Morehead State tested itself early, with big losses against Alabama, Purdue and Penn State, all of which might have served it well in a 69-68 defeat to Indiana.
As big underdogs, the Eagles did not cover those first three spreads. However, taking 11 points against the Hoosiers made Morehead’s supporters go to the window, and they have failed to cover the number in only one other lined game this entire season.
Covering 13 of its past 14 lined games has turned Morehead into a household name.
Morehead State (17-5 SU, 14-4 ATS) travels to Tennessee Tech (7-15, 8-11) Saturday for an Ohio Valley Conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Morehead State vs. Tennessee Tech odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds for Morehead State vs. Tennessee Tech:
Morehead State betting news: Eagles led by terrific backcourt
The last time Morehead played Tech, on Jan. 4, it wiped out the Golden Eagles, 82-57, in Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky. The wipeout occurred in the second half, which Morehead won 49-25.
At the moment, Morehead is the third-best cover team in the nation, behind only Minnesota (17-3) and Richmond (16-4-1). Tech has failed to cover eight of its past 10 tilts.
These guard-heavy Eagles have been on our radar for a while, as coach Preston Spradlin—a John Calipari understudy—required four seasons to get a handle on the program. Since 2020-21, his charges have gone 85-36.
Riley Minix, Jordan Lathon and Kalil Thomas make Morehead go. Minix shoots a cartoon-like 66.2% inside the 3-point arc, while Lathon (37.5%) and Thomas (37.6%) take the most long-range shots and cash in on them.
Minix averages team bests with 18.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks, Lathon chips in with 16.2 and 6.6, and Thomas adds 11.4 and 4.2.
Overall, the Eagles rate 24th in the nation in 2-point shooting (55.7%) and 48th (46.4%) in defending the area inside the arc. They clamp down well (30.8%, 39th) beyond the 3-point line, too.
Their deliberateness wears foes down, they hound opposing ball-handlers relentlessly and grab rebounds under their own glass very well. Sometimes, the wrong people take 3-pointers, but they benefit by snatching long caroms.
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Tennessee Tech betting news: Golden Eagles have dropped eight of last 10
John Pelphrey, the native Kentuckian and former two-time UK Wildcats captain the floor general in that epic 1992 Elite Eight game against Duke, has had a rough go in Cookeville.
Righting the ship at South Alabama earned him the Arkansas gig, which ended after three consecutive sub-.500 records in the Southeastern Conference that resulted in no NCAA Tournament berths.
Assistant stints at Florida and Alabama launched him to accept Tech’s offer in 2019, but it’s been a dismal five-year run, 41-82 until this season, still underwater now.
What we especially like about Morehead, in this spot, is the fact that Tech lost its fourth consecutive game Thursday, 74-71 to Southern Indiana on this floor. That also represented the Golden Eagles’ eighth defeat in 10 tilts.
We like that Tennessee State didn’t even tally 50 against Morehead, and stats guru Ken Pomeroy has State at No. 259 on his big chart of the country’s 362 Division-I programs.
Tech checks in at No. 334.
This could be ugly.
Tech’s most dangerous player is 6-5 senior Jayvis Harvey, who played his first two seasons at James Madison. Over his past five games, Harvey has averaged 16.6 points.
His only help against Southern Indiana, however, was Canadian Josiah Davis, a 6-3 junior who scored 17 points.
Tech is nonexistent under its own glass, and it’s poor shooting 3-pointers and at defending both sides of that arc.
It has yielded 80 points to five of its past 10 foes, 70-plus to four, and it hasn’t hit 60 in seven of those games.
Finally, Morehead checks in with a robust 0.833 defensive efficiency over its past three games, ranking it 15th in the game. It’s in a groove, as evidenced by its ATS success. Meanwhile, over that span, Tech is a below-average 1.044.
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Morehead State vs. Tennessee Tech prediction ATS
The differences are glaring between these two squads.
Pick: Morehead State Eagles
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