• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – January 19 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, January 20
*UT Martin at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, January 22
*Western Illinois at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Southern Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee State at SIUE, 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, January 24
*Eastern Illinois at Morehead State, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee State at Lindenwood, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at UT Martin, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Southern Indiana, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at SIUE, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Aaron Nkrumah, G • 6-6, 175, Sr. • Worcester, Mass. • Tennessee State
Nkrumah led Tennessee State to a pair of victories by averaging 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 58.8 percent (20-of-34) from the field, including 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from 3-point range. The senior had a career-high 30 points and added seven rebounds in a 105-100 overtime victory over Morehead State. He scored the first five points of overtime and finished the game 12-of-20 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Two days later Nkrumah netted a double-double with 24 points and a season-best 11 rebounds while hitting 8-of-14 from the field. Nkrumah ranks first in the OVC (and fourth nationally) in steals (2.9/game) as well as second in the OVC in scoring (16.8 points/game) and sixth in field goal percentage (42.9%). It marks the third time this season he has been named OVC Player of the Week.
Others Nominated: Zion Fruster, Eastern Illinois; Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood; Cameron Wallace, Little Rock; George Marshall, Morehead State; Arnas Sakenis, SIUE; Cardell Bailey, Southern Indiana; JaJuan Nicholls, Tennessee Tech; Andrija Bukumirovic, UT Martin; Karyiek Dixon, Western Illinois.
NEWCOMER
Dontrez Williams, G • 6-5, 195, So. • Sikeston, Mo. • Lindenwood
Williams, a transfer from Abilene Christian, earned his second award in three weeks after averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 steals, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists/game while hitting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field in two road games last week. In the Lions 88-76 win over SEMO on ESPNU, he hit 8-of-13 from the field on his way to a season-high 22 points while adding a career-best seven steals, five rebounds and two assists. He followed that with a game-high 20 points, five steals, five rebounds and a block against league-leading UT Martin. Williams now has five 20-plus point games this year. He currently ranks second in the OVC in steals (2.47/game), fifth in field goal percentage (47.8%) and seventh in scoring (15.6 points/game).
Others Nominated: Andre Washington, Eastern Illinois; Kachi Nzeh, Little Rock; Jon Carroll, Morehead State; Cardell Bailey, Southern Indiana; Malik Ferguson, Tennessee Tech; Karyiek Dixon, Western Illinois.
FRESHMAN
Matas Deniusas, F • 6-9, 220, Fr. • Vilnius, Lithuania • UT Martin
Deniusas won his eighth OVC Freshman of the Week honor after averaging 12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 blocks/game and hitting 40 percent (8-of-20) from the field as UT Martin won twice to improve to 7-1 in OVC play. He netted his first collegiate double-double on Thursday with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a victory over SIUE. He added three assists and two blocks. He capped the week with 14 points, seven rebounds, a career-best four blocks, three assists and a career-high three steals in a victory over Lindenwood. The eight Freshman of the Week honors are the ninth-most in OVC history (he will move into a tie for fourth with one more award).
Others Nominated: Markus Blackwell, Eastern Illinois
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Cameron Wallace (F, Jr.), Little Rock. Averaged 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds/game while hitting 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field. Had team-high 21 in win over WIU.
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George Marshall (G, Sr.), Morehead State. Scored career-high 29 points while adding six rebounds, four assists and four steals versus TSU; hit game-tying 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to force overtime.
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Arnas Sakenis (C, Sr.), SIUE. Averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks/game while hitting 75 percent (12-of-16) from the field. Had career-best 19 points in win over SEMO.
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Cardell Bailey (G, Sr.), Southern Indiana. Had 17 points in win at Tennessee Tech as USI snapped an eight-game skid; averaged 18.0 points/game for the week.
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Andrija Bukumirovic (G/F, Jr.), UT Martin. Averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks/game in two wins, while hitting 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field. Had his league-leading seven double-double against SIUE.
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Karyiek Dixon (F, Sr.), Western Illinois. Averaged 12.5 points and 14.0 rebounds/game in two road contests. Had a pair of double-doubles in 14 points & 15 rebounds vs. EIU and 11 points & 13 rebounds vs. Little Rock.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: UT Martin continues to hold sole possession of first place in the OVC at 7-1, which is one game ahead of Little Rock and Tennessee State ... It marks the first time the team has been 7-1 and in sole possession of first place in the program’s history ... The team has 15 overall victories, one more than all of last season’s total (14); the team reached 15 wins (19 games), the fastest of its Division I history ... The Skyhawks have now won seven-straight OVC decisions for just the fourth time in program history, joining UT Martin squads from the 2023-24, 2015-16 and 2008-09 campaigns ... UTM is also 9-0 at home this season ... TSU’s Aaron Nkrumah became the ninth different OVC player to score 30 or more points in a game this season when he hit the 30-point plateau in an overtime victory over Morehead State last week; eight different teams have had a 30-point scorer (Lindenwood has had two different players reach the mark) ... Entering the week, TSU has the top two scorers in the League in Travis Harper II (17.1 ppg) and Nkrumah (16.8 ppg) ... Lindenwood has the No. 5-7 scorers in the League in Jadis Jones (16.3 ppg), Anias Futrell (15.7) and this week’s OVC Player of the Week Dontrez Williams (15.6 ppg) ... Lindenwood is five wins away from recording an above .500 winning percentage for the first time in a season since the 2017-18 season (which would be its first winning season at the Division I level).
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, Cleveland Cavaliers (Morehead State)
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Murray State)
• Taelon Peter, Indiana Pacers (Tennessee Tech)
• Will Richard, Golden State Warriors (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.