Murray State University Athletics
OVC Showdown - Racers vs Govs In Nashville
3/5/2009 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OVC TOURNAMENT
SEMIFINALS
Austin Peay (2)
(18-12) (13-5 OVC)
at
Murray State (3)
(19-11) (13-5 OVC)
Friday 8:00 p.m.
Sommet Center
Nashville, Tenn.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS: The Murray State Racers face off with the Austin Peay Governors Friday in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn. The game marks the 24th straight year that one of the two has appeared in the semifinals. One will advance to the championship game making 23 straight years in which one or the other has made the title game.
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GRUDGE MATCH: The Racers and Govs have tangled twice this season to close finals with both going in Austin Peay's favor. The first meeting Jan. 10 came down to two shots in Murray, Ky., one went in and the other rolled off. APSU's Drake Reed scored with 10.4 seconds left for a Govs 58-57 lead. MSU's Danero Thomas got off a jumper in the lane about five feet from the basket with three seconds left, but it bounced hard off the rim. The Feb. 7 win for APSU at home in Clarksville, Tenn. by an 83-80 score was a thriller with Danero Thomas scoring 30, but it was offset by Drake Reed's 32 for the Govs. APSU has won the last three by a mere nine total points dating back to last season.
RACERS ON A RUN: MSU enters the game with a season-best four-game winning streak and an eight-game win streak in OVC play. MSU has won 10 of 11 games in league play with the only loss coming at Austin Peay Feb. 7. During their run, MSU is scoring 71.1 points per game while holding opponents to 60.1. Danero Thomas, Ivan Aska, and Isacc Miles are all scoring just above 12 points per game.
MSU-APSU HISTORY: The Racers and Govs are meeting for the 14th time in the OVC Tournament with the Racers holding an overall 8-5 lead. APSU has won four of six in the semifinals, but the Racers have the lead in winning four of five championship games and two quarterfinal games. MSU is 20-12 all-time in the OVC Tournament semifinals. MSU Is 9-4 all-time in the Sommet Center and won the OVC Tournament championship against Samford in their last game in 2006. MSU won their first seven games in the building before losing to Southeast Missouri State in the title game in 2000. MSU is 5-2 in semifinals in the Sommet Center and 2-1 against APSU in the building. The last meeting was an APSU overtime win in 2003.
WHAT A WIN MEANS:
The Racers will have their 23rd 20-win season in program history and Billy Kennedy will have his third 20-win season in his 11th year as a head coach and his seventh in 24 seasons in the college game. MSU will have won five straight games overall and nine straight against OVC teams. MSU would advance to their 23rd appearance in the OVC Tournament championship game and their first since 2006. MSU would have snapped a three-game losing skid to the Governors.WHAT A LOSS MEANS:
The Racers will have finished their season with a 19-12 and snapped a four-game winning streak and an eight-game streak against OVC teams.POSTSEASON DREAMS:
In getting to the OVC semifinals, the Racers had to defend their home court when they faced red hot Tennessee State Tuesday night at the Regional Special Events Center. MSU managed an 88-74 win marking the 13th straight season of hosting a first round game since the OVC began having games on campus in 1997. MSU has been the first seed four times, second seed twice, third seed five times and the fourth seed twice.SELECT COMPANY:
The Racers have clinched a winning season in both the OVC and overall for the 22nd straight season. MSU's conference streak is tops in the nation, just ahead of Kansas who has clinched 20 straight in the Big-12. MSU's overall streak is tied for fifth with Connecticut. Syracuse is the leader having clinched their 39th straight. Second place Oklahoma has 28 straight, Kansas is in third place with 26, and fourth place is Arizona with 25.FROM GEC TO SOMMET:
The Sommet Center was formerly known as the Gaylord Entertainment Center when MSU first played in it in 1997. Here are all of MSU's game in the arena.1997 MTSU Won 74-48 Semi
1997 APSU Won OT 88-85 Champ
1998 APSU Won 81-56 Semi
1998 TSU Won 92-69 Champ
1999 MOR Won 92-69 Semi
1999 SEMO Won 62-61 Champ
2000 EIU Won 89-70 Semi
2000 SEMO Lost 67-56 Champ
2001 EIU Lost 97-71 Semi
2003 APSU Lost OT 59-58 Semi
2005 TSU Lost 64-53 Regular
2006 JSU Won 69-64 Semi
2006 SAM Won 74-57 Champ
RACERS AT SOMMET:
Tyler Holloway is the only Racer to have played in the Sommet Center with three career games and an 11.6 points per game average. All came during his freshman season in 2005-06. Holloway came off the bench against Tennessee and hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points as MSU held a 32-26 lead at the half before falling 64-53. He helped the Racers win the OVC Tournament title with 11 points in the semifinal win over Jacksovnille State and 13 in the title game win over Samford. In three career games in the building, he is 11-15 (.733) from the field including 8-11 (.727) from three-point range. He's also 5-6 (.833) from the free throw line.MAGIC NUMBER 20:
The Racers are only one win from getting the 23rd 20-win season in program history. Billy Kennedy's retooling of the Racers got near the magic number last season with 18 wins. In the 84-year history of MSU Basketball Carlisle Cutchin still stands as the leader with four 20-win seasons from 1935 through 1941. With one more win, Kennedy would become the 11th head coach in MSU history to record at least one 20-win season.
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Racers lead 69-39
@ Murray: Racers lead 41-9
@ Clarksville: Governors lead 27-22
Neutral: Racers lead 6-3
OVC: Racers lead 63-38
OVC Tournament: Racers lead 8-5
First Meeting: 1941, won by MSU at Clarksville 53-43
Last Meeting: Feb. 7, 2009 at Clarksville won by APSU 83-80Trend: Last three games have been decided by only nine points
Billy Kennedy vs APSU: 2-4
Television: ESPNU Live 8 p.m.
Radio: Froggy 103.7 FM - Neal Bradley & Nathan Higdon
Internet: GoRacers.com FREE live radio - GoRacers.com FREE live stats - OVCSports.com PAY live video
