MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State men’s basketball team opens OVC play on Saturday afternoon at Murray State. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
The Eagles are 2-1 in OVC openers under head coach Sean Woods. They fell to Murray State last year after dowing SIU Edwardsville to open OVC play in Woods’ first two seasons at the helm.
The Eagles (6-6) have lost five of six after starting the season off at 5-1. Three of those losses came on the road at schools that rank in the RPI’s Top 85 – Pitt, Davidson, Indiana. On the season, they are 4-1 at home and 2-5 on the road.
Morehead State ranks 201 in the latest RPI, falling 71 spots after losing at home to Green Bay and at ETSU. They have the fifth best RPI in the OVC.
After failing to score in double digits in the first nine games, senior forward Anthony Elechi has scored in double digits in three straight games. He recorded 11 points at Davidson, a then career-high 14 points against Green Bay, and a new career-high 15 points at ETSU. He is shooting 64 percent from the floor on the season. He shot a combined 3-of-11 at Illinois State and at NKU, but is shooting 31-of-43, good for 72 percent, in the nine games since. He is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds despite playing just 16.0 minutes per game. His +/- of +93 is the highest on the team.
Murray State enters with a 6-7 record. Like the Eagles, the Racers started out hot with a 5-2 record, but are 1-5 in their last six games. Their only common opponent with Morehead State is Illinois State as the Racers fell 63-61 at ISU. They are led by senior forward Wayne Langston, who averages a team-high 14.2 points and 6.2 rebounds.
The contest will be the 156th meeting between Morehead State and Murray State. The Racers lead the series 108-47 overall. The Eagles are 14-59 at Murray State. Last season, Morehead State fell twice to Murray State. They lost at home, 66-57, and in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament, 80-77. The Racers have won the last six meetings. Morehead State’s last victory against Murray State came in 2010 as the Eagles won 75-65 at Johnson Arena. The Eagles last won at Murray State in 2003 and the Racers have won nine straight versus Morehead State at home.
The contest will air live on CBS Sports Network. It will also be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Chuck Mraz and Jason Blanton calling all of the action. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM and several affiliates throughout eastern Kentucky. A live audio stream can be found on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.
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