PHOENIX, Ariz. – The 2024 State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition has reached the second round and Missouri S&T's Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville) will be part of that quarterfinal round after winning the vote last week for a chance to take part in the slam dunk contest at the Final Four next month in Phoenix, Ariz.

Okeke received 58 percent of the votes cast last week on Twitter to move on to the second round that begins Monday.  The four-week competition features 16 under-the-radar players from all levels of college basketball in a four-round tournament to determine who will advance to take part in the King's Hawaiian College Slam Dunk Contest that will take place April 4 at Grand Canyon University.   

The voting will take place on-line on the event's Twitter (@CollegeSlam) and Instagram (@College_Slam) channels in a bracket-style competition.  The schedule for remaining voting round will go as follows:
 
•Quarterfinals: March 11 at Noon CT through March 15 at Noon CT (8 Players)
•Semifinals: March 18 at Noon CT through March 22 at Noon CT (4 Players)
•Finals: March 25 at Noon CT through March 29 at Noon CT (2 Players)

The following are the eight Dark Horse Dunkers still in the field to showcase their talents in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships:
 
Christian Adams, LeTourneau
Akol Arop, Florida Southern
Andre Ball, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Ryan Davis, Ripon College
Jermaine Hall, Jr., California (PA)
Ikenna Okeke (Bolingbrook, IL/Romeoville), Missouri S&T
Jake O'Neil, College of Idaho
JJ Ramey, University of the Cumberlands
 
Three players who won the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition have gone on to win the Slam Dunk Championship, including Marcus Lewis (Eastern Kentucky) in 2014, James Justice (Martin Methodist College) in 2012 and Jacob Tucker (Illinois College) in 2011.
 
For more information about the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@CollegeSLAM) and Instagram (@College_Slam). Official rules for the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker competition can be found HERE.

Okeke finished the 2023-24 averaging 15.6 points per game and was named last week to the Great Lakes Valley Conference's all-conference second team. S&T completed its season with a final record of 15-12.
 
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