MOREHEAD, Ky. — The Morehead State men’s basketball squad begins Ohio Valley Conference road action on Thursday at Southeast Missouri. Tip-off from the Show Me Center is set for approximately 8:30 p.m. ET. The contest will follow the Eagles and Redhawks in women’s basketball at 6 p.m.
Morehead State is coming off a 66-57 setback to Murray State on Saturday. Southeast Missouri posted a 77-62 win over Tennessee State on the same day. The Eagles are 5-11 overall, 0-1 in conference play and 2-6 on the road. The Redhawks are 7-8 overall, 1-1 in league action and 5-1 at home.
Morehead State owns a 25-17 all-time advantage against Southeast Missouri in men’s basketball. The Eagles have won the last two meetings, including an 80-67 decision last year at Johnson Arena. Jarekious Bradley led SEMO with 28 points in 2014, while Brent Arrington paced MSU with 20.
Southeast Missouri will webcast the game live and free of charge on OVCDigitalNetwork.com. The contest will also be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network, with Chuck Mraz calling the play-by-play and Jason Blanton serving as the analyst. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead, WGOH-100.9 FM in Grayson, WCBJ-103.7 in Campton, WLGC-1520 AM in Ashland/Greenup, MSUEagles.com (computers), m.Morehead.EZStream.com (mobile devices) and the Eagle Empire App.
Ten notes heading into the contest:
A STREAK TO BE PROUD OF
Morehead State has finished Ohio Valley Conference play .500-or-better in each of the last seven seasons. MSU’s last sub-.500 OVC campaign came in 2006-07. The Eagles own an 18-15 record (.545) in league contests under Head Coach Sean Woods.
A REALLY GRUELING SLATE
Morehead State traveled 12,355 miles (9,835 via plane and 2,520 via bus) and played in eight states during the non-conference portion of its 2014-15 schedule. Eight of MSU’s first 15 contests were on the road, while two others were on a neutral floor.
TOP-LEVEL COMPETITION
Morehead State has dropped 11 of its 16 contests in 2014-15, but the opponents that have topped the Eagles entered Tuesday’s action with a 96-60 combined record (.615). Eight of MSU’s 14 Division I foes have overall winning records this season.
REBOUNDING IS WHAT WE DO
Morehead State has led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding margin six straight seasons (2008-14), paced the league in rebounds five of the last six years and had the conference’s top individual four of the past six seasons. MSU is currently second in the OVC in rebounding margin (+4.4) and third boards per game (36.3).
THE DEFENSE HAS IMPROVED
Through 16 games, Morehead State’s opponents are averaging just 65.7 points on 43.7 percent from the field. At this point last campaign, MSU’s foes were averaging 72.7 points on 44.4 percent from the floor. The Eagles also have 12 more blocked shots.
PLEASE BRING BACK THE OFFENSE
Through 16 contests, Morehead State is averaging just 68.2 points on 42.1 percent from the floor. At this point last year, MSU was averaging 79.2 points on 44.6 percent from the field. The Eagles had 84 more free throws and 143 more FT attempts last season.
THE ONLY FOURTH-YEAR PLAYER
Senior Angelo Warner, the only fourth-year player at Morehead State, has recorded 1,330 points (11.8 pg) and 3,117 minutes (27.6 pg) in 113 collegiate games. The guard has reached 10 points 71 times and 20 points on 15 occasions. He needs just one more point to move into 17th in school history.
WHEN I PASS, YOU SHOULD SCORE
Senior Kareem Storey ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 4.7 assists per game and sixth with 1.7 assists-per-turnover. The guard has reached the five-assist plateau in 21 of 45 games at Morehead State. He is averaging 6.4 points this season on 86 percent (25-of-29) from the foul line.
BILLY BEGINS TO STEP UP
Senior Billy Reader has pushed his scoring average from 6.1 to 7.3 and rebounding mark from 4.4 to 5.0 over the past three contests. The center tallied a season-best 20 points on Dec. 19 against Northern Kentucky and career-high 10 rebounds on Jan. 3 vs. Murray State.
A FRESHMAN WHO CAN PLAY
Marquel Willis is averaging 6.1 points on 40 percent (25-of-62) from the field and 81 percent (33-of-41) from the free-throw stripe. His scoring average is the best by a Morehead State true freshman since NBA star Kenneth Faried finished with 10.5 per outing in 2007-08.
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