• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 15 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, December 15
East-West University
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, December 16
*Little Rock at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, December 18
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Lindenwood, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at Southern Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Tennessee State, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, December 20
Harris-Stowe
at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Tennessee Tech, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Morehead State at Southern Indiana, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Men’s Basketball Players of the Week
PLAYER
Karyiek Dixon, F • 6-5, 225, Sr. • London, England • Western Illinois
Dixon, a transfer from Emporia State, had 17 points and 18 rebounds as Western Illinois won its first road game of the season, 69-66 in overtime over North Dakota. The senior hit 6-of-10 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws and added a block and steal in 36 minutes of action. The 18 rebounds are the most by an OVC player this season (and 14th-most nationally) and Dixon currently ranks eighth in the League in rebounding (6.4/game).
Others Nominated: Anias Futrell, Lindenwood; Jordan Pickett, SIUE; Brandon Muntu, Tennessee Tech
NEWCOMER
Karyiek Dixon, F • 6-5, 225, Sr. • London, England • Western Illinois
Dixon, a transfer from Emporia State, had 17 points and 18 rebounds as Western Illinois won its first road game of the season, 69-66 in overtime over North Dakota. The senior hit 6-of-10 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws and added a block and steal in 36 minutes of action. The 18 rebounds are the most by an OVC player this season (and 14th-most nationally) and Dixon currently ranks eighth in the League in rebounding (6.4/game).
Others Nominated: Meechie White, Eastern Illinois; Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood; Cameron Wallace, Little Rock; Tyler King, SIUE; Brandon Muntu, Tennessee Tech.
FRESHMAN
Iwo Baganc, F • 6-8, 220, Fr. • Poznan, Poland • SIUE
Baganc had a season-high 10 points to go with three rebounds and an assist in just 12 minutes of game action as SIUE topped Eureka College 97-54 on Sunday. He hit 4-of-5 field goals (and 2-of-2 free throws), including scoring the last eight points for the Cougars coming on breakaway dunks on three consecutive possessions.
Others Nominated: Pedro Santos, UT Martin.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Aaron Nkrumah (G, Sr.), Tennessee State. Had 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals as Tennessee State topped UNLV 63-60 in the Jack Jones Classic played in Henderson, Nevada.
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Brandon Muntu (G, Grad.), Tennessee Tech. Scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting (6-of-8 3-pointers) while adding five rebounds, three assists and a steal against Bethel.
•
Cameron Wallace (F, Jr.), Little Rock. Tallied a career-high 23 points while adding nine rebounds and four assists at West Virginia.
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Anias Futrell (G, Sr.), Lindenwood. Led Lindenwood with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in victory over Culver Stockton. Was 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
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Jordan Pickett (G, Jr.), SIUE. Finished with 15 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting in win over Eureka College.
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Pedro Santos (G, Fr.), UT Martin. Had first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while adding five steals against Champion Christian.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: OVC teams were 7-4 in non-conference action last week ... There are only six total non-conference games remaining on the schedule ... This week brings the first full week of Conference play with nine games on the schedule (including five on Thursday night) ... Tennessee State became the second OVC team to top UNLV this season (UTM was the other), winning 63-60 as part of the Jack Jones Classic held in Henderson, Nevada ... Western Illinois won its first road game of the season, topping North Dakota in overtime ... Lindenwood won its lone game last week to extend its winning streak to four games, the longest of its Division I Era ... UT Martin won its eighth game of the season on Sunday against Champion Christian, tying for the second-most nonconference victories heading into league play in the program’s NCAA Division I Era (since 1992) ... Nationally, Tennessee State is sixth in steals/game (11.2/game), 15th in offensive rebounding (14.7/game), 17th in fastbreak points (18.1/game) and 22nd in forced turnovers (16.3/game), UT Martin is 14th in 3-point defense (27.0%), 15th in rebound margin (+10.7/game), 29th in scoring margin (+12.2/game), Tennessee Tech is 12th in bench points (37.91/game) and SIUE is 26th in field goal defense (38.6%) ... Individually, TSU’s Aaron Nkrumah is fourth in steals (3.3/game), UTM’s Andrija Bukumirovic is sixth in double-doubles (6), Lindenwood’s Jadis Jones is ninth in field goal percentage (67.1%), SEMO’s Braxton Stacker is 12th in free throw percentage (94.3%) and USI’s Ola Ajiboye is 27th in blocks (2.2/game).
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.
Select OVC Games to Simulcast on Gray Media Stations: As part of the Conference’s new multi-year contract with ESPN, this season select men’s and women’s basketball games will simulcast in 20 Gray Media TV markets in five states (in addition to airing on ESPN+). That includes markets in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Peoria, Quincy, Rockford, Evansville, Ft. Wayne, South Bend and Lexington. Prior to each game a listing of the stations that will broadcast each game will be made available at OVCSports.com.
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).
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.
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.