Murray State University Athletics
Racers Open Five-Game Road Swing With EIU, SEMO This Week
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After earning seven wins through the first eight games in Ohio Valley Conference play, the Murray State men's basketball team is alone in second place in the conference standings. Now, the Racers open the second half of the conference slate with a highly anticipated five-game road swing through the league, which starts with games at Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri this week.
MSU (17-4, 7-1 OVC) opens the trip against EIU (3-15, 1-7 OVC) on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill. The Racers follow that up with a regionally televised (Fox Sports Net South) matchup with SEMO (9-10, 2-6 OVC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The Racers enter the weekend after earning a pair of impressive wins last week over Morehead State (90-76) and Eastern Kentucky (94-70) at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray. EIU enters tomorrow's game following a pair of close road losses at Jacksonville State (78-73) and Samford (73-69), and despite their record, first-year MSU head coach Mick Cronin knows his Racer squad will be tested.
"One thing I noticed about Eastern Illinois is that of their seven conference losses, five of them are by seven points or less, and two of their seven losses are to Austin Peay," Cronin said. "They'll be a formidable opponent, and from what I understand, they have a tough place to play up there. We better be ready to play."
Entering the week, MSU was ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense at 81.9 points per game, but Cronin knows that EIU and long-time head coach Rick Samuels will be ready to slow the game down and do what it takes to stay in the game.
"They find a way to stay close, so we're going to have to find a way to win the game," Cronin said. "It'll probably be a challenge to get the game at our tempo in their arena. To be able to speed them up without giving up layups and speed them up into some mistakes will be key."
Following the matchup with the Panthers, MSU will make its second appearance of the season on Fox Sports Net South while meeting Southeast Missouri for the first of two meetings in '03-'04. The Racers and Indians have had an exciting rivalry over the last several years dating back to the 1998-99 season when former MSU guard Aubrey Reese ended SEMO's season with a buzzer-beating shot to push the Racers to an OVC Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament. Even though this will be Cronin's first game in the series, he's aware of the history and rivalry.
"I don't know a whole lot about them yet other than what I've been told by some of our players. They've told me that it's a tough place to go into and win," Cronin said. "I can tell you one thing I've learned from looking at the tape of Tennessee State's game at SEMO while we were preparing for TSU. During the game, they announced our Samford score in the arena and it was the loudest cheer of the whole game. That right there tells me of their love for Murray State."
The MSU Sports Network's live broadcast of the games against Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri can be heard by Clicking Here.
SERIES INFORMATION
-- Murray State vs. Eastern Illinois
This is the 28th meeting between the Racers and Panthers with MSU owning a 21-6 edge in the series...MSU has won the last five meetings against EIU...Murray State has won the last two games played in Lantz Arena.
-- Murray State vs. Southeast Missouri
This is the 50th meeting between Murray State and Southeast Missouri with the Racers leading the all-time series 34-15...MSU leads the series 16-8 in games played in Cape Girardeau.
NATIONALLY: Through Monday's action, MSU was in the Top 13 nationally in three statistical categories. The Racers were sixth in assists per game at 18.6 per outing, seventh in field goal percentage at 50.0 percent and 13th in scoring offense at 81.9 points per game.
VICTOR NOTE: MSU senior forward Cuthbert Victor continues to rank among the nation's elite in 2003-04. Entering Tuesday's action, the 6-5 native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands was fourth in the nation in rebounding at 11.0 caroms per game and fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 64.1 percent (125-of-195).
With his 26-point, 17-rebound performance against Morehead last Saturday, Victor earned his 11th double-double of the season and the 27th of his career. Victor also became MSU's all-time leader in blocked shots on Jan. 15 against Samford and has now run his career total to 141.
WHO'S HOT FOR MSU
Cuthbert Victor - Snapped a recent slump by scoring 48 points last week in two games last week (EKU and Morehead State). In the last two games, Victor is averaging 24.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg and shooting 19-of-26 (73.0%) from the field. He is also averaging 4.0 blocked shots and 2.5 steals per game.
Chris Shumate - Snapped out of a mild slump by scoring in double-figures last five games...In those five games, he's averaging 17.4 ppg while shooting 17-of-32 (53.1%) from three-point range...From the field, Shumate is shooting 29-of-52 (55.7%) in the last five games. In OVC games, Shumate is averaging 15.8 ppg and shooting 22-of-45 (48.8%) from 3-point range.
Antione Whelchel - Senior forward has progressively raised his game throughout the season, particularly in the last eight games. In those eight games, he's averaging 12.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg while shooting 40-of-72 (55.5%) from the floor...He's reached double-figures in six of eight games.
