GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE AUDIO, LIVE VIDEO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's Men's Basketball program is a seasoned veteran of the Ohio Valley Conference championship game, having appeared in the OVC Tournament title game in four of the past six seasons (2021, 2022, 2024, 2026) and winning twice. The current Eagles will get another shot at the trophy Saturday evening when No. 2 seed MSU meets No. 1 seed Tennessee State at 9 p.m. ET at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The game will air on ESPN2 with Robert Lee and Richie Schueler. Fans can listen to the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Chuck Mraz and Tom Lewis on WIVY-96.3 FM (flagship station), on WMST 106.9 FM, WPKE 98.1 in Pikeville, WPRT 104.5 in Prestonsburg or on MSUEagles.com.
Morehead State and TSU had a wild two-game slate this year. TSU won 105-100 in overtime in Nashville on Jan. 15 before MSU returned the favor with a 94-86 win in Morehead Feb. 14. MSU hit 48 percent from 3-point range against the Tigers this year.
2025-26 RECORDS
MSU: 20-12, 15-5 OVC | TSU: 22-9, 15-5 OVC
SERIES INFORMATION
Record vs. TSU: 50-40
First Meeting: 12/6/80 MSU won 88-80 at MSU
Last Meeting: 2/14/26 MSU won 94-86 at MSU
Streak: MSU, W1
Record vs. TSU in Nashville, Tenn.: 17-25
Record vs. TSU in Morehead: 32-11
Neutral Record: 1-4
LAST 5 GAMES
2/1/24 Nashville, Tenn. W 68-49
12/21/24 MOREHEAD, KY. W 74-68
2/27/25 Nashville, Tenn. L 64-55
1/15/26 Nashville, Tenn. L 105-100
2/14/26 MOREHEAD, KY. W 94-86
NOTABLE
• Morehead State's 15 league wins are the second most in program history, only behind the 17 won in 2020-21. The Eagle program has won at least a share of three of the past four OVC regular season titles.
• Morehead has reached 20 wins in five of the past six seasons. No other current league team can claim that accomplishment.
• Morehead State enters the OVC Championship game on an eight-game winning streak and has won 12 of the past 14. Eight of those 12 wins have come by a margin of two possessions (6 points) or less.
• Morehead State's eight-game winning streak is its longest sustained success streak since winning 10 straight in 2021-22.
• Since the 2020-21 season, Morehead State owns a 9-3 record in OVC Tournament games in the Ford Center.
• MSU is 11-3 this year in games decided by five points or less.
• The OVC co-Coach of the Year,
Jonathan Mattox, is the first coach in men's basketball program history to lead his team an OVC regular-season championship in his first two years leading the program. MSU's staff of
Jason Taylor,
Ky Klingsick, Bryan Sherrer,
Ben Sisson and John Tedesco completely rebuilt the roster, which only included two players returning who saw minutes last season.
•
Jonathan Mattox is a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award by CollegeInsider.com, honoring Division I's top minority head coach.
• MSU is appearing in the OVC Tournament field for the eighth straight season, the longest active streak among current OVC teams. The Eagles have appeared in the OVC Tournament title game in four of the past six seasons (2021, 2022, 2024, 2026).
•
George Marshall, Jr., earned First-Team All-OVC and
Jon Carroll earned Second-Team all-conference and All-Newcomer.
•
George Marshall, Jr., now has 1,224 career points. It marks the fifth straight season an Eagle reached 1,000 career college points during the season.
•
George Marshall, Jr., ranks second among all OVC players with 128 free throws made. This game will feature the OVC's top two free throw sinkers in the conference (TSU's Aaron Nkrumah - 135, Marshall - 128).
•
Jon Carroll is currently the OVC's top rebounder. With 252 total boards this year, he is two ahead of UTM's Andrija Bukumurovic, who was eliminated from the tourney Friday.
•
Jon Carroll hit 70 percent from the field in the past seven games (43-of-61).
•
Chase Dawson and
Davion Cunningham both eclipsed the 900-point threshold in their college careers in the regular season finale. Dawson now has 910, while Cunningham sits at 906.
• Morehead State has scored at least 70 points in 21 games. MSU ranks third in the conference in scoring offense at 75.8 per game.
•
Tamaury Releford has shot 77 percent in the past nine games, including 7-of-8 at Western Illinois when he scored a career high (against D1 opponents) 14 points.
• In conference games, MSU ranks third in the league in free throw percentage at .754.
• MSU has won 42 straight games when its opponent scores 60 or less, since falling to No. 23-ranked Murray State on Feb. 12, 2022.
• The Eagles boast a 15-3 record this season when they make more free throws than the opponent.
• When MSU shoots 50 percent or better, the program has won 57 of the last 58 games.
