Murray State University Athletics
.jpg&height=300&type=webp)
MSU Looks For 10th OVC Win Against Jacksonville State
2/1/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jacksonville State
(4-18) (2-12 OVC)
at
Murray State
(13-8) (9-4 OVC)
Saturday 7:30 p.m.
RSEC
Murray, Ky.
Click here for LIVE STATS
Click here for LIVE AUDIO
Click here for LIVE VIDEO
The Murray State Racers battled for the Ohio Valley Conference lead with Austin Peay Thursday in Clarksville, Tenn. before falling 92-87 in an instant classic overtime game at the Dunn Center. The loss snapped the Racers' eight-game winning steak, which brings them to Saturday's home game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
The Racers hold an 8-0 lead in the all-time series with JSU, but that is misleading because five of those games have been decided by 10 points or less. Since the Gamecocks and Racers first played when JSU joined the OVC in 2004, this game has been a tight battle in most cases. In the first meeting this season in Jacksonville, Ala. Dec. 18, Danero Thomas scored 20 points to lead MSU to a 79-65 win.
The Racers are still in control of three parts of what has been a rare grand-slam of stat categories in the OVC. In league games, MSU leads in field goal percentage (.494), and three-point percentage (.421). They have held the lead in field goal defense, but after the APSU game dropped to second place (.423). MSU still leads in three-point defense (.324). In this week's NCAA report, the Racers' were ranked nationally in the top-100 in field goal percentage (29th), rebound margin (59th), free throw percentage (78th), assists per game (89th), and steals per game (96th). Kevin Thomas ranks 97th in assists per game and 91st in assist/turnover ratio.
The Racers are alone in second place in the OVC with a 9-4 mark. The Racers four losses in conference play couldn't have been more tough to take, because in each case, MSU had a chance to win. The Racers' four losses have come by a total of only 10 points.
GAME NOTES
BRACKET BUSTER TIME: MSU will find out next week about their game assignment in the ESPN BracketBuster series. The Racers will have a home game Feb. 23. MSU is 3-0 all-time in the BracketBuster series with wins over Rice (2005), Illinois- Chicago (2006), and Rider (2007).
A WIN MEANS:
The Racers are 14-8 overall and 10-4 OVC. Billy Kennedy is 30-22 at MSU. The Racers have won eight straight games at home and are 116-22 (.840) all-time in the RSEC.A LOSS MEANS:
The Racers are 13-9 and have snapped an eight-game home winning streak. The Racers are 9-5 in the OVC.CAREER NUMBERS:
Tyler Holloway is one his way to becoming the 34th member of the MSU 1,000-Point club. He has 750 points in 81 career games. He will play a a minimum of seven games yet this season and another 29 when he is a senior in 2008-09, giving him an excellent chance to make it.Danero Thomas is only 49 games into his MSU career but has already scored 415 points.
Marvin Williams grabbed his 100th career rebound Dec. 20 at Samford and is on pace to get to 200 before the season is out.
Bruce Carter zoomed past the 600 career milestone against SEMO on Jan. 26. and now has 636 career points in only 51 career games.
Ray George passed 250 points in his career Jan. 15 against Indiana South Bend. He also needs two assists to reach 100.
CAREER NIGHT:
Four Racer players set or tied career high marks for minutes played at Austin Peay Jan. 31. Ray George and Danero Thomas set new highs when they played 42 minutes of the overtime game, while Tyler Holloway and Tony Easley tied career highs with 39 and 29 minutes.KENNEDY'S RUN:
The Racers eight game winning streak starting with Tennesee State Jan. 5 and ending with Samford Jan. 29 was a great run for MSU. For head coach Billy Kennedy, it was his longest winning streak in 10 seasons as a head coach. MSU's eight-game streak tops the six-game streak Kennedy had at Southeastern Louisiana durng the 2004-05 season.MEDIA INFORMATION
Television: MSU TV-11 Delay 10 p.m.
Radio: Froggy 103.7 FM
Neal Bradley & Josh Perigo
Internet: GoRacers.com FREE live audio
OVCsports.tv PAY live video
Overall: Racers lead 7-0
@ Murray: Racers lead 3-0
@ Jacksonville: Racers lead 3-0
Neutral: Racers lead 1-0
OVC Tourney: Racers lead 1-0
First Meeting: 2004 MSU won 89-84
Last Meeting: Dec. 18 MSU won 79-65
Trend: Five of the eight meetings have been decided by five points or less.
Billy Kennedy vs JSU: 3-0
Mike LePlante vs MUR: 0-7
