Murray State University Athletics
Racers Enter Mid-Major Poll At No. 22; Receive A Vote In The AP National Poll
12/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After just four games in the 2003-04 season, the Murray State men's basketball team and first-year head coach Mick Cronin are already making a splash in the national rankings.
Fueled by its 4-0 start, the Racers are ranked No. 22 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, which was released on Monday.
In addition to the recognition as one of the nation's top mid-major teams, MSU also received one vote in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings, placing them tied for 49th in the nation.
"It's great that our team is receiving some recognition this early in the season," said Cronin, who was introduced as MSU's 13th head coach on April 5, 2003. "It's still very early in the year, and we have a lot of goals that we want to accomplish in March. But, we are off to a good start, and it's nice that a few people have taken notice to what we've done so far."
MSU, which also received votes in the season-opening Mid-Major poll but did not make the Top 25, received 130 points this week from the panel of coaches from around the nation. Gonzaga (3-1) sits atop the Mid-Major poll at No. 1 with 768 points, while the Racers are the only Ohio Valley Conference team in the Mid-Major Top 25 this week.
"I think our win over Southern Miss gained some attention, especially because of the margin of victory," Cronin said in reference to the Racers' dominating 94-54 victory over the Conference USA school last Saturday. "But, we can't think about that because we've got a pair of tough road games ahead of us this week. It's way too early in the season to be talking about how good or how bad we are. We've got to take care of business on the floor."
The Racers, which return to action tomorrow (Wednesday) night against their second-straight CUSA opponent at TCU, gained one vote in the latest AP poll placing them in a tie with Arkansas, California, Manhattan, Nevada and Niagara for 49th. The last time MSU was ranked among the nation's top 25 was in the final AP poll of the 1997-98 season when the Racers were ranked 25th and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed.
MSU and TCU, which battled No. 1-ranked Kansas last night, tip off at 7:05 p.m. in Ft. Worth, Texas. After returning from the road battle with the Horned Frogs, the Racers take on regional rival Western Kentucky on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ky.
