MSU Men's Basketball - Breaking Down Another Championship Season

As the seasons come and go, the tradition-rich men's basketball program at Murray State continues to churn out exciting basketball and the 2010-11 season was no different.

The Racers posted a 23-9 overall mark and won OVC regular season title for a second straight time going through the league 14-4 and wrapped up the program's 22^nd league title with big home wins in the final week of the season against Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky. MSU has 24 straight winning seasons, the fourth-best streak in the nation tied with national champion Connecticut and trails only Syracuse (41), Kansas (28) and Arizona (27).

Even with a disappointing loss to Tennessee Tech in the OVC Tournament semifinals, the Racers advanced to play in the National Invitation Tournament as the league's regular season champion. MSU's final game in another good season was an 89-76 loss at Missouri State in the NIT first round.

MSU said goodbye to a great senior class: B.J. Jenkins, Isacc Miles, Jeffery McClain and Picasso Simmons.

SEASON NOTES

MSU's back-to-back OVC regular season titles mark the first occurrence for the Racers since they ended a run of seven straight in 2000.

Racers are 54-14 (.794) overall and 31-5 (.861) OVC last two seasons

The Racers participated in the National Invitational Tournament for the seventh time and first since 1996.

Isacc Miles became the 36^th player to join the MSU 1000-Point Club and B.J. Jenkins joined the top-10 scoring list for two year players.

Isaiah Canaan earned All-OVC First Team honors which marks the 27th season in the last 31 that MSU has placed a player on the first team. B.J. Jenkins and Isacc Miles were named to the All-OVC Second Team and joined Canaan as two time selections.

It really is amazing to think that 24 seasons have been recorded since MSU last had a losing season. The group of teams that MSU associates with in this particular item is some of the college basketball's heavy hitters like: Syracuse (41), Kansas (28), Arizona (27) and UConn (24).

In a testament to their tremendous team concept, the Racers won the OVC title and didn't have any player make the top-10 in the league in scoring or rebounding.

The Racers were the only team in the OVC that had two players get 100 assists and the only with three to have 75 assists or more. Isacc Miles led the team with 123, while B.J. Jenkins had 107 and Isaiah Canaan had 76.

Since assists began being recorded in the 1972-73 season, MSU has had seven seasons with two players with 100 assists, and the Racers have done it three in a row.

Season	Player	Total	Player	Total
2010-11	Isacc Miles	123	B.J. Jenkins	107
2009-10	Isacc Miles	132	B.J. Jenkins	116
2008-09	Isacc Miles	109	Kevin Thomas	109
2004-05	Keith Jenifer	112	Trey Pearson	101
2001-02	Kevin Paschel	124	Antoine Whelchel	101
1990-91	Greg Coble	118	Frank Allen	117
1982-83	Lamont Sleets	117	Glen Green	102

BILLY KENNEDY

Coach Kennedy is the first MSU coach to win the OVC Coach of the Year award in back-to-back seasons and he is part of a group of five MSU coaches who have won it twice: Cal Luther (1964, 1969), Ron Greene (1980, 1983), Steve Newton (1988, 1990), Scott Edgar (1992, 1994).

Kennedy earned his 100th win at Murray State and is the third fastest to reach the milestone in MSU history. Kennedy needed 150 games, just behind Carlisle Cutchin (1932) who got there in 146 games and Tevester Anderson (Feb. 15, 2003) who made 100 in 149 games.

Kennedy also recorded his 200th win in his career during the past season. He has coached in 23 seasons overall in his career with 13 of those as a head coach with five at MSU. As he enters his sixth season at MSU in 2011-12, he is 107-53 (.668). Overall, Kennedy is 211-179 (.541).

MSU All-Time Wins	Seasons	Wins
Carlisle Cutchin (1925-41)	17	267
Cal Luther (1959-74)	16	241
Ron Greene (1978-85)	7	119
Steve Newton (1985-91	6	116
Harlan Hodges (1948-54)	6	109
Billy Kennedy (2006-Present)	5	107

MSU All-Time Winning %	Seasons	Games	Wins	Pct
Rice Mountjoy (1942)	1	22	18	.818
Mick Cronin (2003-06)	3	93	69	.741
Mark Gottfried (1995-98)	3	92	68	.739
Carlisle Cutchin (1924-41)	17	368	267	.725
Billy Kennedy (2006-Present)	5	160	107	.668
Tevester Anderson (1998-03)	5	155	103	.664
Scott Edgar (1992-95)	4	118	78	.661
Steve Newton (1985-91)	6	181	116	.640
Harlan Hodges (1948-54)	6	175	109	.623
Cal Luther (1959-74)	16	395	241	.610
Ron Greene (1978-85)	7	197	119	.604

Next season, Kennedy and the Racers will be trying to be the first in school history to win three straight solo OVC regular season titles. The last coach to win three straight either outright or shared was Mark Gottfried from 1995-98. The middle title in that run in 1996-97 was shared with Austin Peay.

Kennedy is the seventh straight coach to record at least two 20-win seasons. From 1953-78 Murray State had a 20-win season only one time. Ron Greene started the run and it has continued through Newton, Edgar, Gottfried, Anderson, Cronin and now Kennedy.

OVC & NATIONAL RANKINGS

The Racers had another good season in several categories, but slipped some in others. For example, the Racers led the OVC in scoring defense for a third straight season (30th in the nation) giving only 61.8 points per game and MSU was second in the league (60^th in the nation) in field goal percentage at .459. However, MSU's streak of leading the OVC in three-point percentage defense came to an end when they dropped to sixth in the league (216th in the nation).

Category	Stat	OVC	NCAA
Won-Loss Percentage	.719	1	39
Scoring Offense	68.6	5	173
Scoring Defense	61.8	1	30
Scoring Margin	+6.7	2	59
Field Goal Percentage	.459	4	60
Field Goal Percentage Defense	.434	4	185
3Pt FG Made Per Game	6.0	3	180
3Pt Percentage	.379	1	29
3Pt Percentage Defense	.350	6	216
Free Throw Percentage	.699	5	143
Rebound Margin	+2.3	3	105
Assists Per Game	13.5	4	124
Assists-Turnover Ratio	.97	3	158
Blocked Shots Per Game	2.9	6	224
Steals Per Game	7.6	4	63
Turnover Margin	1.0	3	107

Catagory	Name	Stat	OVC	NCAA
Scoring	Isaiah Canaan	11.7	14	----
	B.J. Jenkins	11.0	23	----
	Isacc Miles	10.8	24	----
Rebounding	Ivan Aska	5.2	11	----
Free Throws	B.J. Jenkins	.905	1	6
	Isaiah Canaan	.744	15	----
Assists Per Game	Isacc Miles	3.8	4	156
	B.J. Jenkins	3.3	8	----
Blocks Per Game	Ed Daniel	1.0	8	248
Steals Per Game	B.J. Jenkins	1.5	10	156
Assist-Turnover Ratio	B.J. Jenkins	1.75	2	155
	Isacc Miles	1.56	5	217
3Pt Percentage	Isaiah Canaan	.403	6	----
	Isacc Miles	.393	9	----
	B.J. Jenkins	.388	10	----
3Pt FG Made	Isaiah Canaan	58	5	----
	B.J. Jenkins	57	6	----
Off. Rebounds Per Game	Ed Daniel	2.1	9	----
	Jeffery McClain	1.9	10	----
Def. Rebounds Per Game	Ivan Aska	3.7	13	----

HOME COOKIN'

The Racers had another outstanding season at home in the CFSB Center, which was officially ushered in as the new name of the arena (replacing the original name of Regional Special Events Center) when the Racers beat ETSU on opening night (Nov. 15). MSU was 13-2 at home this season and have enjoyed a great recent run. MSU is 28-2 in the last two seasons and 40-4 in the last three. Here are the best home court winning percentages over the last two seasons.

Team	League	09-11	Pct
Duke	ACC	35-0	1.000
Kentucky	SEC	34-0	1.000
Ohio State	Big-10	27-1	.973
Kansas	Big-12	36-1	.972
Utah State	WAC	34-1	.971
Wisconsin	Big-10	32-1	.969
Xavier	A-10	29-1	.966
Temple	A-10	27-1	.964
N. Colorado	Big Sky	26-1	.962
Pittsburgh	Big East	34-2	.944
Purdue	Big-10	30-2	.937
Murray State	OVC	29-2	.935
Old Dominion	Colonial	29-2	.935
BYU	MWC	29-2	.935
San Diego State	MWC	28-2	.933
Butler	Horizon	27-2	.931
Harvard	Ivy	25-2	.925
Charleston	SoCon	24-2	.923
Notre Dame	Big East	34-3	.918
Missouri	Big-12	33-3	.916

Since playing their first season in the arena in 1998-99, MSU has played a total of 186 games and are 159-27 (.854). MSU is 99-18 (.859) against OVC teams and they're 60-9 (.869) against non-league teams.

MSU had the fourth-longest home winning streak in the nation and the second-longest home winning streak going when they lost to Austin Peay (Jan. 8) 66-64. The 25 game streak is the longest in the arena surpassing the 17-game streak that MSU had from the time the building opened in 1998 to early 2000.

Length	Started	Opponent	Ended	Opponent
25	Jan. 22, 2009	Eastern Illinois	Jan. 8, 2011	Austin Peay
17	Nov. 14, 1998	Southern Illinois	Jan. 15, 2000	SE Missouri
15	Dec. 30, 2005	Rice	Dec. 21, 2006	Samford
14	Jan. 6, 2001	UT Martin	Dec. 29, 2001	Southern Illinois
12	Jan. 25, 2003	Eastern Kentucky	Jan. 15, 2004	Samford
12	Jan. 17, 2004	Jacksonville State	Dec. 4, 2004	Western Kentucky

One of the amazing facts about MSU's 13 seasons in the CFSB Center is they have never lost three in a row and have only dropped back-to-back games on five occasions.

SAYING GOODBYE TO THE SENIORS

B.J. Jenkins

Started all 32 games in his senior season and started all 68 of his career in a Murray State uniform … Scored 11.0 points per game on 104-240 shots for a percentage of .433 … Hit 38 percent from three-point range on 57-of-144 shots … Scored 351 points after having 380 as a junior … His 731 points ranks him eighth all-time among two year players at MSU just behind seventh place Greg Coble (1989-91) … Finished with 113 career steals and 223 assists … When adding in his numbers from his two seasons at Liberty (2007-08) Jenkins had 1,196 career points, 392 rebounds, 362 assists and 183 steals … Had a career-high 25 points against Morehead State (Feb. 24) and a following 18 points two days later against Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 26) came in the two biggest games of the season that clinched the outright OVC title … In those two games he was a combined 11-of-17 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range and he added in 13 rebounds … Had a career high 10 assists against WKU (Dec. 18) … Had 18 double-figure scoring games … Turned in the best single-season free throw campaign in MSU history when he led the OVC and was sixth nationally on 86-of-95 attempts for a .905 percentage to be the first player in MSU history to shoot better than 90 percent … Surpassed former teammate Tyler Holloway (2005-09) for the all-time best free throw percentage at .858 … Was named OVC Player of the Week (Feb. 28) for his big games that clinched the title … Named All-OVC Second Team which was the second straight season he was named to the all-league squad … At the end of the season he was given the Jeff Martin Class & Character Award.

Isacc Miles

Started all 32 games in his senior season and started all 99 games in his MSU career at MSU …Scored 10.8 points per game on 113-of-254 for a .445 percentage … Was .393 from three-point range on 46-of-117 shots … Led the team with 123 assists and finished as the sixth-best assist man in MSU history with 374 just behind the fifth-place duo of Chad Townsend (1996-98) and Aubrey Reese (1997-00) who each had 383 … His 344 points this season made him the 26^th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club with 1,022 … He made the 1000-Point Club even though he only played three seasons with the Racers … Adding in his one season he played at Creighton (2006-07), Miles finished with 1,348 points, 430 assists and 334 rebounds … Had a season-high 23 points on the night MSU clinched the OVC title against Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 26) … Had 20 double-figure scoring games and a streak of 13 straight games with at least one made three-point basket …. Was named to the All-OVC team for a second straight season by earning second team honors … He was given the Garrett Beshear Defensive Award at season's end … Miles also leaves MSU being the only known player in program history with a triple-double, a feat he accomplished in 2009 against UT Martin.

Jeffery McClain

Started all 32 games in his senior season with 6.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game … Led the squad in field goal percentage at .583 on 77-of-132 shots … Had four double-figure scoring games on the season including a 13-point effort against Jacksonville State (Jan. 13) … Had a career-high 12 rebounds in the BracketBusters game against Evansville (Feb. 19) … Ended his career with 525 points and 458 rebounds … In 2008, he tied a Murray State record that was set in 1966 when he was 14-of-14 from the free throw line against St. Catharine … In the same game he set his career-high with 20 points … He appeared in 99 games at MSU and made 64 starts … At season's end, he was give the Popeye Jones - Mr. MSU Award that goes to the student-athlete who displayed excellence in all areas on and off the court.

Picasso Simmons

A valued walk-on who was with the Racer program for four seasons, he represented MSU Basketball in outstanding fashion. He appeared in 22 games and was one of the most beloved figures to wear the Blue & Gold. He was named to the OVC Commissioner's honor roll.

RETURNING ROSTER

Ivan Aska

Appeared in all 32 games with 10 starts … Scored 7.6 points per game and pulled down a team-leading 5.2 rebounds per game … Ended the season with a flurry with a 15.5 scoring average in MSU's final two (post-season) games by hitting 92-of-201 from the field for a percentage of .458 … Led the team with 117 rebounds on the defensive end and was third on the team with 48 offensive rebounds …Had eight double-figure scoring games including a season-high 17 against Chattanooga (Dec. 11) … Had two double-double games and a career-high 14 boards against Bethel (Dec. 15) … Begins his senior season with 933 points which makes him 67 points from becoming the 37^th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club … Also has 517 career rebounds.

Isaiah Canaan

Started 20 of 32 games with a scoring average of 11.7, best on the team which was 14^th in the OVC …He hit a team-high 122 field goals on 269 shots for a .416 clip … Scored 375 points as a sophomore after scoring 373 as a freshman and is in line to be the 38th member of the MSU 1000-Point Club next season … Also led the team and was sixth in the OVC with a .403 percentage from three-point range on 58-of-144 shots … His 58 made threes was sixth in the league … Had a streak of 15 games with at least one made three-point basket … Ranked second on the team with 34 steals … Had 21 double-figure scoring games including a string of eight straight when he averaged 15.3 points per game … Scored a career-high 24 points against UT Martin (Jan. 29) when he was 6-of-6 from the three-point line … Also had a 21-point effort (Feb. 5) against Austin Peay … Was named OVC Player of the Week (Dec. 20) after he had a big game against WKU (Dec. 18) with 19 points including 5-of-8 from three-point range … At the end of the season was named All-OVC First Team.

Ed Daniel

Appeared in all 32 games and made 22 starts … Scored 6.3 points per game on 68-of-124 shots for the second-best percentage on the team at .548 … Had 139 rebounds including a team-best 66 offensive boards for a 4.3 average … Had four double-figure scoring games including his career-high 21 points against Tennessee State (Feb. 3) when he was 8-of-10 from the field and also had a career-high 14 rebounds … Entered the season with a .527 free throw average but improved to .634 on 64-of-101 attempts.

Brandon Garrett

Appeared in 11 games with a scoring average of 1.2 points per game and 1.5 rebounds … Was 5-of-15 from the field for 33 percent … Came off the bench in MSU's National Invitation Tournament game at Missouri State (March 15) and played nine minutes with three points and a career-high four rebounds …. Had a career-high five points against Reinhardt (Nov. 20).

Chris Griffin

Appeared in 22 games with a scoring average of 2.0 points per game and the same in rebounds per game … Had a career-high five points on three occasions against Morehead State (Dec. 4), Tennessee Tech (Jan. 15) and SIUE (Jan. 26) … Had a career-high six rebounds twice in games against SIUE (Dec. 30) and Southeast Missouri (Jan. 22).

Shawn Jackson

Appeared in 26 games with a scoring average of 3.9 points and 1.1 rebounds … Scored a career-high 12 points against SIUE (Dec. 30) on 3-of-4 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line … Had a career-high five rebounds against Bethel (Dec. 15) … Had 13 games in which he played 10 or more minutes … Was 39-of-72 from the field for a percentage of .542, one of three players on the team to shoot above 50 percent.

Jewuan Long

Appeared in all 32 games and made 11 starts in the final 12 games of the season … Had a scoring average of 5.4 points per game and grabbed 2.5 rebounds per game … Had three double-figure scoring games including a career-high 15 points against Southeast Missouri (Jan. 22) … Had a career-high five rebounds against Bethel (Dec. 15) … Ended the season shooting .488 from the field on 61-of-125 shots from the field and was 44-of-59 from the free throw line for a percentage of .746 … Totalled 81 rebounds, 43 assists and 31 steals … Earned the MSU Hustle Award at season's end.

Latreze Mushatt

Sat out the 2010-11 season as a transfer from Missouri-Kansas City and has two seasons to play for MSU beginning with the 2011-12 season ... A multi-talented wing that played in all 30 games with 28 starts in 2009-10 for UMKC where he was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game ... He led UMKC in steals with 36 and was third in assists with 49 ... His .475 field goal percentage ranked him ninth in the Summit League ... As a freshman in 2008-09, he was one of three to play in all 31 games (he had 25 starts) and he scored 9.1 points per game and grabbed 5.5 rebounds per game ... His career-high scoring game came against Oakland (Feb. 13, 2010) with 21 points, while his best rebounding game was against Western Illinois (Jan. 2, 2009) with 11 ... Played his prep basketball at Saginaw Arthur Hill High School where he was named to the Detroit Free Press All-Michigan Team and he was also a Michigan All-State selection by the Associated Press ... He ranked as the third best shooting guard in the state of Michigan by mihoops.com.

Donte Poole

Appeared in all 32 games in the season with one start against WKU (Dec. 18) … Scored 4.8 points per game on 51-of-124 shots for a .411 percentage … Was 22-of-65 from three-point range for .338 percent … Finished with 88 rebounds, 25 assists and 22 steals … Had five double-figure scoring games … had a career-high 16 rebounds against Tennessee State (Jan. 6) and had a career-high eight rebounds against Eastern Illinois (Feb. 7).

Jordan Burge

A walk-on who completed his second season with the program … Named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll … Appeared in two games in the 2010-11 season.

Murray State University Athletics

MSU Men's Basketball - Breaking Down Another Championship Season

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