• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – November 9 (PDF)
 
This Week’s Schedule
 
Monday, November 9
Eastern Illinois at Notre Dame, 6:00 p.m. (ACCNX)
Simpson College at Western Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Fisk at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Missouri, 7:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)

Tuesday, November 10
UT Martin at Arkansas State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Wednesday, November 11
Southern Indiana at IU Indy, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Blackburn College at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at #24 Nebraska, 8:00 p.m. (FS1)

Thursday, November 12
CSU Bakersfield at Western Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Friday, November 13
Champion Christian at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at #9 Tennessee, 6:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Southeast Missouri at Middle Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at #2 Duke, 7:00 p.m. (The CW)
Lindenwood at Omaha, 7:45 p.m. (Summit League Network)

Saturday, November 14
IU Indy at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, November 15
Purdue Fort Wayne at Eastern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Michigan at Southern Indiana, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Ecclesia at UT Martin, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
 

---

 
OVC Players of the Week
 
PLAYER
Davi Remagen, G • 6-3, 208, So. • Köln, Germany • UT Martin
In a pair of road games, Remagen averaged 21.5 points, 3.0 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field, 50 percent (6-of-9) from 3-point range and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. He opened the season with a 24-point performance in double overtime at Tulane, which was the fourth-most points by a player in his Skyhawk debut in a season opener in the program’s Division I history (since 1992). He hit 5-of-9 3-pointers and added four assists in that game. The Georgia Tech transfer then had 19 points, three rebounds and two assists at IU Indy to close the week.
 
Others Nominated: Malek Archie, Lindenwood; Clayton Parker, Morehead State; Jordan Pickett, SIUE; Kaden Brown, Southern Indiana; Makai Kvamme, Western Illinois.
 
NEWCOMER
Fontaine Williams Jr, G • 6-2, 172, Sr. • Wichita, Kan. • Southeast Missouri
Williams, a transfer from West Texas A&M, opened his Division I career by averaging 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists/game as the Redhawks went 2-1. The senior guard shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field and 50 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range while averaging 28.7 minutes per contest. He had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists in a victory over Lipscomb to open the year and followed that with 10 points and seven assists in a win over Webster. He concluded the week with an 18-point, 5-rebound performance at South Carolina.
 
Others Nominated: Tanner Vogel, Eastern Illinois; Malek Archie, Lindenwood; Kyrell Shaw, Morehead State; Gianni Cobb, SIUE; Fredy-Salam Sylla, Southern Indiana; Daivion Traylor, Western Illinois.
 
CO-DEFENSIVE
Clayton Jewell, F • 6-9, 225, Sr. • Darwin, Australia • Southeast Missouri
Jewell helped Southeast Missouri to a 2-1 week to open the 2026-27 season in averaging 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks/game in just 18 minutes of action per night. The senior had seven rebounds and two blocks in a win over Lipscomb to open the campaign, and then 10 rebounds and three blocks in a win over Webster. He capped the week with five blocks and four rebounds at South Carolina. For the week SEMO opponents shot just 39.1 percent from the floor.

CO-DEFENSIVE
Brennan Miller, G • 6-7, 210, Fr. • Indianapolis, Ind. • SIUE
In his first week of collegiate action, Miller averaged 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks/game over three contests as the Cougars were 2-1 overall. The freshman had eight rebounds and three steals in a season-opening win over Eureka and followed that with seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals in a win over Concordia-Chicago. Miller capped the week with eight rebounds and two blocks at Lipscomb. For the week the Cougars defense limited opponents to just 38.3 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from 3-point range and to an average of 59.3 points/game.
 
Others Nominated: Malek Archie, Lindenwood; Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, Southern Indiana; Jack Riley, Western Illinois.
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
 
• Clayton Parker (F, So.), Morehead State. In three games he averaged 18.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, including scoring 24 points against Virginia-Lynchburg.
 
• Malek Archie (G, Jr.), Lindenwood. In a trio of games, he averaged 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals/game. He had 18 points at TCU and ended the week with 14 points and 10 rebounds against East-West University.
 
• Jordan Pickett (G, Sr.), SIUE. Averaged 13.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists/game in three contests including scoring 17 of his 19 points in the second half in a win over Concorida-Chicago.
 
• Kaden Brown (G, Sr.), Southern Indiana. Scored 17 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting in overtime game with crosstown rival Evansville. Averaged 11.7 points for the week while knocking down 11 3-pointers.
 
• Aaron Bradshaw (F, Sr.), Tennessee State. In two games averaged 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks/game while hitting 45 percent from the field. Had 13 points and 12 rebounds against East-West University in only 21 minutes of action.
 
• Tanner Vogel (C, 5th), Eastern Illinois. In a pair of games against Big Ten opponents, had eight points and seven boards at Indiana, followed by 11 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa.
 
• Makai Kvamme (G, So.), Western Illinois. Averaged 12.0 points on 61.1 percent (11-of-18) shooting in two contests.
 
 
Notes From Around the League
 
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The 2026-27 season began with teams playing as many as three non-conference games last week ... Lindenwood scored 120 points against Central Bible, the most points scored during its Division I Era and also under eighth-year head coach Kyle Gerdeman ... Southern Indiana battled crosstown rival Evansville for the first time in its Division I Era in the inaugural River City Classic at the Ford Center; over 6,000 fans witnessed the game that came down to the final possession of overtime ... UT Martin knocked down 17 3-pointers in its season-opener at Tulane; the 17 treys were the third-most in a single game in school history and second-most against a NCAA Division I opponent ... The UTM freshman duo of Kaan Onat (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Sasha Savkov (20 points, 10 rebounds) became just the fifth and sixth Skyhawks (first two freshmen) to record a season-opening double-double in their UT Martin debut against a NCAA Division I opponent ... For the third straight season, UT Martin leads all NCAA men’s basketball Division I programs in most international student-athletes (14), edging out St. John’s (12) for that title ... SIUE will take on No. 2 ranked Duke this week.
___
The Season is Here: The 2026-27 season marks the 79th of competition for the Ohio Valley Conference. Over the previous 78 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
 
Tennessee State Begins Season No. 25 in CollegeInsider.com Top 25: Tennessee State begins the 2026-27 season ranked No. 25 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. A year ago the Tigers won a share of the OVC regular season championship for the first time since 1994-95 and went on to win the OVC Tournament Title, its first since 1994.
 
A Decade of Champions -- OVC Basketball Championships to Be Held at Ford Center in Evansville For 10th Consecutive Year: The OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 3-6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks  the 10th-straight season the event has been 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.
 
Recent Postseason Success: OVC teams have won at least one national postseason game in 13 of the past 17 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 Players in the NBA: Five former OVC players started the 2026-27 season on NBA rosters. In 2025, three players who competed in the OVC were selected in the NBA Draft, the first time since 1987 that had happened (and first time since 1971 that three players were selected in the first two rounds). 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).
            • Myron Gardner, Miami Heat (Little Rock)
            • Riley Minix, Cleveland Cavaliers (Morehead State)
            • Ja Morant, Portland Trailblazers (Murray State)
            • Will Richard, Golden State Warriors (Belmont)
            • Ben Sheppard, Indiana Pacers (Belmont)
 
OVC to Produce Linear Television Package with ESPN: The OVC will once again produce a national television package in 2026-27 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. Most 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: For the second-straight year, 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.
 
Tennessee State Picked as OVC Preseason Favorites: In a vote of OVC head men’s basketball coaches and communication directors, Tennessee State was picked the preseason favorites for the 2026-27 season. The Tigers, the defending OVC Tournament Champions, picked up 13 of 18 first-place votes to receive 125 total points. Southeast Missouri received two first-place votes and was tabbed second (107 points). There was a three-way tie for third, with Morehead State (two first-place votes), SIUE and UT Martin each receiving 86 points. The poll was rounded out by Lindenwood (61), Southern Indiana (44), Eastern Illinois (37) and Western Illinois (17).
 
ESPN+/ESPN Unlimited: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, which is a service that features over 30,000 live events across college, international soccer, golf, tennis, combat, and the full ESPN Originals library. Fans have access to ESPN+ content via any ESPN subscription or Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Bundle subscription, as well as certain TV provider offerings. Please check with your TV provider to see if your TV package includes ESPN (Select or Unlimited offerings). This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+.