MSU Basketball 30th In ESPN All-Time Rankings

As ESPN started to unveil their list of the best college basketball programs on Monday, Murray State fans anxiously waited to see where the Racers would be found.

The excitement peaked on Wednesday when MSU was named 30th on ESPN's list.

To calculate the list, ESPN came up with a numerical points system to rank every college hoops program's success since the start of the 1984-85 season -- the season when the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams. Point values were assigned to criteria including, conference regular season titles, conference tournament titles, and winning percentage.

The Racers' high consideration from ESPN is well deserved.

Murray State earned points for their 24 Ohio Valley Conference titles (13 regular-season and 11 tournament), and 12 20-win seasons. MSU also has 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a win over North Carolina State in 1988. The Racers won a tiebreaker with Villanova for 30^th place by having a better winning percentage,.669-.608.

The Racers were ranked ahead of Villanova (31), Oklahoma State (32), Georgia Tech (33), Penn (34), Alabama (35), St. John's (36), and Missouri (37), and just behind Purdue (29), Maryland (28), Ohio State (27), Gonzaga (26), and Stanford (25).

“Obviously, it's very exciting,” MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy said. “It's a great credit to the former coaches, the Murray community and the great players that have come through the program. I'm thankful to be part of it and plan on building on that tradition.”

“Being ranked no. 30, the highest true mid-major, is quite a distinction and speaks volumes about the success Murray State basketball has experienced over the past 25 years,” said Director of Athletics Allen Ward. “It's a testament to the never-ending support of our incredible fans and the outstanding coaches and players responsible for the championship banners hanging from the rafters, this is just another validation that Racer basketball ranks with the very best.”

This isn't the first time the Racers have been mentioned as one of college basketball's best programs. In 2005, Street & Smith's selected MSU 52^nd in their list of “100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time.”

The future looks bright for MSU as the 2008-09 season approaches. The Racers return four starters from the 2007-08 team that finished 18-13 and for the second straight season were second in the OVC at 13-7.

Last season the Racers pulled off a rare “grand slam” of stats when they were the only team in the nation (in conference play) to lead their league in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and in defense of both. The Racers also raised their free throw percentage for a third straight season, and lowered their turnover total and improved their assist total.

The Racers will also be working on completing their 22^nd straight winning season in 2008-09. MSU's 21-year streak is tied with Connecticut for fifth-best in the nation.

Murray State University Athletics

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