Troy Men’s Basketball Hosts Eastern Kentucky in Final Home Game of 2023

Thursday, December 21

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

Eastern Kentucky

Troy Men’s Basketball Hosts Eastern Kentucky in Final Home Game of 2023

12/20/2023 1:11:00 PM | Basketball (M)

ESPN+Listen Live Live Stats Troy Notes

TROY, Ala. — The Troy men's basketball team wraps up its traditional non-conference schedule on Thursday night at Trojan Arena as it faces off against Eastern Kentucky for the second time this season at 6 p.m.

The Trojans are coming off a tough road loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday. Troy couldn't find its offensive rhythm and lost 74-53, its most lopsided defeat of the season.

This is the second all-time meeting between EKU and Troy. The two teams met on Nov. 27 in Richmond, Ky., with the Trojans falling 77-76.

Game Information
The Matchup: Eastern Kentucky (4-6, 0-0 ASUN) at Troy (5-6, 0-0 SBC)
Location: Troy, Ala. — Trojans Arena (5,200)
When: Thursday, Dec. 21 — 6 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Game Promotion: Christmas in Trojan Arena

Quick Turnaround
The Trojans have to quickly turn the page from Tuesday's loss as they look to head into Sun Belt Conference play on the right note.

Tayton Conerway (13 points) and Aamer Muhammad (11 points) led the Troy offense in Oxford, Miss., on Tuesday night, but the offense as a whole struggled shooting the ball all night long, posting a 36.2 percent clip from the field.

The Trojans turned the ball over a season-high 25 times against the Rebels — something they will need to correct prior to Thursday's game. In its first meeting against EKU in November, Troy turned the ball over only 13 times.

Despite the up-and-down start to the season, Troy is happy to be back home. The team has posted a 5-1 record inside Trojan Arena this season, and Scott Cross is 39-20 at Trojan Arena in his tenure as head coach at Troy.

Another Look at the Colonels
EKU sneaked out the win in the first matchup between these two teams in November, as they knocked down key free throws late in the game to keep Troy from jumping ahead.

For Troy to succeed the second time around, it must slow down Isaiah Cozart. The big man recorded the first triple-double in EKU program history in the November matchup, as he finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.

Christyon Eugene — who had a season-low nine points against Ole Miss — looks to get back to his offensive ways on Thursday. He had a season-high 23 points in the loss to EKU.

The Colonels are coming off consecutive losses to Northern Kentucky and Louisiana.

Gearing up for Conference Play
Following Thursday's game, Troy will have an eight-day holiday break before returning to action against Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., to open SBC play on Dec. 30. The Trojans conference home opener is on Thursday, Jan. 4, against Old Dominion.

While the Trojans' traditional non-conference schedule comes to a close Thursday night, they will play one more non-conference game against a MAC opponent on Saturday, Feb. 10, in Trojan Arena as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The opponent will be announced by the conferences at a later date.

Non-Conference Notables
• Christyon Eugene is two points shy of 700 career D-I points.
• Christyon Eugene's streak of scoring in double-figures in every game this season was snapped on Tuesday at Ole Miss. The senior guard only scored nine points.
• Troy has outrebounded opponents in eight of 10 games this season. Its rebounding margin of +8.8 is the best in the Sun Belt and 29th in the country.
• After a slow start to the season from the free-throw line, Troy has begun to heat up. In its last three games, Troy is 34-42.
• Troy has 36 combined starts by players who had not started a D-I game prior to this season.