• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – December 29 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, December 30
*Tennessee State at Tennessee Tech, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, January 1
*Morehead State at Lindenwood, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at SIUE, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at UT Martin, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Little Rock, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, January 3
*Tennessee State at Little Rock, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Lindenwood, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Morehead State at SIUE, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Southeast Missouri, 3:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Ring Malith, F • 6-9, 180, Sr. • Twic, South Sudan • SIUE
Malith guided SIUE to its first OVC victory of the season, helping the Cougars overcome a 14-point deficit with 8:44 to play to win 66-61 at Western Illinois. The senior scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting (3-of-6 3-pointers) and was perfect at the free throw line (7-of-7). Nineteen (19) of his points came in the second half, with 17 of those coming in the final eight minutes as SIUE erased the double-digit deficit. It marked his second-straight 20-point game (and fifth of the season); his 17.4 points/game average ranks second in the OVC. All six of Malith’s rebounds came in the second half and he also added a steal. It marks the second time this season he has been named OVC Player of the Week.
Others Nominated: Andre Washington, Eastern Illinois; Jadis Jones, Lindenwood; Johnathan Lawson, Little Rock; Josiah LeGree, Morehead State; Lucas Lorenzen, Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Cameron Wallace, F • 6-8, 210, Jr. • Little Rock, Ark. • Little Rock
Wallace, a transfer from Holmes Community College, had 25 points and 10 rebounds as Little Rock topped Williams Baptist 98-84. The junior hit 10-of-18 field goals (55.6%) and 5-of-7 free throws while also dishing out three assists and netting a steal in 38 minutes. It marked his second-straight double-double effort while the 25 points were a career-high. Wallace ranks fifth in the OVC in field goal percentage (49.3%) and 10th in rebounding (6.2).
Others Nominated: Andre Washington, Eastern Illinois; Mekhi Cooper, Lindenwood; Josiah LeGree, Morehead State; Lucas Lorenzen, Western Illinois.
FRESHMAN
Markus Blackwell, G • 6-2, 180, Fr. • Detroit, Mich. • Eastern Illinois
Blackwell had season-highs with eight points, six rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes of action as Eastern Illinois topped East-West University 110-56 on Monday. The guard hit 2-of-4 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws for the Panthers while also adding a steal and committing only one turnover. He is the first EIU player to earn OVC Freshman of the Week honors since February 27, 2023 (Sincere Malone).
Others Nominated: none
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Josiah LeGree (G, So.), Morehead State. Had his first career double-double with 20 points (on 7-of-10 shooting) and 10 assists against Alice Lloyd.
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Andre Washington (G, R-Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Tallied 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting (78.6%) while adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals in win over East-West University.
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Jonathan Lawson (G, R-Sr.), Little Rock. Poured in 29 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while dishing out six assists and grabbing four rebounds in victory over Williams Baptist.
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Jadis Jones (G, So.), Lindenwood. Jones had a team-high 16 points, hitting 6-of-11 field goals, and added seven rebounds in road game at Missouri State.
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Lucas Lorenzen (G, Jr.), Western Illinois. Had 19 points and five rebounds in OVC contest with SIUE. He was perfect at the free throw line (5-of-5).
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: It was a light week of games prior to the Christmas break, with four non-conference games and a League game played (five teams were off for the entire week) ... In the OVC contest, SIUE overcame a 14-point deficit with 8:44 to play to win at Western Illinois and even its OVC record at 1-1 on the season ... There is only one non-conference game left on the schedule (EIU hosting Blackburn on January 18 in a game that was rescheduled from December) ... This week is back to normal Conference action with one Tuesday contest and five games on each Thursday and Saturday.
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.