others Nominated: Jadis Jones, Lindenwood; Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock; Braxton Stacker, Southeast Missouri; Arnas Sakenis, SIUE; Andrija Bukumirovic, UT Martin; Lucas Lorenzen, Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Ismail Habib, G • 6-1, 180, Sr. • Chicago, Ill. • Southern Indiana
Habib, a transfer from Portland State, led Southern Indiana to a pair of victories last week in averaging 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists/game while hitting 43.8 percent (14-of-32) from the field and 54.8 percent (11-of-24) from 3-point range. In the team’s 64-56 road win over Valparaiso, he hit six 3-pointers and scored a team-high 25 points (18 coming before halftime) while adding five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 37 minutes of action. He capped the week with 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers in 24 minutes against Kentucky State. Habib leads the OVC in scoring (19.0 points/game) and ranks 39th nationally in total points scored (152) while also ranking 25th nationally in 3-pointers made (26).
Others Nominated: Meechie White, Eastern Illinois; Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood; Kachi Nzeh, Little Rock; Jon Carroll, Morehead State; Luke Almodovar, Southeast Missouri; Dante Harris, Tennessee State.
FRESHMAN
Matas Deniusas, F • 6-9, 220, Fr. • Vilnius, Lithuania • UT Martin
In his lone game of the week Deniusas scored 14 points and added five rebounds and two blocks as UT Martin topped Brescia 75-50. It marked the third time in the last five games that the freshmen had led the Skyhawks in scoring. He hit 5-of-7 field goals (71.4%) in just 17 minutes of action. It marked the fourth-straight week that Deniusas has been named OVC Freshman of the Week. He currently ranks 12th in the OVC in scoring (13.1 points/game).
Others Nominated: Makai Kvamme, Western Illinois
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Braxton Stacker (G, Sr.), Southeast Missouri. Averaged 19.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists/game in three contests. He tallied 18 points in a neutral site win over Cal Poly.
•
Jadis Jones (G, So.), Lindenwood. Had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in 80-67 victory over Kansas City.
•
Johnathan Lawson (G, R-Sr.), Little Rock. In contest at Southern Illinois, the senior had 16 points, 10 assists and three steals.
•
Meechie White (G, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Averaged 15 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists/game in games at Central Arkansas and No.1 Purdue. He had 23 points, hitting 8-of-10 shots in the contest against the Boilermakers.
•
Dante Harris (G, Grad.), Tennessee State. Knocked down three free throws with 1.1 seconds left to push TSU to a 75-73 win at UNC Ashville. For the week he averaged 14.7 points and 3.3 assists/game and was perfect (11-of-11) at the free throw line.
•
Lucas Lorenzen (G, Jr.), Western Illinois. Had 25 points, hitting 6-of-12 3-pointers, in team’s win over Saint Ambrose.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The first Conference game of the season is Saturday as Eastern Illinois hosts Lindenwood; each OVC school will play two League games prior to the Christmas break ... the first set of NET rankings were announced by the NCAA on Monday; Tennessee State (129) and UT Martin (139) were the top ranked OVC teams ... Tennessee State senior Aaron Nkrumah had nine steals in the team’s road win over UNC Asheville last week; the nine steals established a new TSU single-game record and are the second-most by a Division I player nationally this season ... He currently ranks fifth nationally in steals/game (3.38) ... That win marked the first Division I opponent victory for first-year head coach Nolan Smith ... Eastern Illinois played at No. 1 ranked Purdue last Friday, marking the first OVC team since 2019 (EKU at Louisville) to play the nation’s top-ranked squad ... UT Martin is off to a 5-2 start this season, which is tied for the third-best seven-game start to a season in the program’s NCAA Division I Era (since 1992), trailing only 6-1 starts by the 2001-02 and 2002-03 teams ... Tennessee Tech ranks ninth nationally in bench points/game (41.0), Tennessee State is ninth in steals (11.3/game), 12th in fastbreak points (20.38/game) and 16th in free throw percentage (78.8%), SIUE is 18th in field goal defense (37.0%), UT Martin is 21st in 3-point defense (26.4%) and Little Rock is 25th in 3-point percentage (39.5%) ... UTM’s Andrija Bukumirovic is 17th in field goal percentage (65.7%) while Lindenwood’s Jadis Jones is 19th in that category (64.9%), USI’s Ola Ajiboye is 21st in blocks (2.38/game) and Morehead State’s Jon Carroll is 25th in offensive rebounding (3.63/game).
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 Unlimited: 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.