Morehead State (12-6, 5-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference), Eastern Kentucky (8-7, 5-1 OVC) and Eastern’s women’s basketball team (8-8, 4-1) make up the top three teams in the OVC standings coming into this weekend.

The Panthers begin a road trip in which they will take on EKU 4:30 p.m. today in Richmond, Ky. Eastern travels to Morehead, Ky. to take on OVC foe Morehead State Saturday.

“These next two games are really big for us right now,” senior guard Dominique Sims said.

With wins this weekend, Eastern could solidify itself as a top contender in the OVC, as it would be defeating two of the league’s top teams.

The Panthers were projected fourth in the OVC preseason poll, while Morehead State was picked first. Eastern Kentucky remains the league surprise to this point, as it was projected eighth out of 10 schools.

After having a three-game home stand in which Eastern went 3-0, Eastern has to overcome its road woes, going mere 2-5 record away from Lantz Arena.

According to freshman guard Ta’Kenya Nixon, the road struggles are because of a lack in team chemistry early in the season. Now, however, Nixon said the team is no longer lacking.

“Now, we have a lot of chemistry, so being on the road shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “We are just going to buckle down and try to get these big wins on the road.”

Eastern will have to deal with the road this weekend, but no matter the result, it will have another shot at both teams back-to-back at season’s end.

The Panthers will take on Morehead State at home Feb. 11. Two days later, EKU will visit Charleston.

Eastern atop OVC stat leaderboard

In 13 out of 19 OVC conference-only statistical categories, the Panthers are either first or second, leading in nine categories.

The Panthers have the No. 1 scoring offense in the OVC, as they average 71.2 points per game, while Austin Peay averages 66.2 ppg for second place in the category.

Along with the league’s best offense, Eastern also has the top scoring margin in conference play as it is beating OVC opponents by an average of 15.8 ppg.

As the best shooting team in the conference, Eastern is shooting 43.8 percent from the field.

With missing about 56 percent of its shots, Eastern proved it can get second-chance points, as the conference’s top rebounding team.

Eastern dishes out two more assists than Morehead State per game, making it the top passing team.

Adding to this, the Panthers are also the league’s top team in assist-to-turnover ratio, with Nixon leading the league in passing efficiency.

Around the OVC

Saturday was a busy day around the OVC, as it saw all 10 schools having conference action.

Eastern defeated Southeast Missouri 67-39 to win its fourth OVC game and third consecutive.

While the Panthers were hot on a win streak, Saturday also featured the league’s top two teams being handed their first OVC losses.

Morehead State lost by 10 to Jacksonville State (4-11, 1-4 OVC), as JSU got its first conference victory.

Also, EKU was dealt its first loss against Tennessee Tech in a 75-47 blowout.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944

or admcnamee@eiu.edu