Morehead State adds OVC tournament championship to already filled 2020-21 trophy case
MOREHEAD, Ky. (BVM) — It had been over a decade since the Morehead State Eagles men鈥檚 basketball team had last won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and punched their ticket to March Madness. As of March 6, the drought was 10 years and one day to be precise. However, that history, or lack thereof, did not stop the Eagles from showing up to the OVC Championship game against perennial champions Belmont that day. After beating the Bruins earlier this year in an overtime thriller on Feb. 27, the Eagles were prepared for a dogfight.
Morehead State got just that, but once again came out on top.
The Eagles (23-7; 17-3 OVC) beat top-seeded Belmont (26-4; 18-2 OVC) 86-71 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. With the victory, the Eagles earned a birth into the NCAA Tournament for just the eighth time in program history.
鈥淔or me personally I don鈥檛 think it really has set in yet,鈥� Senior forward James Baker said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting. It鈥檚 definitely a dream of everybody on the team. Everyday we see each other we鈥檙e like we really did it. I don鈥檛 know, it鈥檚 a crazy feeling.鈥�
The Eagles would never trail in the matchup and were led by freshman forward Johni Broome, as they had many times this season. Broome would lead the team in scoring with a game-high 27 points while also grabbing the second most rebounds for the Eagles with 12, giving the freshman his 13th double-double on the year. For his efforts, Broome would also earn Tournament MVP honors, becoming only the third freshman in OVC history to win the award and the first in 12 years.
Though the team was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the victory could be deemed a surprise by many pundits considering where the Eagles were picked to finish in the preseason. In a vote of OVC head men鈥檚 basketball coaches and communication directors, the Eagles were picked to finish , ahead of only four other teams. However, MSU was able to turn the narrative on its head as the team finished the regular season with the best improvement in the KenPom rankings from last season to this season, jumping 181 spots in the poll.聽
鈥淎 lot of people counted us out in the beginning of the year and it feels good to prove people wrong and end up on the winning side of the OVC championship,鈥� Baker said.聽
Of the 357 NCAA Division I Men鈥檚 Basketball teams in the country, the Eagles made the LARGEST turnaround from last season to this season according to ! 馃馃弨
More work to do. |
— Morehead State Men's Basketball (@MSUEaglesMBB)
There are a number of reasons for the marked improvement, but perhaps none more important than the work done by the Eagles鈥� coaching staff. In his fifth season at the helm, head coach Preston Spradlin helped the Eagles go from a 13-19 finish last season to its 23-7 record this year, marking only the eighth time in program history the team has won 20 or more games. The team鈥檚 17 OVC wins were also the most in program history and during the season, the Eagles tied a program record with a 12-game winning streak and also won seven straight games by double digits for the first time since 1929-30.
While the rankings weren鈥檛 necessarily used by the coaches as a motivational strategy throughout the year, Spradlin does think the underdog story fits well with his squad.
鈥淥ur guys like that underdog feeling,鈥� Spradlin said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just the story of our whole program from me all the way down to every single one of our players and coaches. We all have a really good underdog story and we like that. We like that chip on our shoulder and things like that. It gives our guys an edge. We have confidence in it. It brings us closer together and so any fuel to that fire is welcomed to our program.鈥�
By the end of the regular season, the Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the OVC in 10 different categories including scoring defense, defensive field goal percentage, blocks per game and rebounds per game. Defense is what Spradlin credits most to his team鈥檚 sustained success and ability to win games moving forward.
鈥淭he reasons we鈥檝e had success and the reason we’re optimistic about having success in the tournament is we defend,鈥� Spradlin said. 鈥淲e play great defense and our guys love it. Their confidence is derived from their ability to get stops and play great defense.鈥澛�
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The Eagles finished the regular season tops in 1锔忊儯0锔忊儯 statistical categories in the ! 馃馃弨馃摲:
— Morehead State Men's Basketball (@MSUEaglesMBB)
The MSU coaches were recognized for their efforts as well as Spradlin and the rest of his staff were honored by the Ohio Valley Conference with Spradlin named the conference鈥檚 coach of the year and the Morehead State staff named the conference鈥檚 coaching staff of the year.
Of course the work of the coaches couldn鈥檛 have been accomplished without help from the players on the court. The biggest contributor to the turnaround is unsurprisingly the stellar first year by Broome.聽
Broome, a 6-foot-10 forward from Plant City, Fla., finished the regular season first in the conference in blocks, second in rebounding, third in offensive rebounds, eighth in field goal percentage and 12th in scoring. In addition to his near top finishes in the conference, Broome also set a school freshman record for rebounds surpassing the previous mark of 241 set by former MSU and NBA player Kenneth Faried.
Love it congrats to him! Records are meant to be broken! 馃槫馃槫馃挭馃従馃挭馃従馃挭馃従馃挭馃従 keep soaring my young eagles 馃 KEEP SOARING!
— Kenneth Faried (@KennethFaried35)
For his efforts, Broome would be named the OVC freshman of the year, becoming the first Eagle since Ricky Minard in 2000-01 to do so while also earning first-team all-OVC honors. Junior guard DeVon Cooper would join Broome with all conference honors being named second-team All-Conference, while junior guard transfer Skyelar Potter was named to the All-Newcomer Team alongside Broome.
Though Broome is the headliner for the Eagles team, Spradlin thinks it’s the team鈥檚 ability to have a balanced attack that has allowed for them to play at the unexpected level offensively they have so far this season.
鈥淛ohni is obviously terrific, a huge piece in the middle as a freshman for us and his progression has been vital to our ability to make this run,鈥� Spradlin said. 鈥淏ut across the board we have great balance. We don鈥檛 have any one player who must get 20 points in order for us to win. We have multiple players who are capable of getting that. So if you combine our defense, our momentum and our balance, to me that鈥檚 a great recipe for March.鈥�
As the Eagles prepare for their first NCAA national tournament appearance in 10 years, the team will have time to enjoy their historic season. With a trophy case filled to the brim with the unit鈥檚 accomplishments from the season and a team stacked from top to bottom with talent, Morehead State could become a Cinderella this month. If the Eagles have learned how to do anything this season, it has been how to defy expectations.
鈥淲e like being the underdog,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚t kind of puts a chip on your shoulder. If we play different games that people aren鈥檛 expecting us to win, that gives us extra [motivation] to prove people wrong. Especially in the tournament coming as an underdog there鈥檚 really no pressure on us to do anything so we鈥檙e going out there, playing freely, sticking to our game plan and the rest will take care of itself.鈥�
WOKE UP. CHAMPS.
馃弳馃拲馃馃弨 |— Morehead State Men's Basketball (@MSUEaglesMBB)