GAME NOTES
Coming off of last season, it’s apparent that Morehead State men’s basketball thrives on pressure, so MSU coach Donnie Tyndall is picking right back up where he left off. Morehead State opens the 2009-10 men’s basketball season with a big test, against in-state rival Kentucky on John Calapari’s first regular season game as UK’s head coach in a nationally televised game. Tip-off for the season opener for both teams is set for 6:30 pm and the game will air live on ESPNU.
The Eagles return four of five starters off last year’s NCAA Tournament team. Led by OVC Preseason Player of the Year Kenneth Faried and senior Preseason All-OVC Maze Stallworth, the 2009-10 version of the Eagles will be Tyndall’s deepest team in his four-year tenure. Faried is the nation’s returning leading rebounder, having pulled down 13.0 boards per game to average a double-double with 13.0 points per game. Stallworth, who set Eagle records for 3-pointers last year, averaged 12.1 points per game, sinking a team-high 87 treys.
By contrast, the Wildcats are young. UK will start a freshman and sophomore layden team, but it’s a team loaded with quickness and talent and is ranked #4 in the preseason. But despite the youth, the Cats have a couple of upperclassmen, most notably Patrick Patterson, who averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last year and Perry Stevenson who averaged 7.8 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Morehead State has never beaten Kentucky in eight tries, but none of those attempts came under Tyndall’s watch. The last meeting between MSU and UK came during the 2004-05 season. Friday will mark Calapari’s first-ever game versus MSU and the first-ever meeting as head caoches between Tyndall and Calapari.
