Breaking Down A Very Special Season

The 2009-10 Murray State men's basketball season was a very special season indeed.

MSU's season culminated with a trip to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Vanderbilt for the program's second win and first since 1988.

The 31-5 record was the most wins in MSU's 85 college basketball seasons passing the previous best of 29 by the 1997-98 team. It also set the record for most single-season wins in Ohio Valley Conference history.

Their 17-game win streak was the longest in the nation tied with Butler when it ended with a 70-65 loss at Morehead State Feb. 25. MSU went 64 days without a loss. The streak is a new MSU record breaking the 16-game mark, accomplished twice in the 1930's.

With any big season like this, there are numerous facts to digest.

The following are the news and notes from the 2009-10 Murray State season.

TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Racers' 17 OVC wins matched the school record by the 2005-06 team.

MSU also moved its OVC regular season win streak to 23 in a row before losing to the Eagles. It's the best for a Racer team passing the 1997-98 team that won 22 straight, but was two shy of the 25 WKU posted from 1965-67.

All five of MSU's losses came to 20-win teams. California and Louisiana Tech each finished 24-11. Morehead State was 25-11 and Western Kentucky recorded a 21-13 mark, while Butler made it to the NCAA Championship game before falling to Duke and posting a 33-5 mark. Four teams played in post-season games, and two (Cal and Butler) made the NCAA's. Morehead State and La Tech each participated in the CollegeInsider Tournament.

The Racers posted 20 wins before the end of January and were the third team in NCAA D-I to get to 20 wins following BYU and Syracuse. MSU was the first team to post 29 wins when they beat Eastern Illinois March 5 in the OVC semifinals and the first to get to 30 wins March 6 when they beat Morehead State for the OVC Tournament title.

The Racers were part of a 10-team group with 30 wins in the 2009-10 season.

Team	Conference	Record
Kentucky	Southeastern	35-3
Duke	Atlantic Coast	35-5
Kansas	Big 12	33-3
Butler	Horizon	33-5
Murray State	Ohio Valley	31-5
West Virginia	Big East	31-7
Syracuse	Big East	30-5
Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	30-5
New Mexico	Mountain West	30-5
BYU	Mountain West	30-6

The Racers are part of a select group of programs that have substantial consecutive winning seasons. MSU's streak is 23 after this season. The Racers are tied for fourth with Connecticut. Syracuse is the leader at 40, while second place Oklahoma's streak ended this season at 28 after they finished 13-18. Kansas is now second with 27, and third place belongs to Arizona with 26.

The Racers also ranked very high in winning improvement. MSU's 12-game improvement from 19 wins last season to 31 this season was the sixth-best in the nation.

Team	Conference	08-09	09-10	Margin
Coastal Carolina	Big South	11-20	28-7	+17
Loyola Marymount	West Coast	3-28	18-16	+15
Detroit	Horizon	7-23	20-14	+13
Kentucky	Southeastern	22-14	35-3	+13
Missouri State	Missouri Valley	11-20	24-12	+13
Murray State	Ohio Valley	19-12	31-5	+12
William & Mary	Colonial	10-20	22-11	+12
Lafayette	Patriot	8-22	19-13	+11
Georgia Tech	Atlantic Coast	12-19	23-13	+11
South Florida	Big East	9-22	20-13	+11
Northern Colorado	Big Sky	14-18	25-8	+11

The Racers also ranked high in winning percentage in the 2009-10 season.

Team	Conference	Record	Pct.
Kentucky	Southeastern	35-3	.921
Kansas	Big 12	33-3	.917
Duke	Atlantic Coast	35-5	.875
Butler	Horizon	33-5	.868
Murray State	Ohio Valley	31-5	.861
New Mexico	Mountain West	30-5	.857
Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	30-5	.857
Syracuse	Big East	30-5	.857
Cornell	Ivy	29-5	.853
BYU	Mountain West	30-6	.853

The Racers finished the season 5-1 in neutral floor games with wins over James Madison, North Carolina Central, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Vanderbilt and their first loss was to Butler.

MSU was 28-0 this season when having the lead with five minutes remaing in the game before the loss to Butler.

MSU finished the season with five players scoring in double-figures and were only .30 points from having a sixth. B.J. Jenkins had 10.6 per game, with Isaiah Canaan getting 10.4, Ivan Aska 10.3, Danero Thomas 10.1 and Tony Easley 10.0. Isacc Miles scored 9.7 per game. The last time something like that occurred was in the 2003-04 season when Cuthbert Victor, Kelvin Brown, Chris Shumate, Antoine Whelchel and Adam Chiles all scored at least 10 points per game.

The Racers led the OVC in overall scoring offense (76.5) and scoring defense (60.4). The only other team to do that was Kansas of the Big-12.

The Racers were also part of a group of eight teams that led their conference in overall field goal percentage (.499) and field goal percentage defense (.387). The others were Kansas (Big-12), Montanta (Big Sky), Coastal Carolina (Big South), Kentucky (SEC), Southeastern Louisiana (Southland), Gonzaga (West Coast) and Utah State (WAC).

MSU held the opponents leading scorer under his average 30 times in 36 games this season.

NCAA SUCCESS
The Racers' win over Vanderbilt was MSU's first win over an SEC team since Christmas Day 1997 when the Racers beat Arkansas in Puerto Rico and their first over Vanderbilt since 1946. The win was the first for an Ohio Valley Conference team over an SEC team since 2000 when Tennessee Tech defeated South Carolina. The Racers scored their first win over an SEC team in the NCAA Tournament after losing in the first round three times: Alabama (1991), Arkansas (1992) and Georgia (2002).

The MSU NCAA win came 22 years to the day since their last against North Carolina State March 18, 1988. The win was the 22nd for a 13 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Billy Kennedy has won four NCAA games and the Vanderbilt win his first as a head coach.

The Racers are part of a group of teams that have earned multiple appearances in the NCAA Tournament. MSU's 14th trip was their first since 2006. MSU joined Wyoming, Dayton and Tulsa in the group that has 14.

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE UPDATE
The Racers clinched their first Ohio Valley Conference league title since 2006 when they scored an 80-68 win over Southeast Missouri Feb. 16. MSU has won or shared 21 league titles, the most in OVC history. With the win Feb. 27 at Eastern Kentucky, the Racers posted just the third one-loss season in program history. The 1987-88 squad was 13-1 and the 1993-94 team finished 15-1. The Racers' 17 OVC wins tied the team record of 17 set by the 2005-06 team.

The Racers' 31 wins is also an OVC record and the first time a league school has made it to 30 wins. The MSU team from 1997-98 and WKU from 1953-54 had the previous mark at 29 wins.

MSU had five players named to the All-OVC Team for the first time since 1998.

The Racers now have back-to-back OVC Freshman of the Year winners. Isaiah Canaan joins Ivan Aska who was the pick in 2009.

Billy Kennedy was named the OVC Coach of the Year and is the ninth different MSU coach to get the award.

STAT REPORT
The Racers had a great season in many statistical categories. Here is the breakdown on how they ranked in the OVC and in NCAA D-I.

Category	Stat	OVC	NCAA
Scoring Offense	76.5	1	31
Scoring Defense	60.4	1	21
Scoring Margin	+16.1	1	3
FG Percentage	.499	1	3
FG Percentage Defense	.387	1	10
3PT FG Per Game	6.3	4	157
3PT Percentage	.377	4	37
3PT FG Defense	.333	1	124
FT Percentage	.695	5	151
Rebound Margin	+6.3	2	13
Assists Per Game	15.4	2	28
Blocked Shots Per Game	5.4	1	19
Steals Per Game	9.6	1	5

RECORDS WATCH
The Racers broke the school record with 196 blocked shots. The old mark from the 2001-02 season was 159.

MSU also set the school mark with 556 assists, better than the old mark of 540 by the 1997-98 team.

The Racers set the single-game assist record with 25 against Tennessee Wesleyan on Nov. 28. The old mark was 23 against Colorado Springs on Nov. 19, 2001.

Tony Easley set the MSU single-season record for blocked shots with 95. The old mark was held by Pearson Griffith with 79 in the 2005-06 season. Easley was one shy of Cuthbert Victor's career mark of 160 set between 2000-04.

MSU came close to the school record with 347 steals, just shy of the 1994-95 team which had 351.

MSU had 226 made three-point baskets which was just behind the 2005-06 team with 230.

Danero Thomas became the 35^th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club against Morehead State Dec. 5. It marked the second straight season someone has joined the club as Tyler Holloway did it in the 2008-09 season. And it was the third time in the last four seasons to have a player join the club. Shawn Witherspoon did it in the 2006-07 season.

BILLY KENNEDY
Kennedy also reached a milestone in his 12^th season as a head coach reaching, then zooming past the .500 mark, impressive considering the rebuilding projects he completed at Centenary and Southeastern Louisiana. He will go into his 13^th season with a 188-170 (.525) record. Kennedy's mark at MSU is 84-44 (.656).

Kennedy now ranks sixth among MSU coaches in winning percentage for those who have coaches at least three seasons.

Head Coach	Period	Seasons	Record	Pct.
Mick Cronin	2003-06	3	69-24	.741
Mark Gottfried	1995-98	3	68-24	.739
Carlisle Cutchin	1925-41	17	267-101	.725
Tevester Anderson	1998-03	5	103-52	.664
Scott Edgar	1992-95	4	78-40	.661
Billy Kennedy	2006-	4	84-44	.656
Steve Newton	1985-91	4	116-65	.640
Harlan Hodges	1948-54	6	109-66	.623
Cal Luther	1959-74	16	241-154	.610
Ron Greene	1978-85	7	119-78	.604

Kennedy is the seventh coach at MSU to get the Racers to the NCAA Tournament and he joins Steve Newton as the only coaches to win.

Getting to the 80-point mark was big for MSU this season, they were 19-1 when getting there and are 34-5 in the Billy Kennedy era.

MSU is also 21-1 when hold opponents to 60 points or less and 46-6 under Kennedy.

Billy Kennedy's efforts to make MSU the best defensive team in the OVC have been very noticeable in his four seasons. His team led the league in defending the three-point shot for the fourth straight season (.333) and the Racers led the OVC in field goal percentage defense (.387) for the third time in his four seasons. MSU has now led the league in scoring defense (60.4) in the last two seasons.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Danero Thomas
Ended the season as the 22nd all-time leading scorer in MSU history with 1,277 points ... He became the 35^th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club against Morehead State (Dec. 5) ... Finished with 174 steals to rank 5th on the all-time MSU list ... His 60 steals this season rank him 5^th in a single-season at MSU ... Had a career-best six steals against UT Martin (Jan. 4) ... Career-best scoring game came against Austin Peay (Feb. 7, 2009) when he had 30 ... His career-high rebound game was against Austin Peay (Feb. 6, 2010) with 11 ... Hit the biggest shot of his career against Vanderbilt (March 18) with a buzzer-beating jumper for MSU's first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1988 ... Was named All-OVC as a junior in 2009 and All-OVC Preseason Team as a senior in the fall of 2009 ... Was named All-OVC Second Team in 2010 and was also a member of the All-OVC Tournament Team.

Tony Easley
Ended the season with 923 points and 613 rebounds ... Set the MSU single-season record for blocked shots with 95 and fell one block short of the MSU career record with 159 ... Had a career-high seven blocked shots against Southeast Missouri (Feb. 16) ... Had a streak of 33 straight games with at least one blocked shot ... His career-high points game was 19 against Jacksonville State (Feb. 13) ... Scored 18 points against James Madison (Nov. 20) when he was 7-of-12 from the field with 10 rebounds and five blocked shots ... His career-best rebound game was against Lyon College (Nov. 15, 2008) with 12 ... Named to the All-OVC Second Team and also a member of the All-OVC Tournament Team.

George Fotso
Ended his MSU career with 82 appearances and six starts ... Scored 67 career points and grabbed 94 rebounds ... In the 2009-10 season, he appeared in 22 games, made one start and scored 15 points ... Was MSU's outstanding senior when he graduated with a degree in international business (May 09) ... Worked on his master's in business administration during his senior season ... The Jeff Martin Class & Character Award.

B.J. Jenkins
His 64 steals led the OVC and ranked him third on the MSU all-time single-season list ... He was ranked 89^th in NCAA D-I with 1.8 steals per game ... His assist/turnover ratio of +1.8 was 87^th in the nation and fourth in the OVC ... He made 67 three-point baskets to rank sixth in the OVC and tops on the MSU team ... He was the 20^th leading scorer in the OVC with 10.6 points per game which was tops on MSU's team ... His 116 assists ranked him ninth in the OVC and second with MSU ... He made at least one three-point basket in 15 of the final 16 games ... Had a career-high 23 points against Tennessee Tech (Feb. 11) ... Scored 22 against Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 27) when he went 6-of-6 from the field including 5-of-5 from three-point range ... Hit the winning basket with :04 remaining against EKU (Dec. 3) ... Had a career-high seven assists against Morehead State (Dec. 5) ... Led the team in free throw shooting at .797 ... Had a streak of just over 95 minutes without a turnover spanning nearly three games ... Was a starter in all 36 games ... Was named the OVC Newcomer of the Week five times and named to the OVC Newcomer Team at the end of the season and was named to the All-OVC First Team and NABC All-District 19 Team ... Earned the Popeye Jones Mr. MSU Award.

Isacc Miles
His 132 assists ranked him fifth in the OVC, best on the MSU team and ninth all-time at MSU for a single-season ... Had 10 games with five or more assists ... Was a starter in all 36 games and enters next season with a string of 67 straight starts, which is every game in his MSU career ... Had a season-high 21 points against Eastern Illinois (Jan. 11) ... Tied his career-high of 11 assists against Tennessee State (Mar. 2) ... Starts next season with 678 career points and 322 from 1,000 ... Starts next season 56 assists from breaking into the MSU career top-10 ... In the post-season which spanned two games each in the OVC and the NCAA Tournament, he connected on 8-of-17 from three-point range ... Was named to the All-OVC Preseason Team ... At the end of the season, he was named to the All-OVC First Team and the NABC All-District 19 Team.

Ivan Aska
Scored 371 points during his sophomore season and starts next season with 691 points and needs 309 points to become the 36^th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club ... Named OVC Player of the Week (Nov. 16) ... Had a string of 28 straight starts ... Had a season-high 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting against UMSL (Nov. 14) ... Had 17 double-figure scoring games in the season ... Was third in the OVC in field goal percentage at .588 ... He made 26 more field goals and shot 51 percentage points better than he did as a freshman ... Had a career-high 14 rebounds against ETSU (Dec. 12) ... Was named to the All-OVC Preseason Team and the NABC All-District 19 Team ... Earned the Garrett Beshear Defensive Award.

Jewuan Long
Made back from off-season knee surgery and appeared in 30 games with a 3.2 points per game scoring average ... Scored in 20 of the 30 games he appeared in and had a total of 97 points ... Averaged 11.5 minutes per game off the MSU bench ... Recorded 26 assists and 20 steals ... Had a season-high nine points against Tennessee Wesleyan (Nov. 28) ... Scored eight points in MSU wins over Tennessee Tech (Jan. 16) and Southeast Missouri (Feb. 16).

Jeffery McClain
Appeared in all 36 games off the MSU bench with an average of 3.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game ... Grabbed at least two rebounds of 34 games and had a season-high nine rebounds against UMSL (Nov. 14) ... Had a season-high 12 points against Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 2) when he was 4-of-4 from the field ... Had a career-high four steals against Chattanogga (Dec. 19) ... Tied his career-high with two blocked shots against Tennessee Wesleyan (Nov. 28) ... Had a big blocked shot late in the Racers' NCAA win against Vanderbilt that helped preserve the victory ... Earned the Racer Hustle Award.

Donte Poole
Appeared in all 36 games for MSU and made one start against UMSL (Nov. 14) ... Had a scoring average of 4.8 points per game and grabbed 2.0 rebounds per game ... had 46 assists and 36 steals ... Scored a career-high 16 points against Tennessee Wesleyan (Nov. 28) on 6-of-8 shots from the field ... Came off the bench and scored 13 points against Tennessee Tech (Jan. 16) and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line ... Tied his career-high with five rebounds against Eastern Illinois (March 5).

Isaiah Canaan
Appeared in all 36 games and scored in double-figures in 19 games with a scoring average of 10.4 per game ... Was the best three-point shooter for the Racers with a .482 success rate on 54-of-112 shots ... Ranked first in the OVC in three-point percentage ... Had a streak of 17 consecutive games in which he made at least one three-point basket ... The streak started in the second game of the season and he shot 23-of-47 (.489) during the streak ... Had a career-high 22 points against Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 27) when he was 5-of-6 from three-point range ... had 373 points with 56 assists and 31 steals ... Hit a shot from one knee from mid-court (Feb. 16) against Southeast Missouri, the video was viewed more than two million times on YouTube.com ... Was named OVC Freshman of the Year and won three OVC Freshman of the Week honors ... Named to the All-OVC Newcomer Team ... Was MVP of the OVC Tournament ... Named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-America Team.

Ed Daniel
Appeared in 36 games with a scoring average of 3.0 points per game and a rebound average of 2.7 ... Scored 97 points with 23 blocked shots and 13 steals ... Shot .507 from the field on 34-of-67 shots ... Had a career-high 10 points against Tennessee Tech (Feb. 11) ... His career-high in blocked shots came when he had three against Tennessee Wesleyan (Nov. 28) ... Played 15 minutes in MSU's NCAA win over Vanderbilt with five points and six rebounds ... The six rebounds tied his career-high at MSU ... Averaged 10.5 minutes per game.

A.J. Wilson
Appeared in 21 games with a scoring average of 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game ... Scored a career-high six points in back-to-back games against Florida International (Nov. 23) and Tennessee Wesleyan (Nov. 28) ... Hit 15-of-20 (.750) ... Had a total of nine blocked shots.

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