This Week's Schedule
Wednesday, January 11
*Morehead State at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Thursday, January 12
*Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*UT Martin at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Jacksonville State at #14 Murray State, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Saturday, January 14
*Tennessee Tech at #14 Murray State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Eastern Kentucky at Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Jacksonville State at Austin Peay, 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*SIUE at Tennessee State, 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
adidas® OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Isaiah Canaan, G • Jr., 6-0, 193 • Biloxi, Miss. • Murray State
Canaan averaged 25.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds/game last week in helping nationally-ranked Murray State to a pair of victories as the Racers improved to 16-0 on the season (tying its best start ever to a season). The junior hit 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from 3-point range, 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the free throw line in wins over Eastern Kentucky and at Austin Peay. Against arch rival Austin Peay on Saturday, Canaan hit his first seven 3-point attempts and scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half; in fact Canaan scored the first 16 points of the game for the Racers who led by as many as 17 points in the opening half. He finished the game hitting 7-of-8 from 3-point range and scoring 35 points, the most by a player in the OVC in regulation this year (Canaan scored 36 points in a double overtime win over Southern Miss in November). He also had five assists, two rebounds and a steal in the contest. Canaan opened the week by scoring 16 points, pulling down four rebounds and dishing out three assists in a victory over Eastern Kentucky. Canaan ranks fourth nationally in 3-point percentage (51.0%) and 12th in 3-pointers made/game (3.1). It marks the third time this season he has been named OVC Player of the Week (Nov. 28, Dec. 5).
Others Nominated: Zavier Sanders, Eastern Illinois; Brian Williams, Jacksonville State; Drew Kelly, Morehead State; Tyler Stone, Southeast Missouri; Mark Yelovich, SIUE; Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech; Mike Liabo, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
Tyler Stone, F • R-So., 6-8, 230 • Memphis, Tenn. • Southeast Missouri
Stone, the transfer from Missouri, earned his fifth OVC Newcomer of the Week honor of the year after averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks/game and hitting 61 percent (25-of-41) from the field in three Southeast Missouri games. Stone started the week by scoring 24 points and grabbing six rebounds in a win over Jacksonville State. The sophomore hit 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line in the victory. He followed that with a 16-point, 6-rebound effort in a victory at UT Martin. Stone hit 7-of-14 shots in the two-point road win and scored 12 of his points in the second half. He finished the week by scoring 18 points and grabbing five rebounds in a road loss to Eastern Kentucky. Stone hit 8-of-11 shots and also blocked a pair of shots. Stone ranks fourth in the OVC in rebounding (7.3/game) and seventh in scoring (15.3 points/game).
Others Nominated: Ronnie Boggs, Jacksonville State; Marsell Holden, Morehead State; Jordan Cyphers, Tennessee State; Corderio Maclin, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Joey Miller, G • Fr., 6-3, 170 • Charleston, Ill. • Eastern Illinois
Miller averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals/game last week in a pair of Eastern Illinois road victories. The guard, who earned the Freshman of the Week award for the second time this season, hit 76.2 percent (16-of-21) at the free throw line and 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the field in the two wins. Miller started the week with a career-high 24 points at SIUE. He hit 7-of-14 shots and was 8-of-9 at the free throw line while also dishing out five assists, netting two steals and pulling down three rebounds in 35 minutes of action. He followed that with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in a non-conference win at Houston Baptist on Saturday. Miller hit 8-of-12 free throws in that victory. Miller currently ranks ninth in the OVC in free throw percentage (82.5%), which is tops amongst all freshmen.
Others Nominated: M.J. Rhett, Tennessee State; Myles Taylor, UT Martin.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week's Highlights: After last week's games, Murray State (4-0) is the only team undefeated in OVC play...The Racers currently hold a one-game lead in the loss column over a group of five teams...Murray State is one of three Division I teams who are currently undefeated overall on the season; the others are Baylor and Syracuse...The Racers climbed up four spots in each the ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press Top 25 polls and are now No. 14 in the Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the AP poll...The ranking in the AP poll is the highest for an OVC team since Western Kentucky was ranked No. 7 on March 16, 1971...It is the highest-ever ranking for Murray State...The Racers are the first OVC team to be ranked for five-straight weeks in the AP poll since the 1970-71 season (Western Kentucky was ranked in all 16 polls of that season)...Murray State also continues to be ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, topping the poll for the second week in a row...Murray State's 16-0 start is tied for the best in school history and is one of just five 10-0 or better starts in OVC history...The Racers 16-game winning streak is the fourth-longest streak in OVC history (WKU owns the record of 21, accomplished in each 1953-54 and 1966-67)...As of Monday the Racers are No. 20 in the RPI (RPIRatings.com) and No. 15 in the Sagarin Power Rankings...Murray State enters the week with a 14-game home court winning streak, which is currently the 14th longest nationally...Two OVC players joined the 1,000-Point Club last week, as Murray State's Isaiah Canaan and Eastern Kentucky's Joshua Jones scored their 1,000th career points; SIUE's Mark Yelovich is the next player who might join the club, as he is 23 points away...Entering this week the OVC was rated 21st as a conference in the RPI at RPIRatings.com; over the past decade the highest end-of-year RPI ranking for the OVC has been 19th in 2003-04 (the OVC was 21st at the end of each the 2005-06 and 2009-10 seasons).
Murray State No. 15 in AP Poll, No. 14 in ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll: After a 16-0 start to the season Murray State finds itself ranked No. 15 in this week's Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll. The Racers cracked the Top 25 on Dec. 12, coming in at No. 24 in the AP poll, and debuted in the Coaches Poll on Dec. 19. When Murray State first cracked the Top 25 it marked the first time an OVC team had been nationally-ranked since Murray State was No. 25 in the final AP poll of the 1997-98 season (which was released at the end of the regular season). Murray State is the first OVC team to be ranked for five-straight weeks in the AP poll since the 1970-71 season (Western Kentucky was ranked in all 16 polls of that year). The No. 15 ranking in the AP poll is the highest for an OVC team since Western Kentucky was ranked No. 7 in the final poll of the 1970-71 season (March 16). It is the highest ranking all-time for the Racers (the previous high was 16th, accomplished in both the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons).
NCAA Statistical Leaders: In the latest set of NCAA statistical leaders released on Jan. 9, Murray State ranks fourth in 3-point percentage (44.6%), 12th in 3-point percentage defense (27.3%), 14th in field goal percentage (49.2%), 17th in free throw percentage (75.7%), 17th in scoring margin (+15.5) and 18th in steals (9.1/game). Eastern Illinois ranks fifth in free throw percentage (77.0%), Eastern Kentucky is 11th in fewest turnovers (10.9/game) and Southeast Missouri ranks 13th in field goal percentage (49.2%). Individually Murray State's Isaiah Canaan is fourth in 3-point percentage (51.0%), 12th in 3-pointers made/game (3.1) and 37th in scoring (18.7 points/game). Tennessee Tech's Zac Swansey is seventh in steals (2.6/game) and 25th in assists (5.9/game).
16-0 Start for Murray State One of Just Five in OVC History: Murray State's 16-0 start to begin this season is one of just five instances of an OVC school beginning the year 10-0 or better since the league was formed in 1948. It is the first since Western Kentucky started the year 21-0 in 1953-54. The other teams to start a season at least 10-0 are Western Kentucky in 1948-49 (15-0) and Murray State in each 1950-51 (12-0) and 1951-52 (11-0).
Longest Winning Streaks in OVC History: Murray State's current 16-game winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in OVC history. The longest winning streaks in league history are a pair of 21-game streaks by Western Kentucky in each the 1953-54 and 1966-67 seasons. Murray State also holds the third-longest streak, winning 17 games in a row during the middle of the 2009-10 season. Below is a list of all winning streak of 15 games or longer in OVC history.
21 - Western Kentucky (1953-54)
21 - Western Kentucky (1966-67)
17 - Murray State (2009-10)
16 - Murray State (2011-12)
16 - Western Kentucky (1949-50)
16 - Western Kentucky (1969-70)
15 - Western Kentucky (1948-49)
Murray State Ranked No. 1 in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: In the Jan. 2 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll (the Jan. 9 poll was not released at release time) Murray State moved to No. 1 overall, receiving 26 of a possible 31 first-place votes. The Racers are the first OVC team to ever be ranked No. 1 in that poll. The Racers first vaulted into the Mid-Major Top 25 on Nov. 28 of this season and moved up to 10th on Dec. 5 before its win at Memphis. Following the win over Memphis, the Racers jumped to second where they were for three weeks before becoming No. 1. Now in its 13th season, the Mid-Major poll is made up of team's from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt and West Coast. It is voted upon by coaches from those conferences, with one coach per conference casting a vote (Eastern Kentucky's Jeff Neubauer is the OVC representative).
OVC Teams Beating Ranked Teams: Although the OVC has had recent success against nationally-ranked teams in the NCAA Tournament (Murray State beat No. 21 Vanderbilt in 2010 and Morehead State beat No. 14 Louisville last year), prior to Murray State's win over No. 20/21 Memphis on Dec. 11, it had been 14 years since an OVC team had beat a nationally-ranked opponent during the regular season. That was when Murray State beat No. 12 Arkansas 94-83 on Dec. 25, 1997 in Puerto Rico.
Prohm Named CollegeInsider.com Hugh Durham Mid-Season Coach of the Year: After leading Murray State to its best start in 75 years, Murray State Head Coach Steve Prohm was honored by CollegeInsider.com with recognition as the mid-season Hugh Durham Award honoree. The Hugh Durham award is presented annually to the top mid-major coach in NCAA D-I basketball. The award is named after Hugh Durham who was an icon in the game with coaching stops at Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville. Prohm is in his first season as head coach, replacing Billy Kennedy who is now the head coach at Texas A&M. Kennedy was a finalist for the Durham Award in 2010. The Hugh Durham award is named after the first and only coach in the history of NCAA Division I basketball to lead two different schools to the NCAA Final Four for the first and only time in each school's history (Florida State University in 1972 and University of Georgia in 1983). Durham is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to be the all-time winningest coach at three different schools (Florida State, Georgia, and Jacksonville). He finished is his career with 634 wins. The winner of the 2012 Hugh Durham Award will be announced on March 30 in New Orleans, site of the NCAA men's basketball championship.
OVC Against the SEC: Between the beginning of the 2000-01 season (when Tennessee Tech beat South Carolina) and the 2010 NCAA Tournament (when Murray State beat Vanderbilt) the OVC lost 71-straight games to SEC opponents. A year ago OVC teams were 0-8 against that league but this season has been different with OVC teams going 2-3 against SEC foes. That includes Tennessee State's win at South Carolina on Nov. 20 and Austin Peay's victory at Tennessee on Dec. 10.
OVC One of Just 10 Conferences (4 Non-BCS) to Win NCAA Tournament Games in Each of Past Three Seasons: The OVC is one of just 10 Division I conferences to win a NCAA Tournament game in each of the past three years and one of just four non-BCS conferences to achieve the feat. The other non-BCS leagues to win a game in each of the last three years are the Atlantic 10, Horizon and West Coast Conferences. The ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10/12 and SEC are the BCS-level conferences that have won at least one game in each of the past three years.
Postseason Success: Not since the late 1980s has the OVC experienced the kind of NCAA Tournament success the program has had in the last three years. After winning NCAA Tournament games in each 1987, 1988 and 1989, the OVC went 20 years without a NCAA victory. That changed in 2009 when Morehead State topped Alabama State 58-43 in front of a record crowd at the Opening Round game in Dayton, Ohio. A year later it was No. 13 seed Murray State who won, topping No. 4 seed Vanderbilt 66-65 when Danero Thomas nailed a buzzer-beater in San Jose. Last season it was Morehead State's turn again, as the Eagles were seeded 13th and sent to Denver to battle No. 4-seed Louisville. MSU got off to a 15-2 lead nearly eight minutes into the game but trailed 61-59 with 31 seconds to play. On its final possession senior Demonte Harper nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4.3 seconds remaining to give Morehead State the lead and Kenneth Faried blocked Louisville's last shot attempt to seal the victory. It marked the third time in OVC history that teams had won NCAA Tournament games in three consecutive seasons (1960-61-62, 1987-88-89 and 2009-10-11). The OVC has never won at least one NCAA Tournament game in four-straight years.
Regular Season Schedule Takes Slightly Different Format This Season: For the past six seasons and for 61 of the 63 years that basketball has been played in the OVC, the men's basketball schedule has been a double-round robin, meaning every league team played every other league team twice. That changes this year with the addition of SIUE to the regular season slate as the 11-team OVC will play a 16-game schedule instead of a 20-game round robin (which the league played from 2005-06 through 2007-08). With the 16-game schedule a team will play every other OVC school once, and play six of the 10 other schools twice (home and away) during the season. Each year there are only four teams that each school is not playing on a home and away basis. Several factors contributed to the switch to a 16-game schedule including creating more opportunity to schedule non-conference games and to have fewer games played during the month of December. The schedule's makeup (i.e. which teams played what teams twice) was determined by several factors including historical and traditional rivalries and geography/proximity of the teams. The only other previous seasons the league did not play a full round robin schedule were in 2003-04 and 2004-05 (the seasons after Jacksonville State and Samford first joined the league). The schedule could potentially see more changes next season when the league expands to 12 teams to include Belmont.
Loos is All-Time Winningest Coach in OVC History: With a 68-66 victory at Ohio on Dec. 9, 2009, Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos recorded his 320th career victory while in the OVC, a mark that ranks first all-time. Loos passed Cal Luther (319 wins at Murray State and UT Martin) for the all-time mark. Loos, the Dean of OVC coaches, is now in his 22nd year at Austin Peay where he also serves as the Athletics Director, making him the only Division I head men's basketball coach to hold that distinction. Loos is one of just 11 active Division I coaches to have coached at the same school for 20 or more years. Loos now has 354 victories in his tenure at Austin Peay and 436 for his career.
Murray State Wins Great Alaska Shootout: Murray State traveled to Anchorage, Alaska the week of Thanksgiving and captured the championship at the 34th annual Great Alaska Shootout. The Racers topped host Alaska-Anchorage, San Francisco and Southern Miss on its way to the title. Junior Isaiah Canaan was named MVP of the event after averaging 25.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals/game at the event. Canaan scored 36 points (hitting 6-of-11 from 3-point range) in the overtime victory over Southern Miss in the title game. The 36 points was the ninth-best in Great Alaska Shootout history.
Canaan Named to Lou Henson Preseason All-American Team: Murray State junior guard Isaiah Canaan has been named to the 2011-12 Lou Henson Preseason All-America team by CollegeInsider.com. The Lou Henson Preseason All-American Team leads to The Lou Henson Award at the end of the season, which is presented to the top mid-major player in NCAA D-I basketball. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years. When he left the game in 2005 he was sixth all-time in career Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State. He is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.
TSU's Peters on Initial Bob Cousy Watch List: Tennessee State's Wil Peters was one of 59 players on the initial 2012 Bob Cousy Award Watch List. The award is given to the top point guard in college basketball. When the list was narrowed to 20 on early January, Peters was not among those who made the cut.
OVC Tournament Format and Home Enters Year No. 2: After debuting a new format and home for the OVC Tournament in 2011, the tournament will once again return to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville this year. Once again the top eight men's and women's teams will qualify for the tournament and advance to play in Nashville (as opposed to playing first round games in campus sites) under a merit-based format. 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.
More on Municipal Auditorium: As part of the deal to host the tournament at Municipal Auditorium, the Nashville City Council and Municipal Auditorium committed $200,000 to improvements at the venue, which opened in 1962. Among the major improvements that will be completed prior to last year's championship were upgrades to the dressing rooms, two new scoreboards and the new OVC-branded playing surface. The floor was built by Horner Sports Flooring, whose corporate headquarters are in Dollar Bay, Mich. The company has made floors for many collegiate and National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, including building the floor for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game which was held at Texas Stadium. The Horner Pro King portable floor at Municipal Auditorium was purchased for a cost of $71,960; the court will be used for the OVC Tournament, various high school games/tournaments and special events such as the Harlem Globetrotters.
The OVC Welcomes Two New Head Coaches: The OVC has two new head coaches this season, both of whom moved from assistant roles to the head spot on their respective teams. Murray State welcomes first-year head coach Steve Prohm to the top spot after he spent five years as an assistant coach with the Racers under Billy Kennedy. Long-time Tennessee Tech associate head coach Steve Payne moved to the head spot with the Golden Eagles after nine seasons under head coach Mike Sutton who retired after the end of the 2010-11 season. Prohm and Payne are two of the 25 new coaches at the Division I level who are head coaches for the first time (at any level) this season.
SIUE Ready for Full OVC Schedule This Season: On July 1, 2008 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) became the 11th member of the Ohio Valley Conference. This season marks the first for the Cougars playing a full (16-game) OVC schedule. SIUE is eligible for the OVC Regular Season Championship but since they have one year left in the reclassification process to Division I, are ineligible for the OVC and NCAA Tournaments until next season.
Addition of Belmont Gives OVC Record 12 Schools in 2012-13: On May 13, 2011, Belmont University accepted an invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2012. Belmont, located just nine miles north of the OVC headquarters, will play its final year in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season. The Bruins men's basketball team has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the past six season, including finishing 30-5 (one of nine Division I teams with at least 30 wins) and earning a No. 13 seed in 2010-11. The addition of Belmont (and SIUE's eligibility for postseason play next year) will give the OVC a record 12 schools for the 2012-13 season.
OVC to Host NCAA Tournament 2nd/3rd Rounds in March: The Ohio Valley Conference will serve as the host of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Second/Third Rounds at Bridgestone Arena this March. The games will be played on Friday, March 16 and Sunday, March 18. The pairings will be announced on Sunday, March 12 at 5 p.m. CT on CBS. Tickets for the games went on sale to the public in October.
OVC Teams to Compete in ESPN Sears BracketBusters Series: For the seventh-straight season every OVC team will compete in the ESPN Sears BracketBusters series (on Feb. 18). Now it its 10th year, BracketBusters is an ESPN television property that was tremendously successful with its nine events. The event has allowed Division I conferences to participate in a cutting-edge format that involves "wild card" pairings from the pool of participating teams, with half of the ESPN BracketBusters teams pre-designated as "home" and the remaining half as "road" teams. This year there are 142 teams from 16 conferences in the pool of teams that were selected for one of 13 nationally-televised games. The matchups will be announced on Monday, January 30. In the OVC Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Murray State and SIUE will serve as host institutions while Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin will play road contests. OVC schools are 25-41 all-time in the BracketBusters event.
A Record Four OVC Teams in Postseason: For the first time in OVC history in 2010-11, four different men's basketball teams competed in postseason play. Morehead State won the OVC Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament, regular season champion Murray State participated in the NIT, Austin Peay played in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and Tennessee Tech participated in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). It also marked the third-straight season that three or more OVC teams have participated in postseason competition, also a first for the league.
Four OVC Teams Reach 20 Wins in Same Season for First Time in 2011: In 2010 (Murray State, Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky) and 2011 (Morehead State, Murray State, Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech) the OVC had three or more teams reach 20 or more wins in the same season, marking the first time in league history that had happened in back-to-back years. Last season the league had four teams win 20 or more games for the first-time ever (and each of those teams played in the postseason). Morehead State finished the year with 25 victories, Murray State had 23 and Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech had 20 wins apiece.
Former OVC Players in the NBA/NBDL: Entering the season there is current one former OVC player on a NBA roster. Former Morehead State All-American Kenneth Faried was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and is in his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets. Faried was a two-time OVC Player of the Year, three-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year and set the NCAA Modern Era (since 1973) Rebounding record during his career. There are also five former OVC players playing in the NBA Development League including former Jacksonville State players Walker Russell (Fort Wayne Mad Ants), who has been a D-League All-Star, and Nick Murphy (Iowa Energy), Tennessee State's Bruce Price (Dakota Wizards), Tennessee Tech's Willie Jenkins (Idaho Stampede) and UT Martin's Reuben Clayton (Reno Bighorns).
The 2011-12 Season: The 2011-12 season marks the 64th of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 63 years, 12 different teams have claimed an OVC regular season championship.
Tennessee Tech's Murphy Tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year: The 2011-12 All-OVC Preseason Men's Basketball team was headlined by Tennessee Tech senior Kevin Murphy, who was a first-team All-OVC selection a season ago. Overall six different schools were represented on the team with Austin Peay, Murray State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech having two selections apiece. Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri each had one selection to round out the team. The squad features three players who were All-OVC first-team selections last season, three players who were second-team selections and four players who were selected to the All-Newcomer squad. Murphy's 17.0 points/game last season ranked third in the league and helped the high-powered Tennessee Tech offense lead the OVC in scoring (74.6 points/game). His play helped the Golden Eagles to 20 victories for the first time since 2002-03 and a berth in the OVC Tournament Championship game. Although TTU came up short in that game, they were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, marking the first postseason play for the program since 2001-02. Murphy also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals/game while hitting 47.8 percent from the field in 33 total contests. In addition to Murphy, Austin Peay's TyShwan Edmondson and Murray State's Isaiah Canaan were each first-team selections last year and are on the preseason team this year. The second-team selections from last year appearing on the preseason team this year were Southeast Missouri's Leon Powell and Tennessee State's Robert Covington and Kenny Moore. The Preseason All-OVC team was rounded out by Austin Peay's Anthony Campbell, Eastern Illinois' Jeremy Granger, Murray State's Ivan Aska and Tennessee Tech's Zac Swansey.
Austin Peay Picked as Preseason Favorites: In a vote of OVC head men's basketball coaches and sports information directors Austin Peay received 10 first-place votes and was picked as the favorite for the 2011-12 season. It marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Governors have been picked as the preseason favorite (the team went on to win the OVC Championship that year). Austin Peay received 185 total points, which was four points ahead of Tennessee Tech, who received eight total first-place votes and were picked second. Defending regular season champion Murray State picked up three first-place votes and was picked third (169), Tennessee State was picked fourth (145), defending tournament champion Morehead State received the other first-place vote and was tabbed fifth (128) and was followed by Southeast Missouri (106), Eastern Kentucky (90), UT Martin (73), Eastern Illinois (67), Jacksonville State (40) and SIUE (27).
Preseason Predictions: Is being picked the preseason favorite always a good thing? Over the past 32 years of preseason polls that were available, the league's head coaches and sports information directors correctly picked the eventual OVC regular season champion 62.5 percent of the time, picking the correct winner 20 times over the past 32 years. Over the past 11 years, the preseason poll has correctly picked the winner six times. Last season the poll tabbed Murray State to win the regular season championship, which is did. It marked the first time in the last decade that the preseason poll had predicted the champion correctly in back-to-back years.
Westwood One to Broadcast OVC Championship Game: For the third consecutive season, the 2012 Men's Basketball Championship game will be broadcast by the Westwood One radio network, the largest provider of audio content in America. Westwood One is one of the nation's largest providers of network radio programming and one of the largest domestic providers of traffic information in the U.S. Westwood One serves more than 5,000 radio and 170 TV stations in the U.S. Westwood One provides over 150 news, sports, music, talk and entertainment programs, features and live events to numerous media partners. Westwood One is home of the most prestigious sports broadcasts on radio. Westwood One's lineup includes regular season NFL football, the Playoffs and the Super Bowl; NCAA Football and Basketball including the Final Four; College World Series; Frozen Four; the Olympics; the Masters and more. Through its Metro Traffic division, Westwood One provides traffic reporting and local news, sports and weather to approximately 2,300 radio and TV stations. Westwood One also provides digital and other cross-platform delivery of its network and Metro content.
Replay Systems for OVC Basketball Venues Enter Year Five: On Dec. 21, 2007, the Ohio Valley Conference mandated the use of courtside replay systems at all OVC basketball venues. The systems were put into place in January 2008 and have been used since. The systems are used in situations that are outlined by NCAA rules.
OVCSports.TV: For the sixth consecutive year, fans can watch nearly every Conference matchup and all non-conference home contests this season at OVCSports.TV. The venture with NeuLion (formerly JumpTV Sports) allows fans to access live and on-demand streaming video and audio of conference matchups (excluding only national television games which are not available) on their home computer. The premium Web site was launched in July 2006 and has streamed over 1,000 events in its first four years, including all Conference matchups in football and men's and women's basketball as well as select baseball, soccer, softball and volleyball events and OVC Championship events. Packages are available on a yearly, seasonal, monthly or per-event basis.
Team Notes
Austin Peay: Austin Peay played just one game last week, hosting nationally-ranked Murray State on Saturday at the Dunn Center...The Governors played the Racers tough and were within three points with seven minutes to go and five points with 1:09 to play before eventually falling 87-75...The loss was the fourth-straight overall for the Governors who are now 0-3 in the OVC, the first time they have been 0-3 in OVC play since the 1992-93 season (which was Dave Loos' third season as head coach)...In the three OVC games so far this season the Govs are shooting just 42.1 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from 3-point range...Four APSU players hit double figures in the loss while Josh Terry leading the way with 16 points; it marked his third-straight double-figure scoring game and 10th overall this season...John Fraley was big on the inside, scoring 10 points and pulling down nine rebounds while also blocking two shots...APSU did hit 40 percent (6-of-15) from 3-point range in the game, as TyShwan Edmondson hit two from deep...Austin Peay also out-rebounded the Racers 34-32 but fell to 1-4 in games that they have won the rebounding battle this year...Austin Peay does lead the OVC in rebounding in all games this year (34.9/game)...This week Austin Peay will continue its four-game home stand with games against Eastern Kentucky (Thursday) and Jacksonville State (Saturday).
Eastern Illinois: Eastern Illinois went on the road and won two games last week, beginning the week with a victory over OVC foe SIUE and ending the week at non-conference foe Houston Baptist...The wins pushed the team to 8-6 overall on the year and the squad saw its RPI jump from 208 at the beginning of last week to 147 as of Monday...Freshman guard Joey Miller was named OVC Freshman of the Week after averaging 18.0 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals/game and hitting 16-of-21 (76.2%) at the free throw line in the two wins last week...Miller scored a career-high 24 points in the win at SIUE, hitting 7-of-14 shots and 8-of-9 free throw attempts while also dishing out five assists and netting two steals; he ended the week with 12 points, four rebounds and two assist at Houston Baptist...Miller currently ranks ninth in the OVC in free throw percentage (82.5%), which is the best of any freshman in the league...As a team EIU leads the OVC and ranks fifth nationally in free throw percentage (77.0%); the Panthers hit 18-of-20 (90%) at the line in the victory at SIUE...At HBU Zavier Sanders scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team in both categories; Sanders had a career-high 13 rebounds at SIUE and averaged 11.0/game for the week...The win on the road improved the Panthers to 3-5 in games away from Lantz Arena this season...Jeremy Granger cracked the EIU career top 10 list for assists during the week (282) and is now tied for eighth...Eastern Illinois returns home for a game with UT Martin on Thursday night and ends on Saturday night at Southeast Missouri.
Eastern Kentucky: Eastern Kentucky split a pair of games last week, losing 76-67 at nationally-ranked Murray State before returning home to top Southeast Missouri, who had previously undefeated in OVC play, by a 63-59 margin...The Colonels are now 4-1 in OVC play and just a half of a game behind Murray State in the standings (after being picked seventh in the official preseason poll)...Trailing Murray State by as many as 14 points early in the second half, EKU cut the margin to one point with just under five minutes to play but could never take the lead against the 18th-ranked Racers...Jaron Jones hit 8-of-12 shots in the game and finished with 23 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals...Eric Stutz added a season-high 12 rebounds (he is the only Colonel with a double-figure rebounding game this season) and D'Mitri Riggs scored 16 points in 30 minutes of action...EKU rebounded from its first OVC loss of the season by topping Southeast Missouri, as Joshua Jones and Jaron Jones each scored 20 points...In the process Joshua Jones became the 31st member of the EKU 1,000-Point Club, on the night he made his 100th career start (he is one of five active OVC players with 1,000 or more career points)...The win pushed EKU to a perfect 6-0 at home this season...Eastern Kentucky ranks 11th nationally in fewest turnovers/game (10.9)...Among OVC leaders EKU is second in turnover margin (+2.8) and scoring margin (+1.8)...Eastern Kentucky will play a pair of road games this week, playing at Austin Peay on Thursday night and at rival Morehead State on Saturday.
Jacksonville State: Jacksonville State played three OVC games last week, losing 74-56 at Southeast Missouri and 63-55 at home to Morehead State before snapping a four-game losing streak with a 72-65 victory over Tennessee State...The victory over TSU was the first in Conference play for the Gamecocks this season; it also snapped an eight-game losing streak overall in OVC play dating back to last season, marking the first OVC win since the team beat Tennessee State at home on Feb. 7...The win was the 200th for head coach James Green as a head coach; Green is in his 15th year overall as a head coach and fourth year at Jacksonville State...Sophomore Brian Williams averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals/game in the three games last week; Williams had 19 points at Southeast Missouri, 12 against Morehead State and 17 against Tennessee State...JSU ranks first in the OVC in field goal percentage defense (41.7%)...The Gamecocks are struggling offensively and rank 11th in the league in scoring (62.4 points/game), field goal percentage (40.4%) and 3-point field goal percentage (25.8%)...Jacksonville State begins a three-game road trip this week with a game at No. 14/15 Murray State on Thursday...The week also includes a game at Austin Peay on Saturday night.
Morehead State: Morehead State played a pair of road games last week, winning 63-55 at Jacksonville State before falling 66-55 at Tennessee Tech on Saturday night...The Eagles are now 8-9 overall on the year and an even 2-2 in OVC play...For the week sophomore Drew Kelly averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists/game; Kelly had a season-high 20 points in the win over JSU, hitting 6-of-11 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 at the free throw line in 32 minutes of action...Kahlil Owens pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in the contest and is averaging 6.8 rebounds/game in OVC contests this season...Junior Marsell Holden knocked down 5-of-9 3-pointers Saturday night at Tennessee Tech, and was the only Eagle in double figures for the game, finishing with 15 points...The Eagles did get bad news last week as leading scorer Terrance Hill (13.3 points/game) suffered a torn ACL in the Austin Peay game on Dec. 31 and will miss the rest of his senior season; Hill finished his MSU career with 981 points...Morehead State ranks second in the OVC in 3-pointers made (121) and steals (151)...This week Morehead State plays at road game at Tennessee State on Wednesday and returns home to play Eastern Kentucky on Saturday...That game begins a three-game home stand (and a stretch of 4 of 5 at home) for the Eagles.
Murray State: Murray State won two more games last week, knocking off Eastern Kentucky, who had been unbeaten in OVC play, 76-67 before going to Clarksville and topping rival Austin Peay 87-75...The Racers are now 16-0 on the season, matching its best start to a season (also done in 1935-36)...The 16 wins in a row is ranks a the fourth-longest winning streak ever in OVC play...The Racers jumped to No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 this week; the rankings are the highest for an OVC team since WKU was ranked No. 7 in the final poll of the 1970-71 season...It is the highest-ever national ranking for the Racers...MSU is ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll for the second week in a row...Junior guard Isaiah Canaan was named OVC Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 25.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds/game...Canaan was on fire to start the APSU game, hitting his first seven 3-point attempts and scoring 27 of his 35 points in the first half; Canaan currently ranks fourth nationally in 3-point percentage (51%) and 12th in 3-pointers made/game (3.1)...Canaan has knocked down 50 3-pointers on the season after hitting 58 all of last season; he has a career 3-point percentage of 45.7 (best in Murray State history)...Ed Daniel scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win over Austin Peay on Saturday; his production helped offset the loss of Ivan Aska who is out temporarily with a broken hand...Murray State will look to extend its 14-game home court winning streak (the 14th longest streak nationally) this week when the team hosts Jacksonville State on Thursday and Tennessee Tech on Saturday (ESPNU).
Southeast Missouri: Southeast Missouri completed a 2-1 slate of OVC games last week, topping Jacksonville State 74-56 at home and UT Martin 73-71 on the road before suffering its first Conference loss of the season on Saturday night at Eastern Kentucky (63-59)...Sophomore transfer Tyler Stone had another big week in earning his fifth OVC Newcomer of the Week honor of the season; Stone, the transfer from Missouri, averaged 19.3 points and 5.7 rebounds/game while hitting 61.0 percent (25-of-41) from the field in the three games...Stone had 24 points and six rebounds against Jax State, 16 points and six rebounds against UT Martin and 18 points and five rebounds at EKU; Stone has had a huge impact in his first season with the Redhawks as he currently ranks fourth in the OVC in rebounding (7.3/game) and seventh in scoring (15.3/game)...In the UTM victory, Marcus Brister hit the game-winning shot with just 12 seconds left in giving Southeast its second road victory of the season (and second in a row)...After that victory the team was 3-0 in OVC play, the first time since the 1999-00 season the team had been 3-0 in Conference action...Despite the loss on Saturday, Southeast is still just a game back of first place in the league...Southeast Missouri ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage (49.2%) and has hit 50 percent or better from the field in four-straight games...Among OVC teams the Redhawks are first in field goal percentage, assists (15.5/game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1)...This week Southeast Missouri will host SIUE (Thursday) and Eastern Illinois (Saturday) at the Show Me Center.
SIUE: SIUE continues to play well in its first season of a full OVC schedule, splitting games last week to improve to 3-1 in OVC action...The Cougars are currently one of five OVC teams with one-loss so far this year...SIUE dropped its first OVC game of the season last Wednesday to Eastern Illinois (73-59) before rebounding to beat UT Martin (69-65) for its first road victory of the season...Redshirt junior Mark Yelovich averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals/game while hitting 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the field in the two games...He scored 12 points in the loss to EIU after battling foul trouble and finished the week with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the victory over the Skyhawks...Yelovich has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games he has played in this season and is now just 23 points away from joining the SIUE 1,000-Point Club; his 977 career points ranks 15th on the SIUE career scoring list...Freshman Kris Davis continues to rank first in the nation and OVC in 3-point percentage (61.4%)...Corey Wickware led SIUE in scoring in the road win over UTM, hitting 7-of-11 shots and 2-of-5 from 3-point range on his way to 19 points in 31 minutes of action...SIUE ranks second in the OVC in 3-point percentage (38.0%) and third in field goal percentage defense (42.9%)...SIUE continues a three-game road stretch this week with games at Southeast Missouri on Thursday and at Tennessee State on Saturday.
Tennessee State: Tennessee State dropped a pair of road games last week, falling 92-86 at Tennessee Tech and 72-65 at Jacksonville State...The Tigers have now dropped three-straight games (all on the road) and are under .500 (8-9) overall for the year...Overall TSU is 2-7 in true road games this year and have lost eight consecutive OVC road games dating back to last season (the team's last OVC road win came at UT Martin on Jan. 8 of last season)...Each of the team's last three opponents have shot 50 percent of better from the field in the first half, putting TSU behind early in games...On the season Tennessee State ranks ninth in the league in field goal percentage defense (45.8%)...Junior Robert Covington averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks/game in last week's set of games...Covington currently ranks second in the OVC in rebounding (7.8/game), third in blocks (1.2/game), fourth in scoring (16.9), eighth in 3-point percentage (41.4%) and ninth in field goal percentage (51.3%)...Sophomore Patrick Miller is averaging 11.9 points/game this season...Tennessee State ranks first in the OVC in rebounding margin (+3.2) and second in total 3-pointers made (121)...Tennessee State begins a two-game home stand this week as it will host Morehead State on Wednesday night and SIUE on Saturday...Tennessee State is 16-3 at the Gentry Center over the past two seasons.
Tennessee Tech: Tennessee Tech extended its winning streak to three games (and wins in 5 of its last 6 and 8 of its last 10 games overall) with home OVC victories over Tennessee State (92-86) and Morehead State (66-55) last week at the Eblen Center...In its high-scoring victory over TSU, Tech's big three offensive weapons each scored 20 or more points as Kevin Murphy and Jud Dillard had 29 points and Zac Swansey added 20 (on 6-of-7 3-point shooting); it marked the first time since the 2007-08 season that the program had three 20-point scorers in the same game...For the week Kevin Murphy averaged 26.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals/game while hitting 44.4 percent (16-of-36) from the field, 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the charity stripe...After scoring 29 in the win over TSU, Murphy scored 24 in the win over Morehead State, hitting 6-of-10 3-pointers and also dishing out six assists...After using four different starting lineups in its first seven games, Tech has used the same starting five for 11-straight games...Tech has the OVC leader in scoring (Murphy, 19.7/game)), rebounding (Dillard, 8.5/game), assists (Swansey, 5.9/game) and steals (Swansey, 2.6/game)...Swansey also ranks seventh nationally in steals (2.6/game) and 25th in assists (5.9/game)...As a team Tennessee Tech ranks second in the OVC in scoring (73.5 points/game) and scoring margin (+1.8)...Tennessee Tech plays just one game this week, traveling to No. 14/15 Murray State on Saturday for a game that will be seen nationally on ESPNU...That game is the only road game in a stretch of five games as the team will return home for two more home games next week.
UT Martin: UT Martin dropped a pair of OVC games last week, losing at home to Southeast Missouri (73-71) and to SIUE (69-65)...It marked the second and third games this season the team had lost by six or fewer points...After losing its first three OVC games by a margin of 21.0 points, the losses last week came by an average of just 3.0 points...Overall the Skyhawks have lost six-straight games and 10 of its last 11 overall...Sophomore Mike Liabo averaged 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists/game while hitting 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free throw line; Liabo had 18 points and pulled down six rebounds against Southeast Missouri and followed that with a career-high 26 points (while hitting four 3-pointers) against SIUE...Freshman Myles Taylor added 13.0 points and 3.5 rebounds/game last week, scoring 16 against the Redhawks and 10 against SIUE; he has now scored in double figures in nine-straight games...Taylor leads all OVC freshmen in scoring (13.1 points/game) and is second among freshmen in rebounding (4.7/game)...Against SIUE, Jeremy Washington accumulated six points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists...As a team UTM had a season-high 20 assists in both games last week...After playing its last three games at home, UT Martin will play its next three (and four of five) on the road...This week the Skyhawks will travel to Eastern Illinois for a Thursday matchup, in what will be its only game of the week...UTM is 1-8 in road games this season (with the lone win coming at UAB).