2023–24 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team

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.

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
2024–25 →
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

Previous season edit

With a victory against Eastern Illinois on February 22, 2023, the Eagles clinched their first outright OVC regular season title since 1984.[1][2] They lost to Southeast Missouri State in the OVC tournament semifinals. 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 before being losing to UAB in the second round.

Roster edit

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, Tennessee
G 1 Jerone Morton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr George Rogers Clark Winchester, Kentucky
G 2 Jordan Lathon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Milwaukee Grandview, Missouri
G 3 Drew Thelwell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr The Master's Academy Orlando, Florida
G 4 Eddie Ricks III 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Clarksville Academy Clarksville, Tennessee
F 5 Zach Iyeyemi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) GS Cy-Fair Houston, Texas
G 10 Brady Dingess 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Marion County Inez, Kentucky
G 11 Trent Scott 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Alonso High School Tampa, Florida
G 12 George Marshall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Itawamba Jackson, Mississippi
F 14 Jaden Webb 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Itawamba Memphis, Tennessee
G 15 Kalil Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS UMass Lowell New Orleans, Louisiana
G 22 Riley Minix 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Southeastern Vero Beach, Florida
F 23 Dieonte Miles 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Xavier Walton, Kentucky
G 24 Jalen Windham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Ball State Indianapolis, Indiana
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 edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ "Champions! Men's Hoops Shoots 52 Percent From Deep, Secures Outright OVC Title With Win at EIU". Morehead State University Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Morehead State ends 39-year men's basketball drought. All it took was a total makeover". MSN. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Morehead State University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Morehead State Eagles Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2023.