Murray State University Athletics
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Racers-Hilltoppers Plan 147th Meeting
12/22/2009 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 12
Murray State
(9-2)
at
Western Kentucky
(5-4)
Tuesday 8:00 p.m. CST
Diddle Arena
Bowling Green, Ky.
The Murray State Racers meet the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Tuesday in an 8 p.m. tip at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. The game marks the 147th meeting in this storied series that dates back to 1932 and includes the founding of the Ohio Valley Conference in 1948. The two are meeting for the third straight season and for the 18th time as non-conference opponents. The Racers have won six of the last 10 meetings including last season by an 89-61 count at the RSEC in Murray, Ky. WKU won the last game played at Diddle Arena 87-63 in 2007.
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RACER TV NETWORK DEBUT: The 58,000 subscribers of the cable systems will see the games at no charge. NewWave customers will see the games on channel 79 in all areas west of Kentucky Lake and on channel 3 in Hopkinsville and Madisonville. Mediacom subscribers in Marshall, Calloway, Trigg, and Caldwell Counties can see the games on channel 23, except in Oak Grove, Ky., and Dover, Tenn., where the games will be seen on channel 97. Veteran WCBL announcer Jeff Waters handles the play by play and MSU Assistant AD for Media Relations Dave Winder will offer color commentary.
Here is the Racer TV Network Schedule
(ALL ARE MSU ROAD GAMES)
12-22 Western Kentucky 7:45 p.m.
12-30 SIU Edwardsville 6:45 p.m.
1-7 Tennessee State 7:15 p.m.
2-11 Tennessee Tech 7:15 p.m.
2-13 Jacksonville State 7:15 p.m.
2-25 Morehead State 6:45 p.m.
2-27 Eastern Kentucky 5:45 p.m.
RECENT CLASHES: 2008 (Last Meeting) - The Racers came away with an 89-61 win at the RSEC in what was the seventh largest crowd in arena history of 7,038. Ivan Aska became the first MSU freshman to score 20 points in a game since 2001 when he hit for 20 on 8-of-10 shooting. MSU won the battle of the boards 39-27 and led 44-23 at half.
2007 (Last game at WKU) - The Hilltoppers posted an 87-63 win behind the triple-threat trio of Courtney Lee (18 pts), Tyrone Brazelton (17 pts) and A.J. Slaughter (11 pts). WKU held a 43-33 lead at the half. The Racers were led by 17 from Danero Thomas and 15 from Tyler Holloway. WKU forced the Racers into 27 turnovers.
2003 (Last MSU win at WKU) - The Racers' 100-95 double overtime win went down as one of the most thrilling games of the season and indeed, in the series. WKU led 40-35 at half and the Racers came back to force overtime with the game tied 75-75. MSU got a stellar game from Cuthbert Victor who would go on to be the OVC MVP at season's end. Victor led the Racers with 26 points and 20 rebounds to go with two blocked shots and two steals. WKU was led by Antonio Haynes with 23, while Mike Wells tossed in 22.
MSU OFF TO A GOOD START: Murray State is 9-2 and coming off a 73-62 win Saturday at home over Chattanooga. The Racers led 36-34 at the half and used a 9-0 run in the early second half to gain control of the game. The senior-freshman combo of Tony Easley and Isaiah Canaan led the way for MSU with 16 points each as they were a combined 13-of-19 from the field. MSU posted it's ninth double-digit steals game of the season and Easley had his second five-block game of the season. MSU lost their season opener in a close 75-70 game Nov. 9 at then No. 12 California, but followed with eight straight wins before losing at Louisiana Tech Dec. 15 by an 87-81 score. The Racers are 2-2 away from home this season with wins at Florida International and East Tennessee State and losses at Cal and LaTech.
MSU'S THE NAME - DEFENSE IS THE GAME: Through 11 games, the Racers are the best in the OVC in scoring (79.3) and scoring defense (61.4). MSU's scoring margin average of +17.9 is also tops in the OVC. And it's no surprise the Racers are again the best in the league in field goal defense (.391) and three-point defense (.308). MSU is also the best in the league in rebounding margin (+7.0), blocked shots (61) and steals (138). In the last NCAA statistics report Dec. 13, the Racers were ranked third in the nation in steals per game and 25th in blocked shots per game.
Racer seniors Danero Thomas and Tony Easley are a big part of MSU's passion for defense. Thomas is the leader in the OVC in steals among active players and Easley is third among OVC shot blockers.
In the last NCAA report, Easley was 71st in the nation in blocked shots and Thomas was 29th in steals per game.
