Grading the OVC – Part Three

(St. Louis, MO) – Our final installment of grading the Ohio Valley Conference basketball teams is here. We have evaluated the entire Missouri Valley Conference and the first eight teams (alphabetically) of the OVC.

We’re grading each team by comparing the final outcomes of their season with preseason expectations. This was a season of dramatic power shifts. Fans of ‘the O’ witnessed the rise of competitive teams at Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.

Southeast Missouri Redhawks – D +

Why the Redhawks were picked to finish fourth in the West Division, I will never know, but they were and they finished sixth. In Rick Ray’s first season as the head coach in Cape Girardeau, SEMO dropped from 13 wins to just 5.

The Redhawks lost their first ten games and their final eight and finished the season at 5 – 24.

The lone bright spot was the play of Antonius Cleveland. The 6-6 junior led the team in scoring (15.2), rebounding (6.8), blocked shots and was second in assists.

Hold overs Isiah Jones and Trey Kellum joined newcomer Joel Angus III as double figure scorers, but the Redhawks struggled to score and finished second last in the OVC in scoring (67.0) and were last in 3-point shooting.

Injuries were a part of the problem. Ray expected big things from sophomore Marcus Wallace, who led the team in scoring twice in the opening seven games, and only played in one more game after that. Ladarius Coleman averaged six points and five rebounds per game, but only appeared in six games. Only Angus and Jones played in all 16 conference games.

Off season defections will open the door for Ray to reload the roster.

Tennessee State Tigers – A +

Dana Ford was the OVC’s Coach of the Year for good reason. TSU who won a total of ten games over the past TWO years, collected 20 victories this season, including 11 in OVC play. After being picked to finish last in the East Division, the Tigers tied for second.

TSU did it with defense and fresh blood. After sitting out the year before, Keron DeShields and Tahjere McCall were both all-conference players and earned their way on to the OVC’s all-defense team. Ford’s team finished second in the league in scoring defense and in steals. They led in shooting percentage defense. McCall was the individual league leader in steals.

JUCO transfer Wayne Martin led the team and was third in the league in rebounding (9.1).

TSU won nine of their first 11 games and went 11 and 3 at home with a 7 and 1 league mark at Gentry Complex. That start was shocking for a team that won only five games the year before and had eight newcomers in the lineup.

Like a lot of OVC teams, the Tigers lean heavily on transfers to build quickly.

Unfortunately the Tigers’ season ended with a double overtime loss in the College Insider.com Tournament.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles – A
Steve Payne’s fifth season Cookeville may have been his best. TTU was picked to finish fifth in the East Division and finished tied for second. The Eagles (19-11, 11-5) reached postseason basketball for the first time since 2012, while winning seven more games than the previous season. They lost in the opening round of the ‘Vegas 16’ to Old Dominion.

Eblen Center was particularly friendly to the Golden Eagles. On their home floor TTU dominated the opposition with a record of 14-1 (7-1 in the OVC). Four of their five league losses were on the road (at UT Martin, Morehead State, Tennessee State and Belmont).

Seniors Torrance Rowe and Ryan Martin led the way, earning all-conference recognition (Rowe first team and Martin second). Rowe was second in the league and scoring (18.2),fourth in assists (4.4) and third in 3-pointers.  The former Nebraska player was the heart and soul of the team, and actually led all OVC scorers in conference action.

Martin’s path to TTU wasn’t simple, but his senior year was profound. The London native played previously for South Plains (Texas) College and sat out last season. Scoring 14 points per game and providing a rebounding force (8.2), gave Payne’s team the balance they needed, particularly in league play where his numbers were actually better (14.8 & 8.5).

Payne’s attacking offensive strategy paid off as TTU finished third in scoring, first in free-throw percentage and second in free-throws attempted. Rowe and sophomore Aleksa Jugovic both shot better than 86% from the line. Jugovic and junior Hakeem Rogers both connected on more than 40% of their 3-point opportunities as the Golden Eagles finished third in three point shooting while making the second most OVC shots from long distance.

UT Martin Skyhawks – B – 

UT Martin fans were just getting used to the Skyhawks becoming part of the upper echelon of ‘the O’ under the leadership of Heath Schroyer, when he abruptly left for an assistant coaching position at North Carolina State this offseason. But that is not the subject is article.

The Skyhawks were picked to finish second in the West and finished tied for first. Back-to-back 20 (20-15) win seasons with ten conference wins each year, and postseason action placed Schroyer’s team in that upper echelon.

UTM was two and seven when Schroyer’s group of transfers started to blend together in mid December to create just the fourth winning season in the program’s last 24 years.

Schroyer’s core of Twymond Howard, Alex Anderson and Myles Taylor combined with six newcomers to create another successful season. Howard earned all-conference honors for finishing ninth in scoring (15.6) and seventh (7.0) in rebounding.

Anderson, Taylor and transfer Jacolby Mobley joined Howard averaging double figures in scoring as Schroyer could mix and match virtually any lineup. Anderson tied for the most 3-pointers in the OVC, while transfer Kedar Edwards (7.1) led the team in rebounding and in steals.

Taylor, a fifth-year senior, finished his Skyhawk career with some amazing numbers. His 1,734 points, 765 rebounds, 100 steals, 96 assists and 84 blocked shots showed his incredible athletic ability. Taylor was successful on over 75% of his 705 career free-throw attempts.

UT Martin stood out, by not standing out at anything in particular. The Skyhawks simply willed their way to wins. Opponents had to work for their shots as UTM was second in ‘the O’ in field goal percentage defense and third best at stopping 3-point shots.

UTM participated in 20 games decided by nine or fewer points and won 12 of those games. The Skyhawks were 2-1 in overtime games. They went 7-4 in tight games in OVC play.

Schroyer assistant Anthony Stewart will take the reigns for the 2016-17 season, carrying an interim tag to his head coach title.

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