Week One Award Winners

First Week Honors

(St. Louis, MO) – Newcomers are splashed all over the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences’ week one award winners. One old standby earned first week honors, but these transitioning leagues demonstrated that fact during the season’s opening week.

While Valley teams opened the season winning 14 of twenty-one games, OVC squads, playing more difficult schedules won eight of twenty-six. MVC teams won both matchups between our two ‘Valley Leagues’.

Players of the Week

Preseason favorite Drake played just one game and during the Bulldogs’ win over Lipscomb Tucker DeVries exploded for 36 points, including 17-straight points during a critical second half span. DeVries also grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists. DeVries’ scoring total was the highest for a Valley opener in nine years. Drake is College Insider’s preseason top ranked mid major team and DeVries is the Valley’s week one ‘Player of the Week’.

Preseason favorite Morehead State opened the season with a murderous schedule. The Eagles lost to two ‘top 25’ teams and drilled Shawnee State. NAIA transfer Riley Minix averaged 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds during Morehead’s three games. The 6’7 grad-student is the OVC’s ‘Co-Player of the Week’.

Little Rock split its two opening week games. The Trojans defeated Texas State and lost to the Valley’s Illinois Chicago. The OVC’s other ‘Player of the Week’ is LR’s DeAntoni Gordon by posting nearly identical numbers to Minix. Gordon averaged 19 points and seven rebounds.

Week One Newcomers

We applaud the Valley for separating the weekly freshman and ‘newcomer’ awards. This week’s MVC ‘Newcomer of the Week’ is familiar to OVC fans. Eastern Illinois transfer Nick Ellington earned the first weekly award. Ellington is the first Murray State player to record season opening back-to-back double-doubles in twenty-three years.

Minix is the OVC’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’.

Week One Rookies

Morehead State rookie Eddie Ricks III lived up to the preseason hype. The 6’7 wing averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds during his first three collegiate games. He led the team with 18 points in the Eagles’ only win. Ricks is the OVC’s ‘Freshman of the Week’.

MVC ‘Freshman of the Week’ is Evansville rookie Chuck Bailey III. While the Purple Aces were sweeping their first two games, the 6’5 wing averaged 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists. Bailey came to UE after being rated as Michigan’s sixth best high school player.

OVC and MVC women’s week one award winners have been released.

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