Sebree Closes With All-OVC Tournament Honors

Photo by THOMAS CORHERN | TTU Athletics

Jaylen Sebree saved his best for last.

The former Christian County star — with stops at Florida Atlantic and Morehead State — ended his collegiate basketball career last weekend inside the Evansville’s Ford Center, when Tennessee Tech fell to Southeast Missouri State in overtime, 89-83, for the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference crown.

An All-Tournament selection by coaches and media, the Hopkinsville native followed up his 28-point, 14-rebound effort in the semifinal win against UT Martin with another 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks against the Redhawks.

Down 72-65 in regulation with less than 90 seconds to go, the Golden Eagles would have the final possession, down two, with fewer than 3 seconds on the clock. They needed 94 feet for a tie or a win.

Sebree’s inbound pass to Diante Wood served as an assist, with Wood’s foot just inside the arc on a shot that brought on free basketball.

Tech hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1963, and came awfully close last Saturday. Finishing 16-17 and 11-7 in league play, it’s the most victories for TTU since the 2017-18 season, where they finished 19-14 overall and fifth in the league at 10-8 in conference action.

It’s also the best finish so far in the John Pelphrey tenure, as the former University of Kentucky Wildcat continues the rebuild in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Sebree was a huge part of this year’s success.

As a freshman for FAU in 2018-19, he played in 14 games and started six — averaging 9.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.9 apg while shooting 49% from two and 35.7% from three. His sophomore season, he played in 32 games and started six again — but played a more limited role, averaging 3.6 ppg and 2.1 rpg in 11.4 minutes.

Sebree transferred, and for the next two years was a key cog in a terrific two-year stretch with Preston Spradlin and the Morehead State University Eagles. He’d appear in 59 games with one start, shooting 43.6% from the field while averaging 3.5 ppg and 2.4 rpg. Morehead, meanwhile, would go 46-19 and 30-8 in OVC play during the same stretch, and Sebree played several of his 2021-22 minutes alongside former University Heights Academy and Wofford star Tray Hollowell.

As a graduate transfer for Pelphrey, Sebree was emphatically showcased on the offensive side of the court. At 6-7 and 200 pounds, he carved out the best year of his collegiate career on the way to First Team All-OVC: 15.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 48% shooting from the floor, 40.3% shooting from the arc and 72.4% from the line. And all while averaging just 1.8 turnovers per game.

He played 30.3 minutes per game, while producing a 4.4 overall win share. And of his top 20 scoring games in college, 16 of them came in a Tennessee Tech uniform. The other four: FAU.

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