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MOREHEAD, Ky.--The Morehead State men’s basketball team will be competing in postseason play for the second straight season. Wednesday night the Eagles will host Mountain West Conference opponent Colorado State in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational in Ellis T. Johnson Arena at 9:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on HDNet television.
The Eagles (23-10) are looking to get their second post-season victory in as many years. Last season the Eagles beat Alabama State 58-43 in the NCAA Tournament Opening-Round game. MSU has won 18 of their last 22 games and have back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time in school history.
The Rams (16-15) are coming off a one-point loss to San Diego State 72-71 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament. Colorado State is playing in the postseason for the first time since 2003, when they won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and then eventually lost to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 67-57. The Rams are 3-11 away from home this season and have lost six of their last seven games. This will mark the first ever meeting between the two schools.
MSU coming off a 62-51 Ohio Valley Tournament Championship game loss to Murray State.
Kenneth Faried, who was named OVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Eagles in points (16.6 ppg) and rebounds (13.0 rpg). Faried is second in the nation in rebounds per game and double-doubles with 23. Senior
Maze Stallworth has also been key to the Eagles success this year leading the team in shooting outside of the arc. Stallworth is 58th in the nation in treys made per game at 2.6 and is shooting 39.2 percent from downtown which ranks him 37th in the nation. Stallworth is also second on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg).
Demonte Harper (12.1 ppg) and
Steve Peterson (8.0 ppg) both contribute to the Eagles scoring as well. The Eagles are fourth in the nation in rebounding margin grabbing eight more caroms per game than their opponents. MSU is also 13th in all of the NCAA in steals per game with 8.9.
Colorado State is led by Dorian Green and Andy Ogide who both average 11.7 points per game. Ogide also leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 6.5 boards per game. Travis Franklin (10.7 ppg) and (5.1 rpg) also is a key contributor for the Rams. Colorado State’s defense gives up an average of 66.5 points per game and the Rams hold opponents to 42.8 percent shooting from the field.
Should the Eagles advance, they would face the winner of Oregon State and Boston University. The quarterfinals are on March 22, game times and locations are TBA.
