GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE VIDEO, LIVE AUDIO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State Men's Basketball hopes to turn the ship around and sail into better waters Saturday as the Eagles look to halt a four-game losing streak. MSU will be in Macomb, Ill., to face Western Illinois in a Saturday matinee at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Morehead State has won five straight games over Western Illinois and owns a 6-3 all-time lead in the series. The first meeting came down to defense as the Eagles erased a nine-point deficit to rally and win 51-47 at MSU on Jan. 16. WIU has not defeated the Eagle program since 1986. In the last five meetings since 2006, MSU has held the Leathernecks to an average of just 51.8 points per game.
Western Illinois had lost 10 straight before blasting Southern Indiana 87-62 Thursday.
The game can also be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network (WIVY-96.3 FM flagship station as well as WGOH in Grayson, Ky.) with Chuck Mraz and
Matt Schabert. It is also available on MSUEagles.com. The game is set to air on ESPN+.
2024-25 RECORDS
MSU: 14-12, 9-6 OVC | WIU: 9-17, 3-12 OVC
THE SERIES
Record vs. WIU: 6-3
First Meeting: 11/30/81 MSU won 81-73 at MSU
Last Meeting: 1/16/25 MSU won 51-47 at MSU
Streak: MSU, 5 games
Record vs. WIU in Macomb, Ill.: 2-2
Record vs. WIU in Morehead: 4-1
Neutral Record: 0-0
NOTABLE
• In the past five seasons, Morehead State has a 79-20 record in January and February.
• Morehead State has a 108-52 overall record since 2020-21, or 67 percent success rate. No other OVC MBB programs (among the six others who were in the OVC since then) have a winning percentage of even at least .500.
• Morehead State's four-game losing streak is its first of that variety since the 2019-20 season. MSU has not lost five in a row since the 2017-18 season.
•
Khouri Carvey had a breakout game Thursday at Lindenwood, scoring a career-high 20 points with a career-high 14 rebounds - all in just 27 minutes off the bench. His previous career high points had been just eight.
• Kenny White, Jr. is just eight points shy of scoring 1,000 for his collegiate career, which includes four current or former OVC schools - Tennessee Tech (2 years), Murray State (1 year when they were in first year in Missouri Valley) and UT Martin (1 year).
• Three straight opponents have managed to shoot 50 percent or better against MSU.
• MSU ranks first in the conference in rebound margin (+4.1) against league competition.
•
George Marshall has made 24 of his last 25 free throws. He made 22 consecutive free throws since the Dec. 31st game at Southern Indiana before missing his third attempt against SEMO Feb. 6.
• MSU has a -9.8 scoring margin in its 13 games away from Morehead. In comparison, the Eagles' scoring margin in the 12 home games is +6.6.
• MSU's offense has been limited to 66 points or less in six straight games. However, in the last four games, the Eagles have managed to hit nearly 80 percent at the free throw line.
• Among the 15 head coaches in program history,
Jonathan Mattox earned the distinction of being the quickest to lead his team to 14 wins in a coach's first season at the helm of the Eagles.
