MOREHEAD, Ky. — The Morehead State men’s basketball team opens a three-game road trip on Wednesday at Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky. Tip-off from McBrayer Arena is set for 9 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised nationally by ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.com.
The Eagles, who have won five of their last six contests, are 12-14 overall and 6-7 on the road. The Colonels, who have won three straight, are 14-9 overall and 7-3 at home. MSU and Belmont are tied atop the OVC’s East Division with 7-4 league records. EKU is just 1/2 game back at 6-4.
Eastern Kentucky owns a 107-76 advantage in the all-time series against Morehead State. The road team has won each of the last four head-to-head games. EKU posted a 66-57 victory at Johnson Arena on Jan. 31, 2015. MSU registered an 86-79 win at McBrayer Arena on Feb. 8, 2014.
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Ways to follow the game:
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO (CPU) | LIVE AUDIO (mobile) | LIVE STATS | TWITTER
The game will televised by ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.com. Jason Benetti will call the TV play-by-play, while Jon Crispin serves as the analyst. The contest will also be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network. Chuck Mraz will call the radio play-by-play, while Jason Blanton serves as the analyst. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead, WCBJ-103.7 in Campton, MSUEagles.com (computers), m.Morehead.EZStream.com (mobile devices) and the Eagle Empire App.
Releases and pre-game information:
MOREHEAD STATE | EASTERN KENTUCKY | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
Ten notes heading into the contest:
FINALLY BREAKING THROUGH
Freshman Miguel Dicent drained a runner with 4.9 seconds to play to give Morehead State a 73-71 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Belmont on Saturday at Johnson Arena. The win was MSU’s first in six all-time meetings against the Bruins.
HOPING TO STAY AT THE TOP
Morehead State and Belmont enter Wednesday’s action tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference’s East Division with 7-4 league records. Eastern Kentucky is just 1/2 game back at 6-4. MSU is 1-0 this year against the Bruins and 0-1 versus the Colonels.
STARTING TO HIT OUR STRIDE
Morehead State, which is 12-14 overall, has won five of its last six games. The Eagles posted a 72-57 win over Tennessee State on Thursday and 73-71 victory over Belmont on Saturday. MSU has not won six of seven since Jan. 25-Feb. 19, 2014.
THE WEEKLY AWARD WINNER
Senior Karam Mashour, who averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in two victories last week, is the adidas Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Week for the period of Feb. 2-8. The native of Israel is also the College Sports Madness OVC Player of the Week and NetScouts Basketball International Player of the Week.
TURNING IT ON IN OVC PLAY
Karam Mashour tallied 21 points and a career-best 14 rebounds on Thursday against Tennessee State. He added 22 points and six boards on Saturday versus Belmont. The forward is leading Morehead State with 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in Ohio Valley Conference play. He has reached the 10-point plateau 12 times this year.
WHEN I PASS, YOU SHOULD SCORE
Senior Kareem Storey places third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 4.6 assists per game and sixth with 1.7 assists-per-turnover. The guard has tallied five assists in 24 of 55 games at Morehead State. He is averaging 7.7 points this season on 82 percent (36-of-44) from the foul line.
THE ONLY FOURTH-YEAR PLAYER
Senior Angelo Warner, the only fourth-year player at Morehead State, has recorded 1,441 points (11.8 pg) and 3,387 minutes (27.8 pg) in 122 career tilts. The guard has reached 10 points on 78 occasions. He needs just 29 more points to climb into MSU’s top-10 for career scoring.
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. The Eagles lead the OVC in rebounding margin (+4.5) this year, while ranking third in boards per game (35.5).
MORE ON THE GLASS CLEANING
Morehead State is +69 in total rebounds, +47 in offensive boards and +27 in second-chance points over its last 12 tilts. The Eagles have only been outrebounded once during the stretch and six times in 26 affairs this season. MSU has four individuals averaging at least 4.0 boards this year, but only had three at this point last season.
THE DEFENSE HAS IMPROVED
Through 26 games, Morehead State’s opponents are averaging just 65.8 points on 43.4 percent from the field. At this point last year, MSU’s foes were averaging 72.6 points on 44.3 percent from the floor. The Eagles have also allowed 27 fewer threes.
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