Murray State University Athletics
2004 NCAA Tournament Info Center
3/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
-- GAME INFORMATION
WHAT: 2004 NCAA Tournament
WHO: No. 12 Murray State vs. No. 5 Illinois
WHEN: First Round Game - Friday, March 19 - 11:25 a.m. CT
WHERE: Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
TV: CBS Sports / RADIO: MSU Sports Network - Listen Live
-- The Racers (28-5) and Illinois (24-6) are in the "Atlanta" bracket which also features No. 1 seed Duke. The winner of the MSU/Illinois game will face the winner of No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 13 East Tennessee State on Sunday in the second round.
-- Other first round games in Columbus include No. 1 Kentucky vs. the winner of the Lehigh/Florida A&M opening round game and No. 8 Washington vs. No. 9 UAB. Also, Nationwide Arena is the home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
-- INFORMATION LINKS
-- 2004 NCAA Tournament Bracket
-- The Official Website of Nationwide Arena
-- Information on the city of Columbus, Ohio
-- The official Website of University of Illinois Athletics
-- MSU's NCAA Tournament Facts
-- The Racers' No. 12 seed in the 2004 Tournament is the their highest seed since receiving a No. 9 seed in 1997.
-- MSU and Illinois have met only once on the hardwood with the Fighting Illini earning a 65-63 win over the Racers on March 13, 1980 in Champaign, Ill., in the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament.
-- The Racers are 0-2 all-time against Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament after suffering losses to Ohio State (72-58, 1999) and Michigan State (75-71, 1990).
-- The 2004 NCAA Tournament appearance marks the Racer basketball program's sixth tourney trip in the last 10 years, its12th overall, while no other current Ohio Valley Conference member has more than five NCAA Tournament appearances.
-- MSU has a 1-11 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games. In 1988, the Racers upset North Carolina State and the late Jim Valvano 78-75 in the first round before falling in the second round to the Kansas Jayhawks 61-58. Kansas, led by Danny Manning and head coach Larry Brown, went on to the win the 1988 National Championship, while the three-point win over MSU was their smallest margin of victory in the title run.
-- In 1990, MSU nearly made history as the No. 16 seeded Racers took No. 1 seeded Michigan State into overtime before failing in their attempt to be the first No. 16 to beat a No. 1 in the NCAA's first round. The 75-71 overtime loss featured one of the great individual performances by a Racer player as MSU sophomore center Popeye Jones scored a game-high 37 points on the Spartans.
-- MSU's NCAA Tournament Appearances
| Year | Location | Opponent | Result |
| 2002 | Chicago, Ill. | Georgia | L, 85-68 |
| 1999 | Indianapolis, Ind. | Ohio State | L, 72-58 |
| 1998 | Oklahoma City, Okla. | Rhode Island | L, 97-74 |
| 1997 | Charlotte, N.C. | Duke | L, 71-68 |
| 1995 | Tallahassee, Fla. | North Carolina | L, 80-70 |
| 1992 | Milwaukee, Wis. | Arkansas | L, 80-69 |
| 1991 | Atlanta, Ga. | Alabama | L, 89-79 |
| 1990 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Michigan State | L, 75-71 (ot) |
| 1988 | Lincoln, Neb. | Kansas | L, 61-58 |
| 1988 | Lincoln, Neb. | N.C. State | W, 78-75 |
| 1969 | Carbondale, Ill. | Marquette | L, 82-62 |
| 1964 | Evanston, Ill. | Loyola (Ill.) | L, 101-91 |
-- MSU's NCAA Records
-- Team Records
| Record | Total | Opponent (Year) |
| Most Points | 91 | vs Loyola (1964) |
| Most Rebounds | 53 | vs Ohio State (1999) |
| Most Field Goals | 40 | vs Loyola (1964) |
| Most FG Attempts | 86 | vs Loyola (1964) |
| High FG Percentage | .500 | vs NC State (1988) |
| 3-Pointers Made | 10 | vs Georgia (2002) |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | 25 | vs Georgia (2002) |
| Free Throws Made | 17 | vs Ohio State (1999) |
| Free Throws Attempted | 25 | vs Ohio State (1999) |
| Free Throw Percentage | .846 | vs NC State (1988) |
| Most Assists | 17 | vs Arkansas (1992) |
| Most Steals | 11 | vs North Carolina (1995) |
| Most Blocked Shots | 3 | vs Rhode Island (1998) |
-- Individual Records
| Record | Total | Name, (Opponent, Year) |
| Most Points | 37 | Popeye Jones (MSU, 1990) |
| Most Rebounds | 19 | Jim Jennings (Loyola, 1964) |
| Most Field Goals | 15 | Popeye Jones (MSU, 1990) |
| Most FG Attempts | 36 | Popeye Jones (MSU, 1990) |
| 3-Pointers Made | 6 | Frank Allen (Arkansas, 1992) |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | 11 | Justin Burdine (UGA, 2002) |
| Free Throws Made | 11 | Aubrey Reese (Ohio State, 1999) |
| Free Throws Attempted | 14 | Aubrey Reese (Ohio State, 1999) |
| Most Assists | 8 | Don Mann (NC State, 1988) |
| Most Steals | 6 | Vincent Rainey (UNC, 1995) |
| Most Blocked Shots | 2 | James Singleton (UGA, 2002) Popeye Jones (Alabama, 1991) |
