GAME NOTES (PDF) | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE VIDEO, LIVE AUDIO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's men's basketball team will look to take down the Ohio Valley Conference's top team currently, SIUE, when the Eagles travel to Illinois for the first of two games on the western swing of the conference. Tip off time Thursday at SIUE is 8:30 p.m. ET.
MSU owns a 4-3 all-time record at First Community Arena. The last four matchups in the series with the Cougars have been decided by seven points or less.
The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network (WIVY-96.3 FM) with Chuck Mraz. It is also available on MSUEagles.com as well as network partner
WGOH 100.9 FM/1370 AM. The game will also air live on ESPN+.
2022-23 RECORDS
MSU: 10-9/3-3 OVC | SIUE: 14-5/5-1 OVC
SERIES RECORD
Record vs. SIUE: 13-5
First Meeting: 1/19/10 MSU won 66-46 at MSU
Last Meeting: 2/26/22 SIUE won 77-70 at SIUE
Streak: SIUE, 1 game
Record in Edwardsville, Ill.: 4-3
Record in Morehead: 8-2
Neutral Record: 1-0
NOTABLE
•
Mark Freeman would rank first in the conference in scoring against other league foes (if he had enough games to qualify). Freeman has lit up the nets against OVC teams for 24.5 points per game, missing two games with injury.
•
Mark Freeman is hitting 54 percent (30-of-56) from the field in conference play and 93 percent (26-of-28) from the free throw line. The game vs. SIUE features the OVC's best two free throw shooters in accuracy in Freeman and SIUE's DeMarco Minor (96 percent).
•
Alex Gross tied his MSU career-high with 23 points at Tech. He is one of just 15 current players on Division I teams to score 2,000+ career points in college. He is the ONLY current player in Division I to record 2,000+ points AND 1,300+ career rebounds in college (Gross' first four seasons were in NAIA). His career college totals stand at 2,251 points and 1,366 career rebounds.
• Morehead State has three 1,000+ point college scorers on the same team this year.
Alex Gross (2,251) and
Branden Maughmer (1,849) already have well surpassed 1,000, while
Mark Freeman now has 1,052. Freeman recently became the 36th all-time Eagle to reach 1,000 collegiate points while in an Eagle uniform.
•
Alex Gross ranks first in the OVC in blocked shots with 28. He averages 1.5 per game and has had at least one blocked shot in all 19 games.
•
Drew Thelwell continued his streak of double-figure point games Saturday against SEMO with 16. Thelwell has scored 10+ now in seven straight games. Prior to this streak, he only had six total career double-figure games.
•
Jake Wolfe has scored in double figures in seven of the past nine games, averaging 11.4 points in that span.
• Morehead State leads the OVC in free throw percentage (.738), facing a Cougar team ranked right behind it in second at .734.
• The Eagles rank second in the league in field goal accuracy (.464) against OVC teams. In the past four games, Morehead State shot 49 percent as a team.
• Among the 8 Division I men's basketball programs in Kentucky, Morehead State continues to rank first in wins in the last three seasons - 56.
• The setback to SEMO represented just the second time in the past three seasons the Eagles fell after holding the lead with a minute left.
• MSU is 31-2 in the past three seasons when its opponent scores 60 or fewer points.
