Murray State University Athletics
Racers Practice, Meet With The Media At Nationwide Arena
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Less than 24 hours before No. 12 seeded Murray State's NCAA Tournament game with No. 5 seeded Illinois, the Racers practiced today for the first time at Nationwide Arena and met with the local and national media in Columbus, Ohio.
MSU (28-5) will take on the Big Ten Champion Fighting Illini (24-6) on Friday at 12:25 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena in the first of four first round games in downtown Columbus. The winner of the MSU-UI game will advance to play on Sunday afternoon against the winner of the No. 4 Cincinnati-No. 13 East Tennessee game.
The Racers, under the direction of first-year head coach Mick Cronin, opened the busy day of practices and press conferences at the arena with a 50-minute practice session followed by a 30-minute session with members of the media.
Following their NCAA mandated session at the tournament site, the Racers moved on to a local university for a closed practice session to work on the final preparations for tomorrow's first round showdown with Illinois.
The Racers' first round matchup with the Illini will be televised regionally by CBS, while the MSU Sports Network's broadcast of the game can be heard by Clicking Here.
2004 NCAA TOURNAMENT PRACTICE QUOTES - MURRAY STATE
Thursday, March 18 - Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
On the Racers' senior laden squad and what they mean to him and the university as a whole:
"My seniors have given me a tremendous ride in my first year. I'm very appreciative of them. As you can see, they're extremely well spoken. Our university is very proud of the fact that we're going to have nine guys graduate by next December at the latest, and that's only because some of them have to student teach next fall, and obviously, they can't do that while they're competing in Division I athletics. But that's a good thing for me because I think I'll have me a few student assistants next year. I'm very, very proud of these guys. I've been extremely lucky to have them my first year, and we're happy to be here in the NCAA Tournament."
