Morehead State

First-Place OVC Battle Set for Saturday as Men’s Hoops Hosts Western Illinois

January 26, 2024
limestonesportsnetwork

By: By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations

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MOREHEAD, Ky. — Morehead State Men’s Basketball will look to hold on to first place in the OVC race Saturday when the team tied with it, Western Illinois, makes its first visit to Johnson Arena as a league member. Game time is 3:30 p.m. ET.

• Saturday will mark the seventh all-time meeting between WIU and MSU, the first since 2007. The series is tied 3-3.

The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network (WIVY-96.3 FM flagship station) with Chuck Mraz and Drew Barnette. It is also available on MSUEagles.com. ESPN+ carries the game live as well with Jared Stacy and Dean Hardin.

2023-24 RECORDS
MSU: 15-5, 6-1 OVC | WIU: 13-7, 6-1 OVC

THE SERIES IN DEPTH

Record vs. WIU: 3-3
First Meeting: 11/30/81 MSU won 81-73 at MSU
Last Meeting: 11/13/07 MSU won 61-49 at MSU
Streak: MSU, 2 games
Record vs. WIU in Macomb, Ill.: 1-2
Record vs. WIU in Morehead: 2-1
Neutral Record: 0-0

NOTABLE

• This week is NABC Suits and Sneakers Week. MSU’s staff will be donning suits and sneakers in support of cancer research.

• Kalil Thomas sits just four points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career, while Jordan Lathon is only eight points below the millennium mark.

• With one more victory, head coach Preston Spradlin will tie former coach Wayne Martin with 130 coaching wins and third place in wins among all the men’s basketball head coaches in program history.

• MSU is 29-4 in January games in the past four seasons.

• Morehead State is 50-12 in OVC games over the past four seasons. In that span, MSU boasts a 47-5 overall home record.

• MSU’s current 15-game home winning streak is tied for the 4th longest in Division I. The program record for consecutive home wins is 25 during the Donnie Tyndall coaching era.

• Riley Minix has only been held to less than double digit scoring in just one game this season, at Penn State. He has eight 20+ point efforts, and his 18.9 scoring average is currently at its highest of the season. Minix has scored 2,424 career college points.

• Riley Minix earned his fourth OVC Player and Newcomer of the Week honor this year, while Eddie Ricks III was named Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. MSU has won 13 individual weekly league honors this season.

• Drew Thelwell is just five wins away from becoming the winningest individual player in program history. The program standard for success is 88 by Terrence Hill from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

• Riley Minix is on the Lou Henson Award Watch list, an accolade honoring the nation’s top player from Mid-Major conferences. He is shooting 62 percent in conference games with a team-best 22.1 ppg in league action.

• Riley Minix has recorded 66 career double-doubles in his time at MSU (OVC-best 8) and Southeastern (Fla.) (58). An NAIA All-American, Minix was also the 2022-23 NAIA Academic All-American of the Year.

• Drew Thelwell ranks first in the OVC and in the top 10 nationally with 121 assists. He has 13 games with 5+ assists, including a school-record 19 against Alice Lloyd (Ky.) on Dec. 21. It’s the most by a D1 player in a game this season.

• Jordan Lathon scored in double figures in 13 straight games, including nine 20+ point games, before being held to nine at Southern Indiana. Lathon ranks seventh in the conference, scoring 16.1 ppg.

• Kalil Thomas has made at least one three-pointer in 18 of the Eagles’ 20 games and has hit 3+ in nine different games. 

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