By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
MOREHEAD, Ky. —
Morehead State’s men’s basketball team will face one final non-conference test before the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference schedule commences in January. The Eagles will travel to face the Clemson Tigers Monday in a game that was moved up one day. Tip-off at Littlejohn Coliseum is set for Noon ET.
The game is on the ACC Network, and fans can also watch on the ESPN app or through devices. MSUEagles.com has the live audio from WIVY-96.3 FM
This game will mark just the second all-time meeting with Clemson, with the only other contest played back in 1991 – a 114-69 Tiger win in Clemson. Clemson was ranked No. 24 last week before a setback at Virginia Tech to open ACC play set its record at 5-1. The Eagles enter at 4-5.
GAME NOTES
• KJ Hunt, Jr., registered a career-high 17 points in the win over Eastern Kentucky last Monday. In the two games with EKU, Hunt scored 30 points and shot 10-of-14 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Junior guard DeVon Cooper has scored in double figures in a team-high seven games. After missing last season with injuries, Cooper now has 28 career double-figure games.
• Freshman forward Johni Broome is the reigning OVC Freshman of the Week, his second weekly league award. He is the first Eagle since Jordan Walker in 2016-17 to win multiple OVC Freshman of the Week awards.
• MSU leads the conference in total blocked shots with 43. It’s the third consecutive season MSU has been in the top three in the league in rejections and averaging more than 4.0 per game.
• Johni Broome ranks third in the conference in rebounding with 7.7 per game. He is the league’s best freshman rebounder in terms of average. Broome already has three double-digit rebound games in his first nine college outings.
• KJ Hunt, Jr., has at least one assist in all nine games and has 23 helpers in the last five games. He has averaged 5.3 assists per game in the three conference games so far.
• Head coach Preston Spradlin recorded his 50th victory while head coach for the Eagles in the 75-62 win over Eastern Kentucky Dec. 14.
• The Eagles rank third in the OVC in rebounding margin at +5.8 and have out-rebounded six of their nine opponents. In the last 15 seasons, Morehead State’s program has led the OVC in rebounding margin nine times.
• Senior forward James Baker ranks fourth in Morehead State history in blocked shots. He has 111 career rejections, needing just five more to move into the top three past George Williams (1973-74).