Getting to know Morehead State
No. 3 West Virginia will open the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest region against No. 14 Morehead State. But what do we know about the opposition?
Head coach Preston Spradlin is in his fourth full season with the program and finished with his first winning record and conference tournament title at 23-7 overall. He was tabbed as the Ohio Valley Conference’s Coach of the Year due to his efforts this past season.
The Eagles started the season 1-4 but lost only 3 games over the final 25 of the season. That includes going 19-1 since the calendar flipped into 2021 with an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title after finishing second in the league in the regular season.
In the NET rankings, Morehead State comes in at No. 121 and were 1-5 in quadrant one or two games. A total of 14 of their 23 wins came against quadrant four clubs.
Morehead State has played three power five programs on the season and lost each to Kentucky (81-45), Ohio State (77-44) and Clemson (66-51). Each of those contests were played on the road. They share one common opponent with West Virginia during the season in Richmond. The Eagles lost that neutral site game 82-64, while the Mountaineers beat the Spiders in Morgantown 87-71.
Three players average double figures with freshman Johni Broome leading the way with 13.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. Junior Devon Cooper chimes in at 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and another junior guard in Skyelar Potter was at 11.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
"I’m sure they’re capable, but I don’t really know anything about them right now. I will, but I don’t know anything about them right now," head coach Bob Huggins said.
Morehead State is 214th in adjusted offensive efficiency, which is points scored per 100 possessions according to KenPom and is at 96th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Both of those are adjusted for the opponents they played during the season.
They also play at a slow pace coming in at No. 312 nationally in adjusted tempo which are possessions per 40-minutes. That is with the 217th best schedule nationally according to the same metrics.
The Eagles average 68.8 points per game and have six players that play over 20-minutes per contest.
It’s the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Eagles since 2011 where they upset No. 4 Louisville before falling to No. 12 Richmond in the Round of 32.
The game is set for Friday with a time yet to be determined.
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