2023–24 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team

2023–24 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball
Ohio Valley regular-season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record26–9 (14–4 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Scott Combs
  • Dominic Lombardi
  • Cason Burk
Home arenaEllis Johnson Arena
Seasons
2023–24 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Little Rock 14 – 4   .778 21 – 13   .618
UT Martin 14 – 4   .778 21 – 11   .656
Morehead State † 14 – 4   .778 26 – 9   .743
Western Illinois 13 – 5   .722 21 – 12   .636
Tennessee State 10 – 8   .556 18 – 15   .545
SIU Edwardsville 9 – 9   .500 17 – 16   .515
Eastern Illinois 8 – 10   .444 14 – 18   .438
Southern Indiana* 5 – 13   .278 8 – 24   .250
Tennessee Tech 5 – 13   .278 10 – 21   .323
Southeast Missouri State 4 – 14   .222 9 – 22   .290
Lindenwood* 3 – 15   .167 9 – 22   .290
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2024 OVC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by seventh-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

Previous season

In the 2022–23 season, with a victory against Eastern Illinois, the Eagles clinched their first outright OVC regular-season title since 1984.[1] They lost to Southeast Missouri State in the OVC tournament semifinals.[2] As a regular-season conference champion who did not win their conference tournament, the Eagles received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament, the school's first trip to the NIT. There they upset No. 1 seed Clemson in the first round[3] before being losing to UAB in the second round.[4]

Roster

2023–24 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Mark Freeman 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Illinois State Memphis, TN
G 1 Jerone Morton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr George Rogers Clark Winchester, KY
G 2 Jordan Lathon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Milwaukee Grandview, MO
G 3 Drew Thelwell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr The Master's Academy Orlando, FL
G 4 Eddie III Ricks 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Clarksville Academy Clarksville, TN
F 5 Zach Iyeyemi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) GS Cy-Fair Houston, TX
G 10 Brady Dingess 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Marion County Inez, KY
G 11 Trent Scott 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Alonso High School Tampa, FL
G 12 George Marshall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Itawamba Jackson, MS
F 14 Jaden Webb 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Itawamba Memphis, TN
G 15 Kalil Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS UMass Lowell New Orleans, LA
G 22 Riley Minix 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Southeastern Vero Beach, FL
F 23 Dieonte Miles 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Xavier Walton, KY
G 24 Jalen Windham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Ball State Indianapolis, IN
G 33 Matt Hain 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr IMG Academy Perth, Australia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 7, 2023

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ 		at No. 24 Alabama L 73–105  0–1
 Coleman Coliseum (9,078)
Tuscaloosa, AL
November 8, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Shawnee State W 96–40  1–1
 Ellis Johnson Arena (1,667)
Morehead, KY
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m., BTN+ 		at No. 3 Purdue L 57–87  1–2
 Mackey Arena (14,876)
West Lafayette, IN
November 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Mercer W 74–66  2–2
 Ellis Johnson Arena (1,455)
Morehead, KY
November 17, 2023*
7:00 p.m., Peacock 		at Penn State L 51–74  2–3
 Bryce Jordan Center (7,558)
University Park, PA
November 20, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bellarmine W 64–51  3–3
 Freedom Hall (2,018)
Louisville, KY
November 22, 2023*
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Midway W 94–53  4–3
 Ellis Johnson Arena (825)
Morehead, KY
November 29, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Austin Peay W 61–50  5–3
 F&M Bank Arena (1,003)
Clarksville, TN
December 3, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Chattanooga W 87–80  6–3
 Ellis Johnson Arena (1,808)
Morehead, KY
December 10, 2023*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at North Alabama W 86–77  7–3
 Flowers Hall (1,269)
Florence, AL
December 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Saint Mary-of-the-Woods W 102–33  8–3
 Ellis Johnson Arena (1,175)
Morehead, KY
December 19, 2023*
6:30 p.m., BTN 		at Indiana L 68–69  8–4
 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)
Bloomington, IN
December 21, 2023*
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Alice Lloyd W 101–39  9–4
 Ellis Johnson Arena (1,077)
Morehead, KY
Ohio Valley regular season
December 31, 2023
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southeast Missouri State W 83–64  10–4
(1–0) 		Show Me Center (1,849)
Cape Girardeau, MO
January 4, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tennessee Tech W 82–57  11–4
(2–0) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (1,655)
Morehead, KY
January 6, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tennessee State W 78–68  12–4
(3–0) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (1,581)
Morehead, KY
January 11, 2024
8:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Illinois W 78–52  13–4
(4–0) 		Groniger Arena (1,108)
Charleston, IL
January 13, 2024
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville L 48–61  13–5
(4–1) 		First Community Arena (1,629)
Edwardsville, IL
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Martin W 84–66  14–5
(5–1) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (1,552)
Morehead, KY
January 20, 2024
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southern Indiana W 81–70  15–5
(6–1) 		Screaming Eagles Arena (2,512)
Evansville, IN
January 27, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Illinois W 64–50  16–5
(7–1) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (2,988)
Morehead, KY
February 1, 2024
8:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tennessee State W 68–49  17–5
(8–1) 		Gentry Complex (1,178)
Nashville, TN
February 3, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tennessee Tech W 67–60  18–5
(9–1) 		Eblen Center (1,099)
Cookeville, TN
February 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		SIU Edwardsville W 79–68  19–5
(10–1) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (3,245)
Morehead, KY
February 10, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Illinois W 69–57  20–5
(11–1) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (2,578)
Morehead, KY
February 15, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Little Rock L 68–69  20–6
(11–2) 		Jack Stephens Center (2,102)
Little Rock, AR
February 17, 2024
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Martin L 82–88  20–7
(11–3) 		Skyhawk Arena (1,485)
Martin, TN
February 20, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southern Indiana L 73–80  20–8
(11–4) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (1,455)
Morehead, KY
February 22, 2024
8:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Western Illinois W 78–57  21–8
(12–4) 		Western Hall (1,006)
Macomb, IL
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southeast Missouri State W 72–50  22–8
(13–4) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (3,105)
Morehead, KY
March 2, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Lindenwood W 67–49  23–8
(14–4) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (2,777)
Morehead, KY
Ohio Valley tournament
March 7, 2024
10:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(3) vs. (6) SIU Edwardsville
Quarterfinals 		W 78–63  24–8
 Ford Center (1,140)
Evansville, IN
March 8, 2024
10:00 p.m., ESPNU 		(3) vs. (2) UT Martin
Semifinals 		W 84–78  25–8
 Ford Center (1,277)
Evansville, IN
March 9, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(3) vs. (1) Little Rock
Championship 		W 69–55  26–8
 Ford Center (1,421)
Evansville, IN
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2024
2:10 p.m., truTV 		(14 E) vs. (3 E) No. 10 Illinois
First round 		L 69–85  26–9
 CHI Health Center (17,239)
Omaha, NE
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Champions! Men's Hoops Shoots 52 Percent From Deep, Secures Outright OVC Title With Win at EIU". Morehead State University Athletics. February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's Hoops Comes Up Short in OVC Semifinals to SEMO". Morehead State University Athletics. March 3, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "Men's Hoops Rallies to Make History and Wins First-Ever NIT Game; Eagles Beat Top Seeded Clemson". Morehead State University Athletics. March 15, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Men's Hoops Falls Short in 77-59 loss to UAB in NIT; Eagles Close OVC Title Season with 22 Wins". Morehead State University Athletics. March 19, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Morehead State University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "Morehead State Eagles Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2023.