By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
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GAME NOTES
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Despite being in the same conference for football, Morehead State will meet Butler for the first time ever in men's basketball on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis, Ind. The game is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The game will be shown live on Fox Sports 1, so tip-off time will actually be closer to 8:45 p.m. due to a game finishing right before and studio time. The game can also be heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead and on MSUEagles.com.
The Eagles (4-6) enter the contest winners of two straight and will be striving for their first road win of 2017-18. The Bulldogs (8-3) are coming off an 82-67 setback to in-state rival Purdue this week.
GAME NOTES
VERSUS THE BIG EAST
Morehead State is 4-7 all-time against teams from the current BIG EAST lineup. That includes a 1-0 mark against Creighton (1946-47), 0-1 against Seton Hall (1970-71)and 3-6 versus Xavier. The Eagles opened this season at Xavier.
WE HAVE THE WINDEX
Morehead State once again leads the entire Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding as the Eagles average 39.9 boards per game. In the last four games, the Eagles averaged 46.7 rebounds per outing with two 50+ efforts.
CROWNED KING
Sophomore forward
Londell King is the Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week after back-to-back 17-point, 7-rebound efforts against KCU and Central Arkansas. It's the first weekly league award for the program this season.
LOTS 'O CHARITYThe Eagles canned 30 free throws in their overtime win over Central Arkansas. That tied for the most free throws made in a game in the last four seasons.
REBOUND U.
The Morehead State men have either led the Ohio Valley Conference or ranked second in rebounding margin now in 11 consecutive seasons, and that trend is holding true again this season after the Eagles out-boarded Alice Lloyd 62-18 and KCU 50-27. They are currently second in the conference and 32nd nationally at plus-7.2
SECOND CHANCES
Morehead State is also leading the OVC in offensive rebounds and ranks 18th in the nation in offensive boards at 13.6 per outing. The Eagles have recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in all but one game (and that was a nine-rebound day at Central Arkansas).
OVERCOMING MISTAKES
The Eagles defeated Central Arkansas 98-94 in overtime Sunday, despite making 28 turnovers. It was the first win against a Division I program while making at least 20 mistakes since beating TSU with 20 TO's on Feb. 16, 2016. It marked just the third win in the last five seasons when committing at least 20 turnovers.
RETURN TO SENDER!
Morehead State is averaging 4.3 blocked shots per outing, and that ranks second among all OVC schools so far in 2017-18. The Eagles have notched six or more blocks four times.
GREEN WITH ENVY
Freshman forward
Malek Green is playing well beyond his years, averaging 8.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 55 percent from the field. Green recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds Sunday against Central Arkansas.
AIR JORDANSophomore guard
Jordan Walker ranks first on the team with 12.7 points per game and leads all active players with 16 career double-figure scoring efforts. His 23-point effort against Central Arkansas was a season best, and he scored 12 of them in overtime.
FREE THROW STREAKJordan Walker enters the Butler game with 17 consecutive made free throws. He was a perfect 11-of-11 from the stripe against Central Arkansas, including 5-of-5 in overtime. He began the season hitting 15 straight FTs in the first three games and shoots 86 percent overall to rank seventh in the OVC.
DE'VON DEADLY FROM DEEP
Freshman De'von Cooper has hit five three-pointers in the last two games and scored a career-best 13 in a starting role against Central Arkansas Sunday. In the last four contests, he averaged nine points per outing.
