COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - After a four-game homestand, the Tennessee Tech men's and women's basketball teams will hit the road with an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 4. The women's game will tip off at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game beginning around 7:45 p.m.
On the women's side, the Golden Eagles are coming off of an exciting 59-56 victory against Southeast Missouri. Tech (9-12, 4-7 OVC) saw its big first-half lead diminish throughout the second stanza, but with just four seconds remaining in the game, freshman Kylie Cook hit a 3-pointer that turned out to be the game winner and even TTU's record at 2-2 during the homestand.
In Tech's first match-up against Eastern Kentucky, the Golden Eagles handed the Lady Colonels their first OVC loss of the season after they started 5-0 in league play. Since the time, EKU (9-12, 5-6 OVC) has lost five consecutive OVC games. Despite their losing streak, the Lady Colonels enter the game tied for fourth place in the conference while Tech sits tied for seventh.
The Golden Eagles are happy to see the calendar change to February as they posted just a 3-7 mark in the month of January after tallying a 4-1 record in January.
The men's team is currently riding a four-game winning streak, and has won five of its last six games, all in OVC play. The Golden Eagles have improved to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in the OVC, and are just one game behind EKU (15-8, 7-4 OVC) in the OVC standings.
The Colonels stole a 78-73 win in the Eblen Center earlier this year, and have won four in a row against Tech. EKU owns a 67-52 advantage in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, and is 11-1 at home this season.
Tech is led by two of the best scorers in the OVC in sophomore Kevin Murphy and senior Frank Davis. Murphy is scoring 15.2 points per game, fifth best in the league, and has reached double figures in 15 consecutive games. Davis is averaging 14.8 points per game, and in the month of January became Tech's career 3-pointers made leader, and the sixth active OVC player and 31st player in Tech history to reach 1,000 career points.
Senior point guard Elijah Muhammad is getting the job done all over the floor, averaging 11.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Muhammad is shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 44.3 percent from 3-point range and an OVC best 86.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Eastern Kentucky relies heavily on the 3-point shot, as 48 percent of the Colonels shot attempts have come from long range. EKU is shooting 40.4 percent from downtown, 13th in the nation, and second in the OVC only to Tech (41.0 percent).
EKU gives up a large rebounding margin, as opponents are out-rebounding the Colonels 33.1 to 26.6 boards per game. EKU shoots 48.3 percent from the field and is led by three scorers averaging double figures. Justin Stommes is scoring 15.1 per game, Josh Taylor is averaging 13.7 per game and Papa Oppong is averaging 11.3 points per game.
Fans can follow both games any one of three ways. The games will be broadcast live on WHUB-AM 1400, as well as teamline by calling 1-800-846-4700 (team code 0654) or visiting www.teamline.cc. The game will also be web streamed live on OVCsports.tv. Fans can also follow the action on live stats, available at ekusports.com.
The Golden Eagles wrap up the weekend with a double-header at Morehead State on Saturday night, and the men's team will visit Austin Peay on Feb. 9 before both teams return home to face Murray State on Feb. 11.
For ticket information please contact the Golden Eagle athletics ticket office at (931) 372-3940 or visit TTUsports.com.
