• OVC Men’s Basketball Report – February 23 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, February 24
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, February 26
*Morehead State at Little Rock, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Lindenwood, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee State at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at SIUE, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at UT Martin, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, February 28
*Tennessee State at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Southern Indiana at Little Rock, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at SIUE, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Western Illinois, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri, 3:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Aaron Nkrumah, G • 6-6, 175, Sr. • Worcester, Mass. • Tennessee State
Nkrumah took over the OVC scoring leader status (17.71 points/game) after averaging 20.0 points/game and helping Tennessee State to a pair of victories. The senior added 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals/game while hitting 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field against Lindenwood and SIUE to keep the Tigers in a share of first place. In Saturday’s win over the Cougars, he had 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting while adding 11 rebounds (marking his second double-double of the season), four assists and three steals. He opened the week with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists against Lindenwood. Nkrumah ranks second nationally with 77 steals. It marks the fourth time this season he has earned the honor, the most of any league player.
Others Nominated: Zion Fruster, Eastern Illinois; Anias Futrell, Lindenwood; George Marshall Jr., Morehead State; Amaree Brown, Southern Indiana; JaJuan Nicholls, Tennessee Tech; Andrija Bukumirovic, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
Amaree Brown, G/F • 6-5, 210, Jr. • Chicago, Ill. • Southern Indiana
Brown, a transfer from Oklahoma Panhandle State University, averaged 20.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists/game while hitting 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) at the free throw line in a pair of road wins. It marked the first back-to-back OVC wins of the season for the Screaming Eagles. He had 18 points and a steal in Thursday’s win over Western Illinois. He hit 5-of-11 shots and 8-of-10 free throws in 21 minutes of action. He followed that by tying his season-high with 22 points against Eastern Illinois. In that win he hit 7-of-14 shots (7-of-8 free throws) while adding four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He has scored in double figures in five of his last six contests.
Others Nominated: Meechie White, Eastern Illinois; Dontrez Williams, Lindenwood; Jon Carroll, Morehead State; Ty Owens, Tennessee Tech.
FRESHMAN
Matas Deniusas, F • 6-9, 220, Fr. • Vilnius, Lithuania • UT Martin
Deniusas averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals/game in a pair of games last week. The freshman had a game-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds and a steal in an overtime loss at Southeast Missouri. Two days later he added six points, a team-best eight rebounds, four assists and block and steal in a last-second loss to Little Rock. This marks the 11th Freshman of the Week award for Deniusas, tied for the second-most in League history, one away from tying the all-time mark.
Others Nominated: none
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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JaJuan Nicholls (F, Jr.), Tennessee Tech. Averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in two victories to keep the Golden Eagles postseason hopes alive. Hit 13-of-23 (56.5%) from the field.
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Zion Fruster (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Had a career-high 28 points on Saturday against USI and averaged 23.0 points for the week. Added six steals against Morehead State.
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George Marshall Jr. (G, Sr.), Morehead State. Led the Eagles to a pair of victories by averaging 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists/game. He had 23 points in the win at EIU.
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Anias Futrell (G, Sr.), Lindenwood. Had 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting (5-of-9 3-pointers) against Tennessee State. Added eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.
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Andrija Bukumirovic (G/F, Jr.), UT Martin. Scored 22 points in 9-of-18 shooting (4-of-7 3-pointers) in road game versus Little Rock. Added eight rebounds and three assists.
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Brendan Terry (F, Sr.), Southeast Missouri. Terry led SEMO in scoring last week, averaging 12.5 points/game while adding 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as the Redhawks won twice to remain in a tie for first place.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The last week of the regular season is here and the OVC regular season Championship is still up for grabs ... Any of the top four teams in the league (Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, UT Martin) can still grab at least a share of the title ... Lindenwood and SIUE have also clinched spots in the eight-team field; the final two spots will go to Eastern Illinois, Little Rock and/or Tennessee Tech ... Three players enter the final week of the regular season averaging between 17.39 and 17.71 points per game: TSU’s Aaron Nkrumah (17.71), Lindenwood’s Anias Futrell (17.43) and TSU’s Travis Harper II (17.39) ... UTM reached the 20-win mark for only the sixth time in its NCAA Division I history (since 1992); the Skyhawks also won at least 20 decisions in 2023-24, 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15 and 2008-09 ... UT Martin’s 12 OVC victories are the third-most in program history, trailing only the 14 wins from both the 2023-24 and 2008-09 squads ... According to StatHead Basketball, UT Martin’s 25 offensive rebounds on Feb. 19 at Little Rock were the third-most in an OVC game in league history (the record was 32 by Tennessee Tech in 2005-06) ... Lindenwood (16 overall and 10 OVC wins) is one victory away from reaching its most overall and Conference victories of its Division I era.
Regular Season Title Up for Grabs: Entering the final week any of the top four teams in the League (Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, UT Martin) can still grab at least a share of the OVC Championship. Morehead State has won 11 OVC regular season titles with its last coming in 2023-24. Southeast Missouri has won two regular season crowns with its last coming a season ago (2024-25). Tennessee State has won two titles with its last coming in 1994-95 and UT Martin has also won two with the last coming in 2023-24.
Lawson Records 27th Triple-Double in OVC History: Little Rock senior guard
Johnathan Lawson recorded the 27th triple-double in OVC history on February 12 when he had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Western Illinois. It was the first triple-double by an OVC player since December 2024 when WIU’s Sean Smith had two in the same week (December 4 and December 6). There has been at least one triple-double by an OVC player in each of the past six seasons.
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 (an eighth, Cam Payne, joined the group in February). 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)
• Cam Payne, Philadelphia 76ers (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.