Know Your Foe: Morehead State Eagles

The West Virginia Mountaineers meet the Ohio Valley Conference Champions Morehead State Eagles in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night at approximately 9:50 EST and broadcasting on TruTV.

Morehead State makes its eighth tournament appearance after finishing the season 23-7 overall and second, and the OVC standings with a 17-3 conference record (The 17 conference wins set a program record). The Eagles enter the tournament, having won 19 of the last 20 games, the best 20 game period in program history, and did it on the defensive end of the floor, holding opponents to just 61.2 points per game and 38.5% shooting from the floor.

“I think it’s not pack-line [defense], but it certainly has a pack-line likeness,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “When you catch the ball, you have to understand you have ten eyes on you. They're gonna guard the guy with the ball and really gap everything - try not to give up any penetration - try to make them shoot the ball over top of them. We’ve gotta do a good job of moving them - hopefully, we can get them spread with the number of people we're gonna put on the floor, who can conceivably make shots.”

Freshman forward Johni Broome led the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg), earning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and OVC Tournament MVP. Broome is averaging 19.5 points and 12 rebounds in the last four games, including a career-high 27-point performance in the OVC Championship.

“He reminds me of Chris Bosh,” said Huggins. “He's got that kinda push shot that he gets away very quickly - he shares the ball in the post, which is important. So, he doesn’t get gang guarded as much cause he is such a good passer.”

Junior guards DeVon Cooper (6’4”, 201-lbs) and Skyelar Potter (6’3”, 198-lbs) combine for 23.9 points per game, 3.5 assists, and 10.8 rebounds on the year. Cooper comes into the tournament averaging 16.2 points and three assists in the last five games and, along with Potter, was named to the OVC All-Tournament team. Potter combined for 14 points in the first OVC tournament games but came back with 22 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Ta’Lon Cooper provides a spark off the bench, leading the team in three-point percentage at 39.8%, including hitting 4-9 in the OVC tournament. Additionally, Cooper has averaged 11.0 points in the last five games.

“They got a lot of guys who can make shots,” said Huggins. “They really do a good job of spreading the ball, and obviously the post guy is very, very good which it's hard to get help there whenever you surround him with the guys that they surround him with because they're all very capable of making shots, they're all very capable of having big nights.”

Morehead State is 6-8 all-time in the NCAA tournament, with their last appearance coming in 2011, where they upset the four-seeded Louisville Cardinals 62-61. The Eagles have won their last three tournament openers.

West Virginia is 3-0 all-time versus Morehead State, with the last meeting coming in the early portion of the 2011-12 season.

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