By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Which bird of prey will prevail Thursday night? That remains to be seen as the Morehead State men's basketball Eagles host the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. ET.
The game will air live on ESPN+ as well as MSUEagles.com (WIVY-96.3 FM audio).
Tennessee Tech has struggled a bit in the early part of the season, coming in at 1-10 and 1-2 in the conference. They did pick up a win over Southeast Missouri last week. The Golden Eagles are led by Paintsvile, Ky., native and former Kentucky Wildcat star John Pelphrey. Morehead State, meanwhile, is coming off one of its most crucial games, defeating Murray State 61-56 on the road Saturday. The Eagles sit at 5-6 overall and 2-2 in the OVC.
LAST TIME AGAINST TENNESSEE TECH
Freshman forward
Tyzhaun Claude was a bright spot, scoring a career high 20 points, but Morehead State's men's basketball squad fell 71-59 at Tennessee Tech on Jan. 23, 2020. The host Golden Eagles hit nine triples, while MSU was only able to can three.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Record vs. Tennessee Tech: 87-67
First Meeting: Jan. 7, 1950 (MSU won 59-57 at TTU)
Streak: TTU, 1 game
Record in Cookeville: 25-47
Record in Morehead: 54-17
Last 5 Meetings
1/20/18 MOREHEAD, KY. W 74-55
1/24/19 MOREHEAD, KY. W 67-61
2/23/19 Cookeville, Tenn. W 66-63
1/4/20 MOREHEAD, KY. W 83-72
1/23/20 Cookeville, Tenn. L 71-59
GAME NOTES
• Morehead State has won 13 of the previous 14 games in the series played in Johnson Arena, including six straight. Overall, the Eagles are a blistering 57-14 all-time against Tech at home. Furthermore, MSU is 22-6 overall in all games versus the Golden Eagles since 2008.
• With a 61-56 win at Murray State Saturday, Morehead State halted its 13-game losing streak to the Racers in games at Murray. It also snapped Murray State's 25-game home winning streak, which was fifth in the nation at the time.
• Junior guard
Skyelar Potter won his first OVC Newcomer of the Week Award last week. He scored a career-high 22 points at No. 24 Clemson. Potter's honor is the fourth weekly award for the Eagles this season (
Johni Broome has three Freshman of the Weeks), the most since Kenneth Faried and Demonte Harper combined for nine in 2010-11.
•
DeVon Cooper's 19 points at Murray State was a career high. Cooper leads Morehead State with eight double-figure scoring games.
• The Eagles' top three scorers,
DeVon Cooper,
Skyelar Potter and
Johni Broome, all are tied at 10.8 points per game.
• Morehead State has turned up the defensive pressure in the past six games. During that span, opponents have only managed 60.5 points per game and shot just 38 percent. The Eagles also boast a +8.3 rebounding margin in that span since Dec. 9.
• Overall, MSU ranks second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing foes to score just 66.8 per outing.
• Morehead State continues to lead the OVC in blocked shots with 53 rejections. The Eagles have ranked in the league's top three in swats in four straight seasons.
• Senior forward James Baker ranks fourth in Morehead State history in blocked shots. He has 113 career rejections, needing just three more to move into the top three past George Williams (1973-74).
•
Johni Broome is the top freshman rebounder in the conference (7.2/game). In fact, he is the only freshman ranked in the top 20 in rebounds per game.
• Morehead State has a 16-2 record in the past two seasons when it holds a halftime lead.
