Murray State University Athletics
Racers Close Regular-Season Looking To Make Final Touches For OVC Tourney
2/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
With the final week of the regular-season upon them, the Murray State Racers will look to use this week's games against Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois as their final preparation for next week's all-important Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
MSU (23-5, 12-2 OVC) hosts SEMO (11-14, 4-10 OVC) on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center followed by a matchup with EIU (6-19, 4-10 OVC) on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
The Racers enter the week having already claimed the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament and a first round home game on Tuesday at 7p.m. at the RSEC. For MSU's first-year head coach Mick Cronin, this final week of the regular-season is very important in his team's push for an OVC Tournament title.
"We have very few practices left because of playing so many games late in the season and the NCAA-mandated off-day, so we have to use each game as an opportunity to improve," Cronin said. "We're also trying to get better and get more efficient offensively when teams force us to play in the half-court. At some point in March, you're going to have a night when you're struggling to make shots, and you can't just pack it in and go home. You've got to find a way to win."
The next chance for improvement will come on Thursday night against a SEMO team that's playing for its post-season life. The Indians need to win their final two regular-season games to have any chance at earning one of the eight spots in next week's tournament, and Cronin knows what that means for his team.
"The game with Southeast Missouri is going to be interesting because we're playing a team that's in a must-win situation," Cronin said. "Whenever you face a team that is in a must-win situation, you have to be prepared for them to come out fighting. They're going to be playing like it's a first round conference tournament game, so it's going to be a real challenge for us to meet their intensity and emotional level."
In the Racers' first matchup with SEMO on Feb. 7 in Cape Girardeau, MSU escaped with a tough 80-74 win, and Cronin remembers what kind of challenge it was on that day in the Show Me Center.
"They're a team that led us for 35 minutes the first time we played," Cronin said. "It's going to be very challenging for us to beat them, but it's been very challenging for everybody. We're talking about a team that had a last-second shot rim-out to win their game at Austin Peay. They're very capable of beating us, so we're going to have to be ready to play."
MSU will close out its regular-season home schedule Saturday against EIU on "Senior Night" at the RSEC as the Racer basketball program will honor its senior student-athletes prior to tipoff against the Panthers.
The MSU Sports Network's live broadcast of the games against Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois can be heard by Clicking Here.
SERIES INFORMATION
-- Murray State vs. Southeast Missouri
This is the 51st meeting between Murray State and Southeast Missouri with the Racers leading the all-time series 35-15...MSU leads the series 18-6 in games played in Murray...The Racers won this season's previous meeting 80-74 on Feb. 7 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
-- Murray State vs. Eastern Illinois
This is the 29th meeting between the Racers and Panthers with MSU owning a 22-6 edge in the series...MSU has won the last six meetings against EIU, including this season's previous meeting 85-67 on Feb. 5 in Charleston, Ill...The Racers lead the series 11-1 in games played in Murray.
