Murray State University Athletics
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Racers Go For OVC Clincher At Home Against SEMO
2/15/2010 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game 28
Southeast Missouri State
(7-19) (3-12 OVC)
at
Murray State
(24-3) (15-0 OVC)
Tuesday 7:00 p.m.
RSEC
Murray, Ky.
The Murray State Racers return home to host the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Tuesday in a 7 p.m. tip at the Regional Special Events Center. MSU's 15-game win streak is tied with Butler for the longest in the nation and MSU has also won 22 straight Ohio Valley Conference regular season games. The Racers continue to be one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball after they defeated Tennessee Tech (94-62) and Jacksonville State (75-67) on the road last week to push their overall mark to 24-3 and 15-0 in the OVC. MSU has also won 16 straight at home.
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The Racers enter the contest ranked fourth in the Mid-Major Top-25 poll and they're still ranked in the upper echelon in several statistical categories. In the last NCAA update Feb. 15, MSU is second in the country in field goal percentage (.511), 15th in field goal percentage defense (.384). MSU is also third in steals per game (10.9) and 21st in blocked shots per game (5.6). They also have the distinction of being the only team in NCAA D-I leading their conference in both scoring offense (78.9) and scoring defense (59.9).
MSU is trying to do something that has only been accomplished four times in the OVC...that is record an undefeated league season. The last to do it was the 2003-04 team from Austin Peay at 16-0. MSU has had two one-loss seasons and both were championships in 1987-88 (13-1) and in 1993-94 (15-1). The Racers have three tough games remaining. After SEMO, MSU travels to Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky Feb. 25 and 27. At the moment there are only five teams in the country that still haven't lost yet. It happened only twice last season as Memphis (CUSA) and Gonzaga (WCC) did the trick and it hasn't happened more than three times in the same season since 1996.
The Racers' 15-game win streak means they can tie the program's all-time best of 16 straight set twice in the late 1930's under MSU's first head coach Carlisle Cutchin. The Racers started 1935 16-0 before a loss to WKU, and had another 16-game streak that bridged the final four games of that season and the start of 1936. That second 16-game streak was also stopped by a loss to the Hilltoppers.
