Morehead State men's basketball will match up with one of its longest-running rivals Thursday evening at Johnson Arena as Marshall visits for a 7 p.m. ET contest.
The 2017-18 regular-season home opener for the Eagles will be Greek Night and a Whiteout. The first 500 fans will receive free OneTownOneTeam t-shirts.
The Eagles (0-2) will look for their inaugural win this season after coming close at Lipscomb Sunday in a 77-70 setback. Marshall enters at 2-0, including an overtime win over fellow OVC foe UT Martin.
GAME NOTES
THE MARSHALL SERIES
Morehead State and Marshall have played just about every season since 1939-40 with the 'Herd holding a slight 52-46 edge. Prior to last season's Marshall win in Huntington, the Eagles had claimed the previous three matchups. The Eagles have also claimed the last two games in the series played in Johnson Arena.
FUTURE EAGLE
Head coach Preston Spadlin's wife Misty gave birth to their second child, Aubrey, on Tuesday evening.
ROAD WARRIORS
Morehead State's schedule features just two home games in November. The Eagles host Marshall tonight and Alice Lloyd (Ky.) on Nov. 30. In between MSU is on the road at IUPUI, Virginia Tech and Central Arkansas. In December, it's four games away from Morehead.
FREE THROW STREAK
Sophomore guard Jordan Walker leads the Ohio Valley Conference, having made 14 straight free throws to open the 2017-18 season. The Indianapolis native was 9-for-9 at the stripe at Lipscomb.
SOLID FROM THE STRIPE
Besides Walker's perfection from the free throw line, Morehead State is shooting 77 percent as a team from the line. The Eagles average 18.5 makes per game and get to the stripe 24 times per game.
SUSTAINED PROGRAM SUCCESS
Since 2008-09, Morehead State has had five 20-win campaigns and made five postseason appearances (2 NCAA, 3 CBI). The Eagles advanced to the championship series of the CBI in 2015-16, taking Nevada to the final game of the three-game set before falling.
REBOUND U.
The Morehead State men have either led the Ohio Valley Conference or ranked second in rebounding margin 10 consecutive seasons. The Eagles won the board battle versus a much-taller on average Kentucky team 30-25 in the exhibition game and also grabbed 13 more (34-21) rebounds than Cincinnati Christian in that exhibition. In the first two games, however, they have been out-rebounded.
Year Margin OVC Rank
2016-17 +4.9 1st
2015-16 +5.0 1st
2014-15 +4.5 2nd
2013-14 +8.0 1st
2012-13 +5.9 1st
2011-12 +2.6 1st
2010-11 +9.1 1st
2009-10 +7.8 1st
2008-09 +8.2 1st
2007-08 +3.0 2nd
SHARPSHOOTER WALKER
Sophomore guard Jordan Walker led the OVC in three-point percentage as a true freshman last year. Walker nailed 49 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 38-of-77 triples. In fact, just more than half of his total field goal attempts (77 of 150) were taken from beyond three-point range. Walker nailed a trio of three-balls in the season opener at Xavier.
AIR JORDAN
Jordan Walker is leading Morehead State with 17.5 points per game so far. He has 11 career double-figure scoring games now.
NOT GREEN ANYMORE
Freshman forward Malek Green ranks second on the team with 9.5 points and leads the team with 5.5 rebounds per game after his first career start and a 12-point effort at Lipscomb. He scored seven points and secured four rebounds in his collegiate debut at Xavier. He was playing in his hometown.
HANGIN WITH MR. COOPER
Freshman guard De'Von Cooper came off the bench to net eight points in just 20 minutes of action at Lipscomb on Sunday.
HARRIS TABBED PRESEASON ALL-OVC
Junior forward Lamontray Harris has been selected to a preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team by College Sports Madness. Harris was tabbed to the third-team squad. Last season, Harris played in all 30 games, with one start. He averaged 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. Harris ranked 20th in the OVC in rebounding (156 total rebounds).
MSU'S PRO CONNECTIONS
Former Eagle guard Brent Arrington has been chosen to suit up for the NBA G-League's Greensboro Swarm, giving Morehead State 18 former players who played at some professional level since the 2010-11 season. The players are: Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets), Xavier Moon (France), Lyonell Gaines (Peru), Corban Collins (Germany), Dejuan Marrero (Switzerland), Anthony Elechi (England), Karam Mashour (Israel), Angelo Warner (Cyprus), Kareem Storey (Slovakia), Billy Reader (England), Miguel Dicent (Dominican Republic), Luka Pajkovic (Romania), Chad Posthumus (Japan), Devon Atkinson (Australia), Milton Chavis (Luxembourg), Demonte Harper (Russia), and Sam Goodman (ABA's Atlanta Aliens).
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Both the members of the media and the coaches/media relations directors have selected Morehead State for a ninth-place showing in the Ohio Valley Conference race in 2016-17.
