Murray State University Athletics
Racers Head To TCU For Their First Road Challenge Of 2003-04
12/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Following an extremely successful homestand to open the 2003-04 season, the Murray State men's basketball team will face a whole new test tomorrow night at TCU in their first road game of the new season.
MSU (4-0), under the leadership of first-year head coach Mick Cronin, capped its four-game season-opening schedule at the Regional Special Events Center with an impressive 94-54 win over Southern Miss of Conference USA. Now, the Racers, ranked 22nd in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, get TCU, another CUSA member, but this time it will be away from home.
TCU (1-2) enters the game on a two-game losing skid after dropping a pair of home games to Tulsa (74-62) on Nov. 29 and to No. 1-ranked Kansas (85-66) last night. The Horned Frogs, under the direction of second-year head coach Neil Dougherty, opened the season with an 87-58 win over Texas-Arlington.
"The biggest challenge for us this week is going on the road for the first time," Cronin said. "The first road game is always tough, and this will certainly be a good test for us. For us to achieve our goals this season, we have to be able to win on the road, and that's why we've scheduled games like this."
In the Racers' first four games, they've used their full-court pressure and deep bench to force the tempo and control the game in the second half. That plan will be tested by TCU because they also prefer the up-tempo style of play.
"Coach Dougherty was an assistant under Roy Williams for several years at Kansas, and he brought that system with him to TCU," Cronin said. "They really like to push the ball up the floor, even after a made basket, so it'll really be a test for us to see if we can set up our full-court pressure before they can get the ball up the floor."
Cronin and the Racers hope to have success on the road, and they know that tomorrow's game at TCU will be a big first step in that process. The Horned Frogs battled the top-ranked Jayhawks evenly for nearly 30 minutes, and they should be ready for the Racers after their win over fellow CUSA member Southern Miss.
"One of the goals that our players set for this season was to win the Ohio Valley Conference title," Cronin said. "How we handle a hostile environment and those tough road fans will be important. But, I'm a big believer that the game is played between the lines, no matter where you're at.
"There's nothing better than winning on the road and seeing all of the other team's fans walking up the isles before the game is over. Hopefully, we will become a good road team because that's a big key to winning an OVC title."
The MSU Sports Network radio broadcast of the game at TCU, which begins at 6:30 p.m. with the pregam show followed by the tipoff at 7:05 p.m., can be heard live here on GoRacers.com by following this link.
