This Week's Schedule
Monday, January 30
USC Upstate at Jacksonville State, 5:15 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Austin Peay at Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*SIUE at Tennessee Tech, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Thursday, February 2
*Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Eastern Kentucky at Eastern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Morehead State at SIUE, 7:00 p.m.
*Southeast Missouri at #9 Murray State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Jacksonville State at UT Martin, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Saturday, February 4
*Tennessee Tech at Jacksonville State, 4:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Morehead State at Eastern Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*#9 Murray State at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
*Eastern Kentucky at SIUE, 7:00 p.m.
*Tennessee State at Southeast Missouri, 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
adidas® OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Ty Proffitt, G • Sr., 6-4, 190 • London, Ky. • Morehead State
Proffitt averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 rebounds/game while hitting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field, 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 from free throw stripe. Proffitt started the week by hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers and scoring 18 points as Morehead State went to MEAC-leading Norfolk State and won 75-69. Proffitt also added three rebounds and an assist in the road victory. In the Eagles' victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Proffitt hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range on his way to a season-high 20 points; he also added five rebounds and a steal. With his team trailing by one-point with under two minutes to play, Proffitt hit a 3-pointer that put MSU on top for good and later added a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Others Nominated: Josh Terry, Austin Peay; Brian Williams, Jacksonville State; Ed Daniel, Murray State; Leon Powell, Southeast Missouri; Jerome Jones, SIUE; Robert Covington, Tennessee State; Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech; Mike Liabo, UT Martin.
NEWCOMER
Mike DiNunno, G • R-Jr., 5-11, 192 • Chicago, Ill. • Eastern Kentucky
DiNunno,a transfer from Northern Illinois, averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 rebounds/game last week while hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field and 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point range. In Eastern Kentucky's double overtime loss at Tennessee State on Saturday he scored a season-high 33 points as he tied the school's single-game record for 3-pointers made (7). In that game DiNunno hit 13-of-18 (72.2%) field goal attempts (7-of-12 from 3-point range) and added a season-best seven assists, two steals and two rebounds. In the team's home loss to Tennessee Tech earlier in the week the junior had eight points, five assists, three steals and a rebound. DiNunno currently ranks fifth in the OVC in steals (1.5/game). It marks the second time this season he has been named OVC Newcomer of the Week.
Others Nominated: Ronnie Boggs, Jacksonville State; Latreze Mushatt, Murray State; Tyler Stone, Southeast Missouri; Derian Shaffer, SIUE; Kellen Thornton, Tennessee State; Corderio Maclin, UT Martin.
FRESHMAN
Darion Rackley, G • Fr., 6-2, 160 • St. Louis, Mo. • Jacksonville State
Coming off the bench Rackley averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals/game and hit 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the field in a pair of Jacksonville State victories. His play helped the team to its third-straight OVC victory, the team's first three-game OVC winning streak since Jan. 2005. In the team's win over SIUE on Saturday, the freshman notched season-highs in points (16), rebounds (6) and assists (4) and also hit 5-of-6 shot attempts in 30 minutes of action. In the Gamecocks win over Eastern Illinois to begin the week, Rackley scored 11 points, dished out four assists, grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and had a steal.
Others Nominated: M.J. Rhett, Tennessee State; Myles Taylor, UT Martin.
Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week's Highlights: This week is a busy stretch for OVC schools, with six teams in action on a Monday night; some teams will play up to five games in a 10-day stretch by the time this week is completed...The busy schedule partially stems from the league's participation in the ESPN Sears BracketBusters series, as the school's have to move a Conference game from Saturday, Feb. 18 to another date on the schedule...The BracketBusters matchup will be announced later today (TV matchup at 5:30 p.m. CT, other games at 6 p.m. CT)...Murray State topped Eastern Illinois in its only game last week and is now 21-0 on the season and remains the only undefeated team in Division I basketball...The Racers are 9-0 in OVC play,2.5 games up on the rest of the league...Murray State is the only team nationally who is undefeated in true road games this year (9-0); the nine total road wins are the second most nationally (behind only Wagner)...Murray State remained No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and jumped up one spot to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll...It is the highest-ever ranking for Murray State, who has been ranked for eight-straight weeks now...Murray State is the first OVC team to be ranked in the Top 10 since Western Kentucky in the 1970-71 season...Murray State also continues to be ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, topping the poll for the fifth week in a row on Jan. 30...Murray State's 21-0 start is tied for the best start to a season for an OVC team (with the 1953-54 Western Kentucky team) and the 21-straight wins is also the longest winning streak ever for an OVC team matching 21 win streaks by each the 1953-54 and 1966-67 WKU teams...As of Monday the Racers are No. 33 in the RPI (RPIRatings.com) and No. 36 in the Sagarin Power Rankings...Murray State has a 17-game home court winning streak, which is currently the 10th-longest streak nationally...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)...After Morehead State's win at Norfolk State (first place in the MEAC, 73 RPI) last Tuesday, OVC teams have won 8 of their last 9 non-conference games...Tennessee Tech junior Jud Dillard is just three points away from scoring 1,000 points for this career; once he hits that mark he will be one of eight active OVC players with that many career points.
OVC Teams to Compete in ESPN Sears BracketBusters Series; Matchups Announced Tonight: For the seventh-straight season every OVC team will compete in the ESPN Sears BracketBusters series (games played on Feb. 18). The matchups for the event will be released later today (Monday, Jan. 30). The 13 TV matchups in the series (which Murray State will be included in) will be announced at 5:30 p.m. CT on a special on ESPNU, while the other matchups will be announced at 6 p.m. CT. Now it its 10th year, BracketBusters is an ESPN television property that has been 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. 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.
Murray State No. 9 in ESPN/USA Today Top 25, No. 10 in AP Poll: After a 21-0 start to the season Murray State finds itself ranked No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 (up one spot from last week). It marks the first Top 10 ranking for an OVC team since Western Kentucky was No. 7 in the final poll of the 1970-71 season. 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 eight-straight weeks since the 1970-71 season (Western Kentucky was ranked in all 16 polls of that year). 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). The highest ranking ever earned by an OVC men's basketball team is No. 3, accomplished by Western Kentucky in the 1948-49, 1953-54 and 1966-67 seasons.
NCAA Statistical Leaders: In the latest set of NCAA statistical leaders released on Jan. 30, Murray State ranks fifth in 3-point percentage (41.9%), 13th in 3-point percentage defense (28.7%), 15th in steals (9.0/game) and 15th in scoring margin (+14.5). Eastern Illinois ranks 15th in free throw percentage (75.8%), Southeast Missouri ranks 10th in field goal percentage (49.3%) and Eastern Kentucky is 21st in fewest turnovers (11.3/game). Individually Murray State's Isaiah Canaan is ninth in 3-point percentage (47.0%), 16th in 3-pointers made/game (3.0) and 27th in scoring (18.7 points/game). Tennessee Tech's Zac Swansey is 10th in steals (2.5/game) and 37th in assists (5.5/game). Teammate Kevin Murphy ranks 13th in scoring (20.0 points/game) while Austin Peay's Josh Terry is 25th in steals (2.5/game).
21-0 Start for Murray State Tied for Best in OVC History: Murray State's 21-0 start to begin this season is tied for the best in OVC history and 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 (which is tied for the record with Murray State). 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 21-game winning streak is tied for the longest streak in OVC history. It equals a pair of 21-game streaks by Western Kentucky in each the 1953-54 and 1966-67 seasons. Below is a list of all winning streak of 15 games or longer in OVC history.
21- Murray State (2011-12)
21 - Western Kentucky (1953-54)
21 - Western Kentucky (1966-67)
17 - Murray State (2009-10)
16 - Western Kentucky (1949-50)
16 - Western Kentucky (1969-70)
15 - Western Kentucky (1948-49)
Murray State Only Team Undefeated on the Road: As of Monday (Jan. 30) Murray State is the only Division I team who is undefeated on the road. The Racers are currently 9-0 in true road games this season.
Most Road Wins: As of Monday (Jan. 30), Murray State's nine true road victories this season are tied for the second most of any Division I team (trailing only Wagner's 10 wins).
10 - Wagner
9 - Murray State, Cleveland State, Harvard, Iona, Loyola (Md.)
8 - Bucknell, Creighton, Lehigh, Middle Tennessee, Robert Morris
7 - Oral Roberts
Best Starts for First-Year Head Coaches: In his first year as a collegiate head coach Steve Prohm is in some good company for best starts. Prohm is currently 21-0 this season with the Racers, tied for the third-best start for a Division I coach in his first season as a head coach. Below is a listing of the top starts along with the record the team finished the season with.
33-0 ... 33-1 - Bill Hodges, Indiana State (1978-79)
26-0 ... 26-0 - Norman Shephard, North Carolina (1923-24)
21-0 ... TBD - Steve Prohm, Murray State (2011-12)
21-0 ... 21-1 - Lou Rossini, Columbia (1950-51)
18-0 ... 31-5 - Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh (2003-04)
17-0 ... 34-4 - Bill Guthridge, North Carolina (1997-98)
TTU's Murphy and Dillard Among Top Scoring Duos Nationally: The Tennessee Tech duo of senior Kevin Murphy and junior Jud Dillard are currently tied for third among scoring tandems in Division I basketball. Murphy currently leads the OVC (and ranks 13th nationally) in scoring at 20.0 points/game while Dillard is third in the OVC (and 43rd nationally) at 18.0 points/game. As of Monday (Jan. 30) here are the top scoring duos nationally:
40.0 - Damian Lillard (24.4) and Scott Bamforth (15.6), Weber State
38.3 - Reggie Hamilton (24.0) and Travis Bader (14.3), Oakland
38.0 - Kevin Murphy (20.0) and Jud Dillard (18.0), Tennessee Tech
38.0 - Ken Horton (19.7) and Kyle Vinales (18.3), Central Connecticut State
38.0 - Kevin Jones (20.9) and Darryl Bryant (17.1), West Virginia
OVC Tournament Tickets: Tickets for the OVC Men's & Women's Basketball Championship (Feb. 29 - March 3 at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville) are currently on sale. Now through Jan. 31 fans can call school ticket offices and get an all-session ticket (14 games) at the discounted price of just $60 (only $4.29/game). On Feb. 1 the cost of those tickets goes back to the normal price of $80. Fans can also purchase the Taco Bell Fan Package between now and Feb. 15. The package includes one general admission ticket to all 14 games, one tournament t-shirt, one game program and a $5 Taco Bell gift card. Single session tickets through Ticketmaster and Municipal Auditorium will go on sale beginning Thursday, Feb. 2. For more information on tickets visit OVCSports.com.
Murray State Ranked No. 1 in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: In the Jan. 23 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll (the Jan. 30 poll was not available at release time) Murray State remained No. 1 overall for the fourth-straight week, receiving all 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 on Jan. 2. 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).
Home Court Winning Streaks: As of Monday (Jan. 30) Murray State has the 10th-longest home court winning streak nationally (17 games). The longest steaks nationally are below.
47 - Kentucky
38 - Ohio State
30 - North Carolina
23 - Harvard
20 - Oral Roberts
19 - Long Island
18 - Florida, Syracuse, Long Beach State
17 - Murray State, Kansas, California
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 360 victories in his tenure at Austin Peay and 442 for his career.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 was one 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. On Jan. 20, former Jacksonville State standout Walker Russell got the call up from the NBDL, going from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to the Detroit Pistons. Russell was a NBDL All-Star a season ago. There are also four former OVC players playing in the NBA Development League including former Jacksonville State's 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 split a pair of games last week, losing at Southeast Missouri on Thursday night (65-60) before rebounding to top UT Martin 92-73 on Saturday...The loss on Thursday snapped the team's five-game winning streak but overall the team has now won six of seven games and has climbed to a tie for third place in the OVC standings...Senior Josh Terry averaged 17.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists/game last week while hitting 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe...On defense he held Southeast sharpshooter Marland Smith to just 11 points (1-of-5 from 3-point range); Terry had four steals against Southeast Missouri, giving him 13 takeaways over a three-game span...The 92 points scored in Saturday's win over UTM was the second most scored by APSU this season and the most in regulation (the team scored 93 in an overtime game with Detroit)...Also in that game the team hit 54.5 percent from the field, the fourth time in OVC play this season the team has hit 50 percent or better from the field...Senior John Fraley, who leads the OVC in rebounding in OVC games (9.8/game), had 13 against UT Martin to push his career total to 690, pushing him past Trenton Hassell and into 10th place in school history; Fraley is the active OVC career leader in rebounding...Austin Peay ranks second in the OVC in rebounding (34.1/game) and blocks (3.9/game) and is third in turnover margin (+1.3)...This week Austin Peay will play at Tennessee State on Monday night and then host Tennessee Tech on Thursday...The Governors are tied for third place in the standings with TSU while TTU is just one game behind APSU.
Eastern Illinois: Eastern Illinois had a tough road trip, traveling to Jacksonville State and playing at No. 9 Murray State on its way back home...The Panthers dropped both games, losing 63-45 at Jax State and 73-58 to Murray State...EIU has now lost five games in a row (coming on the heels of a three-game winning streak) and has slipped to 10th in the OVC standings...For the week Alfonzo McKinnie led the Panthers in scoring, averaging 13.5 points/game to go along with 8.5 rebounds/contest; McKinnie shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the field in the two games...In the loss to the nationally-ranked Racers, freshman Joey Miller had 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, including nine points in the final 4:10 of the game...In the loss at JSU, the Panthers were out-rebounded by 14, as the Gamecocks pulled down 18 offensive rebounds...McKinnie had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the game, his second-straight double-double...Eastern Illinois continues to lead the OVC in free throw percentage (75.8%) and is third in assists (13.6/game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0)...Eastern Illinois continues its three-game home stand with games against Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and Morehead State on Saturday.
Eastern Kentucky: Eastern Kentucky lost a pair of OVC games last week, losing 82-56 at home to Tennessee Tech and falling 91-85 in double overtime at Tennessee State...The Colonels are now 5-5 in OVC games which puts them in seventh place in the standings...Saturday's double overtime game was the second in a 10-day span for the team, who topped UT Martin at home on Jan. 19 in two extra periods...Junior newcomer Mike DiNunno averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 rebounds/game while hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field and 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point range in earning OVC Newcomer of the Week honors...DiNunno had a career-high 33 points in the loss at TSU and tied the EKU single-game record by knocking down seven trifectas in the contest; he also dished out a season-best seven assists in that victory...Jaron Jones also hit the 30-point plateau against the Tigers, matching his career-high with 30 points; he became the first Colonel in three years to score 20 or more points in four-straight games...Jones ranks fifth in the OVC in scoring (17.0 points/game) and third in field goal percentage (57.0%)...Eastern Kentucky is now 4-1 in OVC home games and 1-4 in OVC road games...EKU ranks second in the OVC in 3-point field goal defense (29.7%), 3-pointers made (167), turnover margin (+2.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0)...Eastern Kentucky will play two road games this week, traveling to Eastern Illinois on Thursday and SIUE on Saturday.
Jacksonville State: Jacksonville State won both of its games last week, beating Eastern Illinois 63-45 and SIUE 76-65 to increase its winning streak to three games overall...It is the team's first three-game winning streak since Jan. 2009 and first three-game winning streak in the OVC since Jan. 2005 (JSU has never won four-straight OVC games)...Sophomore guard Brian Williams averaged 18.0 points and 2.5 assists/game last week as he scored 18 points in each win a week ago...Williams hit 4-of-8 3-pointers in the win over EIU...Against SIUE junior newcomer Ronnie Boggs had 11 points and set season-highs with nine rebounds, six steals and four assists...In the Eastern Illinois game freshman guard Darion Rackley had 11 points and four assists and was named OVC Freshman of the Week after averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists/game for the week...In the victory over SIUE the team placed five players in double figures, the first time since January 2011 that had happened...Jacksonville State ranks first in the OVC in field goal defense (41.6%) and is third in the league in rebounding (33.9/game), scoring defense (63.4 points/game), 3-point field goal defense (30.6%), blocks (3.7/game) and steals (7.7/game)...Jacksonville State steps out of Conference play on Monday night when the team hosts USC Upstate at Pete Mathews Coliseum...A win over USC Upstate would give Jax State a winning record (5-4) in the month of January, the first time that has happened for the team since 2002 (the team has not had a winning record post New Year's Day since going 7-2 in February of 2006)...The team will travel to UT Martin for a Thursday night game and then host Tennessee Tech on Saturday night to end a stretch of five games in 10 days.
Morehead State: Morehead State won both of its games last week, increasing its winning streak to three games as the team has won four of its last five overall...The week began with a trip to Norfolk State as the Eagles defeated the leader in the MEAC (and top 75 RPI team) by a score of 75-69; it was only the second home loss of the season for Norfolk State and the win improved MSU's RPI by nearly 50 spots...The week concluded with a 56-50 win over Tennessee Tech in a game seen on ESPNU; the victory pushed the Eagles to 7-3 at home this season and 59-10 (85.5%) at Johnson Arena over the past five years (including 38-4 in the OVC over that same stretch)...In the TTU game, the Eagles trailed 50-46 with 2:58 to play but scored the final 10 points of the game to pull out the victory...Senior Ty Proffitt hit a 3-pointer with 1:44 to play to put his team on top for good; Proffitt finished the game with 20 points and for the week averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 rebounds/game while hitting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field, 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line...For his efforts Proffitt was named OVC Player of the Week; he ranks ninth in the OVC in 3-point percentage (40%) and 10th in 3-pointers made/game (1.8)...The Eagles rank first in the OVC in rebounding defense (29.2/game) and second in scoring defense (63.2 points/game), free throw percentage (73.8%) and steals (8.7/game)...Morehead State will begin a stretch of five of its next six games on the road when it plays at SIUE and Eastern Illinois this week.
Murray State: Murray State played just once last week, topping Eastern Illinois 73-58 on Saturday night to improve to 21-0; the Racers are the only unbeaten team in Division I basketball...The team's 21-game winning streak is tied for the longest in OVC history (tied with a pair of 21-game streaks by WKU)...For the second week in a row Murray State is ranked ninth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and the team moved up one spot to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, marking the team's highest-ever appearance in that poll...The team is also No. 1 for the fifth-straight week in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25...At 9-0 in road games on the season, MSU is the only team nationally who is undefeated on the road and the nine road wins is the second most nationally (behind only Wagner's 10 wins)...In the win over EIU, Isaiah Canaan and Donte Poole each had 18 points and returning from a hand injury (that caused him to miss six games) senior Ivan Aska scored eight points and pulled down three rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench...Ed Daniel pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds...As a team Murray State ranks fifth in 3-point percentage (41.9%), 13th in 3-point percentage defense (28.7%), 15th in steals (9.0/game) and 15th in scoring margin (+14.5)...Murray State will host Southeast Missouri on Thursday night (ESPNU); the Racers have won 17-straight home games, the 10th-longest streak nationally...The week concludes with the team traveling to UT Martin on Saturday (ESPN3).
Southeast Missouri: Southeast Missouri played just one game last week, topping Austin Peay 65-60 at home on Thursday night, in what was a battle for second place in the OVC standings...The team has now won seven of its last nine games overall...The team remained perfect in OVC home games this season (5-0) and are 9-2 overall at the Show Me Center this season...With six OVC wins this year, the team has already matched its Conference win total from all of last season (6-12)...The team is 11-9 overall and looking for its first overall winning season since 2004-05 (15-14 overall)...In the win over APSU, Leon Powell had 12 points and 18 rebounds to net his fifth double-double of the season (one off the OVC individual lead)...The 18 rebounds were the second-most by an OVC player this year, trailing only the 19 Powell pulled down against Central Arkansas on Dec. 5...Overall the Redhawks held a +24 rebounding margin (50-26) in the game, its largest margin of the season, and also won the offensive rebounding battle (21-9)...Tyler Stone added 11 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the year...Southeast Missouri ranks 10th nationally and first in the OVC in field goal percentage (49.3%)...The Redhawks also rank first in the OVC in assists (15.6/game) and assist-to-turnover margin (1.1)...Southeast Missouri starts the week with a road game at Eastern Illinois on Monday night...On Thursday the Redhawks will travel to No. 9 Murray State for a showdown on ESPNU; the Redhawks are two games back in the loss column to the Racers...The week concludes with a home game with Tennessee State, which will be its fourth game in 10 days.
SIUE: SIUE dropped its lone game of last week, losing 76-65 at Jacksonville State on Saturday night...The loss was the fifth in a row for the Cougars who are now 3-6 in OVC play on the year...In the loss to JSU, the Cougars committed 19 turnovers which led to 26 points for the Gamecocks...SIUE trailed by four points at the break and cut the margin to two points early in the second half before JSU took over...Jerome Jones led the team with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting while Corey Wickware added 14 points...Junior Mark Yelovich scored 10 points to move into 10th place on the SIUE all-time scoring list...Derian Shaffer added 10 points and 11 rebounds to net his second-straight double-double...SIUE ranks second in the OVC in 3-point percentage (38.3%)...Individually freshman Kris Davis has knocked down 36-of-62 3-pointers this season (58.1%), which would rank second nationally if he had enough made 3-pointers to qualify...SIUE will play at Tennessee Tech on Monday night and then return home to play games against Morehead State on Thursday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday...The Cougars knocked off Tennessee Tech 83-68 in Edwardsville back on Dec. 29.
Tennessee State: Tennessee State won a pair of games last week, winning 72-59 at UT Martin and defeating Eastern Kentucky at home 91-85 in double overtime on Saturday...The Tigers have now won three games in a row and five of its last six...TSU is tied for third place in the OVC standings with Austin Peay (the team it hosts on Monday night)...The double overtime game with EKU was the second of the season for the Tigers (who lost in double overtime to Mississippi Valley State in November)...With the home victory on Saturday Tennessee State improved to 8-1 at the Gentry Center this season and are 19-3 at home over the past two years; TSU has won seven-straight OVC games at home...Robert Covington averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists/game last week; he had 22 points and eight rebounds in the victory over Eastern Kentucky...Kellen Thornton averaged 14.0 points/game last week while hitting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the field and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the free throw line...The team is currently 5-3 in the month of January (with one game left), guaranteeing the team its first winning record in the month since the 2007-08 season (the team was 4-4 in January last year)...TSU leads the OVC in rebounding margin (+3.7)...Tennessee State plays its third game in five days on Monday night when the Tigers host Austin Peay; it will be the second meeting between the two teams in two weeks (APSU won 69-63 in Clarksville on Jan. 16)...The week also includes a road game at Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
Tennessee Tech: Tennessee Tech won at Eastern Kentucky (82-65) and lost at Morehead State (56-50) last week...The Golden Eagles are now 5-4 in OVC play which puts them tied for fifth in the standings...In the road win over EKU, senior Kevin Murphy scored a career-high 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting (4-of-7 from 3-point range) and by connecting on all eight of his free throw attempts; Murphy also added six rebounds and three assists in the game...With Tech holding on to a six-point lead in the second half, Murphy scored the next six points by himself in stretching the lead into double figures...In the loss to Morehead State, Murphy added 18 points and 10 rebounds and in the process moved into third place on TTU's all-time scoring list (1,777 points)...Murphy is now averaging 20.0 points/game which ranks 13th nationally...Jud Dillard, who is just three points away from becoming the 34th member of the Tech 1,000-Point Club, is averaging 18.0 points/game and the duo currently ranks third nationally among teammate duos nationally...Dillard currently leads the OVC in rebounding (8.5/game)...Tennessee Tech ranks second in the OVC in scoring (72.5), scoring margin (+2.1) and rebounding margin (+2.5)...After completing a road trip on Saturday, Tennessee Tech returns home for a game with SIUE on Monday night...The home stand will be brief, however, as the Golden Eagles are back on the road on Thursday (at Austin Peay) and Saturday (at Jacksonville State).
UT Martin: UT Martin dropped a pair of games last week, losing 72-59 at home to Tennessee State and 92-73 at Austin Peay...The Skyhawks went winless in the month of January and have lost 11-straight overall and 15 of its last 16 overall...UTM is currently 0-10 in the OVC and searching for its first Conference victory...Despite the final margins, the Skyhawks were close in both games last week, being tied with TSU early in the second half and trailing by just three points with six minutes to go at Austin Peay...Mike Liabo scored 18 points and had six rebounds in the team's game with APSU on Saturday; he has 98 career made 3-pointers...Junior newcomer Corderio Maclin had 10 points in just 13 minutes of action off the bench against TSU and for the week hit 7-of-10 (70%) shot attempts...Freshman Myles Taylor had 11 points and five rebounds against Tennessee State...At APSU Omari Minor tied a season-high with eight points tied his career-high with seven assists...UT Martin will host a pair of home games this week as Jacksonville State comes to town on Thursday and No. 9 Murray State on Saturday night.