Murray State University Athletics
Racers Prep For Alabama Double
12/14/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State
(4-3) (1-1 OVC)
at
Jacksonville State
(2-7) (0-2 OVC)
Tuesday, Dec. 18
7:30 p.m.
Matthews Coliseum
Jacksonville, Ala.
Live Game Day Audio
Live Game Day Video
The Murray State Racers take to the court for the first time since Dec. 8 when they take on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Matthews Arena Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Racers are coming off a week in which the team completed final exams.
MSU is 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference after putting up their best defensive performance of the season when they defeated Morehead State at home 63-44. The Eagles 44 points, 12 total field goals, and .261 (12-46) field goal percentage were low marks for a Murray State opponent this season through seven games. Bruce Carter led the Racers in the scoring department with 13 points, while Tyler Holloway added 11. Kevin Thomas had seven assists and only one turnover in the MSU win.
The Racers and Gamecocks are meeting for the eighth time since JSU joined the OVC in the 2003-04 season. The last four games in the series have all been close finals including a pair of exciting MSU wins last season. The biggest game between the two came in 2006 when MSU and JSU squared off in the semi-finals of the OVC Tournament . The Racers won the game 69-64 and later won the OVC's spot to the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Samford.
Tyler Holloway and Bruce Carter have led the Racers in scoring 19 times combined over the last two seasons. The two have also combined for 47 double-digit scoring games.
The Racers have started the same line up (Kevin Thomas, Danero Thomas, Tyler Holloway, Bruce Carter, Tony Easley) in the last four games.
GAME NOTES:
THE MSU-JSU SERIES:
Indeed, the Racers have never lost to Jacksonville State in seven tries, but nearly every game has gone down to the final seconds. On Dec. 19, 2006 in the RSEC, The Racers survived to win 72-71 in overtime after JSU had two shots to win the game in the closing seconds. Ed Horton scored a career high 16 points, while Bruce Carter added 16 points of his own. Kevin Thomas and Ray George played in their first games at MSU.In their second meeting in Jacksonville on Feb. 3, 2007, MSU overcame a sluggish game to win 63-61 after JSU had three shots at the hoop in the final 11 seconds. Ray George led MSU with a career-best 16 points, while Shawn Witherspoon scored 15 and Bruce Carter added 13.
In the last two seasons, the four games between the two teams have been decided by only 15 points, an average margin of 3.75 points.
LESS IS MORE:
The Racers are 9-2 over the last two seasons when holding their opponent to under 60 points including a 2-1 mark this season. MSU is 3-6 during the same period when scoring less than 60 points.MSU VISITS UTC:
The Racers will return to UT-Chattanooga for the first time since 2001 when they play the Mocs Dec. 29 in UTC's Dr. Pepper Holiday Classic. MSU plays UTC on the 29th at 7pm central time after Belmont takes on Wright State. The four teams pair up for the third place and championship games on the 30th. The Racers have faced Wright State only one time, in 1990 and haven't played Belmont since 1998. HOT SHOOTING: MSU's Tony Easley still leads the OVC in field goal percentage at .771 (27-35).RANKING THE FIELD:
The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) is one of the formulas used by the NCAA in rate college basketball. There are currently 341 teams in NCAA D-I. The rankings do not count wins or losses against non-D-I teams. As of Dec. 13.RANK TEAM RECORD
81 Western Kentucky 5-2
92 Wright State 3-3
139 Austin Peay 4-5
149 Belmont 5-4
152 Eastern Kentucky 2-5
158 Mississippi State 5-3
186 Chattanooga 3-4
214 UT-Martin 3-4
219 SE Missouri State 5-4
233 Rider 6-4
250 Murray State 3-3
278 Tennessee State 1-5
302 Samford 2-4
303 Morehead State 1-6
316 Arkansas State 2-5
331 Tennessee Tech 1-7
338 Jacksonville State 0-7
341 Eastern Illinois 0-8
HOLLOWAY AND THE THREE:
Take a look at the all-time three point shooters at Murray State and how Tyler Holloway ranks.MSU CAREER MADE 3-POINT SHOTS
2. Don Mann 1986-89 204
3. Justin Burdine 1998-02 198
4. Marcus Brown 1993-96 173
Paul King 1987-91 173
6. Chris Shumate 1999-04 170
7. Rick Jones 2002-04 133
8. Antoine Whelchel 2000-04 124
9. William Moore 1994-95 123
10. Tyler Holloway 2005- 110
Aaron Page 1996-00 107
12. Aubrey Reese 1997-00 105
MSU CAREER 3-POINT PERCENTAGE
2. Don Mann 1986-89 .421
3. Cedric Gumm 1990-94 .418
4. Chris Shumate 1999-04 .412
5. De'Teri Mayes 1996-98 .411
6. Terence Brooks 1987-89 .404
7. William Moore 1994-95 .403
8. Paul King 1987-91 .402
9. Rick Jones 2002-04 .393
10. Tyler Holloway 2005- .389
11. Justin Burdine 1998-02 .349
CLOSE TO 30:
Tyler Holloway has come very close twice to hitting the 30 point mark in a single game. His 26 on Nov. 26 against Arkansas State was three off his career best of 29 that came last January at Tennessee State. MSU's last 30 point night was 78 games ago on Jan. 6, 2005 when Shawn Witherspoon netted 33 against Morehead State.SIX THREES:
Holloway's six three point baskets against ASU was a career-high. The last MSU player to hit that number was Darnell Hopkins who went 6-of-6 against Eastern Illinois at the RSEC on Jan. 9, 2006.HOME COOKIN: With the Racers' win over Rider Nov. 10, they have now won 18 straight home openers and have fashioned quite a home court advantage at the RSEC. In its 10th season of games, MSU is 108-22 for a winning percentage of .833.
Here is how the Racers compare with the rest of the teams in the OVC since the 2003-04 season.
Team 07-08 Since 03-04 Pct.
Austin Peay 2-0 45-10 .812
Murray State 4-1 51-12 .809
Eastern KY 3-2 43-15 .741
Samford 2-2 40-15 .727
Jacksonville St. 2-1 36-21 .631
Tennessee St. 1-1 31-20 .607
UT-Martin 3-1 29-23 .591
SE Missouri St. 4-0 31-25 .553
Morehead St. 2-0 30-25 .537
Eastern Illinois 1-3 24-31 .436
IF THERE IS OT:
MSU hasn't had an overtime game yet this season, but played four last season going 2-2. MSU is 21-13 in overtime games since 1983. The Racers have played 11 overtime games in OVC play since 2000 and are 5-6.MSU's most famous overtime game came in 1990 against Michigan State in Knoxville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That game is still the only time a #16 seed has taken a #1 seed into overtime.
MILES FOR HOOPS:
A year after traveling nearly 12,000 miles in the 2006-07 season, the Murray State Racers have a much easier road in 2007-08. According to Kyle Whelliston of ESPN.com, the Racers have the seventh best travel schedule this season in terms of total miles. Last season the Racers had trips to the east and west coasts. This season's miles are further held down by the fact that MSU will have a BracketBuster game at home. Here are the 10 schools with the fewest miles to travel this season.10 FEWEST MILES (by ESPN.com)
2,153 - Saint Peter's
2,640 - Central Connecticut State
2,666 - Tennessee State
2,698 - Columbia
2,736 - Sacred Heart
2,916 - Murray State
3,133 - Fairleigh Dickinson
3,176 - Quinnipiac
3,332 - Lehigh
10 MOST MILES
24,941 - New Mexico State
21,009 - Nevada
20,831 - Louisiana Tech
20,640 - Texas-Pan American
20,221 - Idaho
20,152 - Utah Valley State
19,943 - San Jose State
19,932 - Saint John's
19,666 - Gonzaga
WHAT A STREAK:
One story line in the 07-08 season will be Murray State's push to ensure another winning season. MSU currently has 20 straight years of winning hoops which is tied for fourth in the nation with Connecticut. The Racers share the same neighborhood with first place Syracuse (37 years), Oklahoma (27 years) and Kansas (24 years). MSU hasn't had a losing season since the 1986-87 campaign.Here is a look at the best of the best.
CONSECUTIVE WINNING SEASONS
2. Oklahoma 27
3. Kansas 24
4. MURRAY STATE 20
Connecticut 20
6. Oklahoma State 19
7. Kentucky 17
8. Coll. of Charleston 16
Gonzaga 16
10. Maryland 14
Stanford 14
Utah State 14
14. Duke 12
15. Michigan State 11
UNLV 11
Xavier 11
18. Creighton 10
Here are notable streaks that ended in the 2006-07 season.
Cincinnati 18
Wisc-Milwaukee 7
Chattanooga 6
Monmouth 6
Georgia Southern 5
Illinois-Chicago 5
WHISTLE HAPPY:
The Racers were whistled for 29 fouls in their season opener against Rider on Nov. 10. It was the second most fouls called on MSU in the 10 years of play in the RSEC. The record was set in MSU's battle with Austin Peay in 2001 when the Racers were called for 32 fouls. The record for an opponent in the RSEC is 36 for Eastern Kentucky in 2003.FRALIEX REDSHIRTING: MSU freshman Matt Fraliex will sit out this season as a redshirt.
ASKA SIGNS WITH MSU:
6-7 Ivan Aska signed in November and will join the Racers for the 2008-09 season as a freshman. Aska is a senior at Boyd Anderson High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds per game last season as a junior.Here are the top signings at each position in the OVC according to Rivals.com
Point guard:
Tyrone Caldwell, APSUShooting guard: Zach Bailey, TTU
Small forward: Tyler McDaniels, TTU
Power forward: Ivan Aska, MSU
Center: None
SANDERS EARNS OVC HONOR:
MSU junior Tarod Sanders was voted by the league's sports information directors as the OVC's Newcomer of the Week Nov. 12. Sanders came off the bench and supplied great defense and 10 points in the Racers' 66-65 win over Rider.SIMMONS JOINS TEAM:
Picasso Simmons of Gallatin, Tenn. has joined the MSU team as a walk-on student-athlete. He'll wear number 14.MILES JOINS MSU:
Guard Isaac Miles transferred to Murray State last summer after an outstanding freshman season at Creighton. He will sit out the 2007-08 season under NCAA transfer guidelines and be eligible to play as a sophomore in 2008-09. In his first season at Creighton in 2006-07 he averaged 6.1 points per game along with 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists and was selected as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Freshman team.THEY'RE BACK:
For only the sixth time since 1978, all 11 head coaches return in OVC men's basketball. The other years in which every coach returned were 1978-79, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2001-02 and 2004-05.DEFENSE SHINES:
MSU wants to have a great defense this season. In 2006-07 the Racers led the OVC in defensive field goal percentage when they held opponents to .411 from the field and they were also first in three-point defense, opponents only managed to shoot .307.LAST FIVE YEARS: Below are the win totals for OVC teams since the beginning of the 2003-04 season (when the OVC expanded to 11 teams with the addition of Jacksonville State and Samford). Murray State leads the pack with 56 wins over that time period, followed
closely by Austin Peay (54).
Totals as of Dec. 13th
1. Murray State 56
2. Austin Peay 54
3. Tennessee Tech 46
4. Eastern Kentucky 44
Samford 44
6. Tennessee State 35
7. Jacksonville State 28
Southeast Missouri 28
9. Morehead State 26
10. UT Martin 23
11. Eastern Illinois 23
OVC TOURNAMENT:
The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Men's & Women's Tournaments will be held March 4, 7-8.The first round games will be held at campus sites (top four seeds on each side) on Tuesday, March 4. Those games can be seen live on OVCSports.TV.
The winners of those games will shift to historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tenn. for the semifinals and finals. The men's semifinals will be held on Friday, March 7 at 6 and 8 p.m. and televised on ESPNU with the championship game on Saturday, March 8 at 4 p.m. and televised live on ESPN2 (note, this is a changefrom the original time announced).
The women's semifinals are set for 12 and 2 p.m. on March 7th (televised on OVCSports.TV) and the women's championship game is set for March 8 at 11 a.m. and will be televised on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).
This marks the 14th time in 15 years that the tournament has been held in Nashville and the fifth time it will take place in Municipal. The event was also held there in 1989, 1994, 1995 and 2004.
OVC member institutions received great reviews in the first year of offering live streaming video. All OVC games and many out of conference games are again offered to fans and media with live video and home team announcers audio at www.ovcsports.tv.LIVE AUDIO: All MSU games can be heard on the Racer Radio network and also on GoRacers.com. Neal Bradley handles the play by play with Josh Perigo and Nathan Higdon sharing analyst duties.
