By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Looking to get on the right track before the Christmas break, Morehead State men’s basketball will make the relatively short trek to Athens, Ohio for a Saturday matinee. Tip-off against the Mid-American Conference Bobcats is at 1 p.m. ET.
The game will not be video streamed in any manner but can be heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM and MSUEagles.com.
The Eagles are 5-6 heading into the game, while OU sits at 7-4. It’s the first regular season meeting between these two programs in more than 30 seasons.
Morehead State will have one more non-conference tilt before OVC play begins on Jan. 2. MSU is back at home on Dec. 28 hosting Alice Lloyd (Ky.) at Noon.
GAME NOTES
• Morehead State trails 17-8 in the all-time series with Ohio but the meetings have been few and far between in the last several decades. The last meeting took place at the CBI Tournament in 2016 when MSU won at Ohio. Prior to that the last time the teams played was way back on Dec. 7, 1988 at Ohio.
• Morehead State ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (67.2) and field goal percentage defense (.406).
• Senior guard Jordan Walker is among an elite group of MSU players to achieve at least 1,200 career points, 200 assists and 100 steals. He recently joined Ricky Minard (2000-04), Angelo Warner (2011-15), Demonte Harper (2007-11) and Guy Minnifield (1981-84).
• JordanWalker needs just five more three pointers (to get to 175 career triples) to become just the second player in program history with 1,200 points, 200 assists, 100 steals and 175 three-pointers made (Ricky Minard).
• Senior guard Djimon Henson broke out for career highs in points (23), steals (2) and free throws made (11) against Marshall.
• The Eagles will be looking to improve on their road record in the past two seasons, which sits at 5-16.
• Freshman forward Tyzhaun Claudeleads all Ohio Valley Conference freshmen in rebounding. The 6-foot-9 Claude averages 6.5 per game to rank 12th in overall rebounding in the conference.
• Junior guard Justin Thomas leads the OVC in steals with 30, averaging 2.7 takeaways per outing.
• The Eagles drained a season-high 20 free throws in their last outing against Marshall. The team got to the charity stripe a season-best 33 times.
• Morehead State has hit at least one three-pointer in 416 consecutive games. The last time the Eagles failed to drain one from distance was in 2007 against Jacksonville State.