Murray State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 17
CFSB Center
8 p.m.
Murray State
vs
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UTEP
Photo by: Tab Brockman
Racers Eye NIT Showdown At The Bank Vs UTEP
3/17/2015 7:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State Game Notes I UTEP Game Notes I Live Audio I Live Video I Live Stats I NIT Home Page
Date-Time: March 17, 8:05 p.m. CT tipÂ
Site: Murray, Ky.
Arena: CFSB Center (8,600)
TV: ESPN2 PXP: Rich Hollenberg Analyst: Darrin Horn
Radio: Racer Radio - WFGE 103.7 FMÂ Neal Bradley & Kenny Roth
Web Streaming: Audio: GoRacers.com &Â Froggy103.com Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: MurrayState.StatBroadcast.com
Twitter In Game: @MSURacers @RacerDave23
MSU vs UTEP: Racers lead 2-1Â Home: Racers lead 1-0 Away: Miners lead 1-0Â Neutral: Racers lead 1-0
Last Meeting: 1964, Tempe, AZ - Racers won 65-58Â Last Home Meeting: 1954, Racers Won 76-69
Last Away Meeting: 1955, UTEP won 89-71Â
MSU In NIT: 2-7 Last: 2011, Lost at Missouri StateÂ
Steve Prohm in Postseason: 6-1
The Murray State Racers (27-5) look to continue their winning ways Tuesday when they host the UTEP Miners (22-10) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky. The 8 p.m. tip will be seen on ESPN2. All Murray State games are heard over free radio on WFGE Froggy 103.7 FM and online at Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com. Neal Bradley is in his 24th season as the Voice of the Racers. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides analysis.Â
In the NIT bracket, the Racers are a No. 3 seed and UTEP is a No. 6 seed. The winner of this game will play the winner of No. 2 Tulsa (22-10) who hosts No. 7 William & Mary (20-12) also Tuesday.Â
The Racers are coming off an 88-87 loss in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game (March 7) that denied them their 16th trip to the NCAA Tournament, but with MSU's regular season OVC title, they received an automatic spot in the NIT. The Racers are hosting an NIT game for the second time after they hosted Wake Forest at old Racer Arena in 1983 under Coach Ron Greene. MSU is making its eighth appearance in the NIT and first since 2011. MSU is 2-7 all-time in the NIT. The 2011 appearance ended with an 89-76 loss at Missouri State. The last time MSU hosted was against Wake Forest who came into old Racer Arena in 1983 and won 87-80. MSU's two wins were in 1980 against Alabama and Jacksonville.
The Racers ended the nation's second-longest winning streak when they were upset in the OVC Tournament. MSU's 25-game run spanned 98 days and saw them go undefeated in December, January and February. MSU (16-0) was one of three teams this season, along with Kentucky and North Carolina Central, to go undefeated in their conference. It marks the first at Murray State and the fifth in the OVC in 67 seasons of basketball and the first since Austin Peay did it in 2003-04.
Cameron Payne leads the Racers as the OVC Player of the Year. Payne, a sophomore from Memphis is also on the Naismith Trophy semifinal list. He's the fourth rated player in the nation according to KenPom.com and 10th in the nation with 20.3 points per game. Payne ranks 14th in the nation with 186 assists. Jarvis Williams was named All-OVC First Team and scores 15.5 points per game and grabs 8.3 rebounds. T.J. Sapp and Jeffery Moss get 12.1 and 11.1 points per game. Jonathan Fairell gets 6.8 rebounds per game.
For the first time since 2011, the Racers are back in the National Invitation Tournament. The last time MSU played in the NIT, they were coached by Billy Kennedy and lost on the road in Springfield at Missouri State. MSU made a pair of NIT appearances in the 1990's under Scott Edgar and Mark Gottfried. In the 1980's, Steve Newton took the Racers to one NIT in 1989. MSU coach Ron Greene has the record at Murray State in NIT appearances (3) and games (5). Greene led MSU to its only NIT wins when the Racers scored road wins in 1980 at Jacksonville and then Alabama. MSU is 2-7 all-time. MSU's only time to host an NIT game came in 1983 when the Racers lost at old Racer Arena to Wake Forest.
The Racers lead the OVC with eight appearances in the NIT. Couple that with 15 NCAA trips and Murray State has one of the best histories in the game. Belmont was the OVC's rep in the NIT a year ago and won a pair of games over Green Bay and Robert Morris before falling one game from a trip to the Big Apple with a loss at Clemson. In total, current OVC members have made 12 appearances in the NIT with eight from the Racers and pair each from Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech. Belmont and UT Martin had made one trip each. TTU (2002) and Belmont (2014) both advanced to the quarterfinals.
Along with The Racers in the NIT and Belmont in the NCAA, the OVC also sent three teams to the CollegeInsider Tournament.
Tuesday March 17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Eastern Illinois (17-14)@Oakland (16-16), 7 p.m.
Norfolk State (20-13)@Eastern Kentucky (19-11), 7 p.m.
Thursday March 19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
UT Martin (18-12)@Northwestern State (19-12), 7:30 p.m.
Friday March 20
Belmont (22-10) vs Virginia (29-3), 2:10 p.m.
The 2015 NIT will use two experimental rules. Instead of the usual 35-second shot clock, they'll trim it to 30-seconds. Â The NIT will enlarge the restricted area under the basket from three feet to four feet.
Date-Time: March 17, 8:05 p.m. CT tipÂ
Site: Murray, Ky.
Arena: CFSB Center (8,600)
TV: ESPN2 PXP: Rich Hollenberg Analyst: Darrin Horn
Radio: Racer Radio - WFGE 103.7 FMÂ Neal Bradley & Kenny Roth
Web Streaming: Audio: GoRacers.com &Â Froggy103.com Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: MurrayState.StatBroadcast.com
Twitter In Game: @MSURacers @RacerDave23
MSU vs UTEP: Racers lead 2-1Â Home: Racers lead 1-0 Away: Miners lead 1-0Â Neutral: Racers lead 1-0
Last Meeting: 1964, Tempe, AZ - Racers won 65-58Â Last Home Meeting: 1954, Racers Won 76-69
Last Away Meeting: 1955, UTEP won 89-71Â
MSU In NIT: 2-7 Last: 2011, Lost at Missouri StateÂ
Steve Prohm in Postseason: 6-1
The Murray State Racers (27-5) look to continue their winning ways Tuesday when they host the UTEP Miners (22-10) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky. The 8 p.m. tip will be seen on ESPN2. All Murray State games are heard over free radio on WFGE Froggy 103.7 FM and online at Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com. Neal Bradley is in his 24th season as the Voice of the Racers. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides analysis.Â
In the NIT bracket, the Racers are a No. 3 seed and UTEP is a No. 6 seed. The winner of this game will play the winner of No. 2 Tulsa (22-10) who hosts No. 7 William & Mary (20-12) also Tuesday.Â
The Racers are coming off an 88-87 loss in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game (March 7) that denied them their 16th trip to the NCAA Tournament, but with MSU's regular season OVC title, they received an automatic spot in the NIT. The Racers are hosting an NIT game for the second time after they hosted Wake Forest at old Racer Arena in 1983 under Coach Ron Greene. MSU is making its eighth appearance in the NIT and first since 2011. MSU is 2-7 all-time in the NIT. The 2011 appearance ended with an 89-76 loss at Missouri State. The last time MSU hosted was against Wake Forest who came into old Racer Arena in 1983 and won 87-80. MSU's two wins were in 1980 against Alabama and Jacksonville.
The Racers ended the nation's second-longest winning streak when they were upset in the OVC Tournament. MSU's 25-game run spanned 98 days and saw them go undefeated in December, January and February. MSU (16-0) was one of three teams this season, along with Kentucky and North Carolina Central, to go undefeated in their conference. It marks the first at Murray State and the fifth in the OVC in 67 seasons of basketball and the first since Austin Peay did it in 2003-04.
Cameron Payne leads the Racers as the OVC Player of the Year. Payne, a sophomore from Memphis is also on the Naismith Trophy semifinal list. He's the fourth rated player in the nation according to KenPom.com and 10th in the nation with 20.3 points per game. Payne ranks 14th in the nation with 186 assists. Jarvis Williams was named All-OVC First Team and scores 15.5 points per game and grabs 8.3 rebounds. T.J. Sapp and Jeffery Moss get 12.1 and 11.1 points per game. Jonathan Fairell gets 6.8 rebounds per game.
For the first time since 2011, the Racers are back in the National Invitation Tournament. The last time MSU played in the NIT, they were coached by Billy Kennedy and lost on the road in Springfield at Missouri State. MSU made a pair of NIT appearances in the 1990's under Scott Edgar and Mark Gottfried. In the 1980's, Steve Newton took the Racers to one NIT in 1989. MSU coach Ron Greene has the record at Murray State in NIT appearances (3) and games (5). Greene led MSU to its only NIT wins when the Racers scored road wins in 1980 at Jacksonville and then Alabama. MSU is 2-7 all-time. MSU's only time to host an NIT game came in 1983 when the Racers lost at old Racer Arena to Wake Forest.
The Racers lead the OVC with eight appearances in the NIT. Couple that with 15 NCAA trips and Murray State has one of the best histories in the game. Belmont was the OVC's rep in the NIT a year ago and won a pair of games over Green Bay and Robert Morris before falling one game from a trip to the Big Apple with a loss at Clemson. In total, current OVC members have made 12 appearances in the NIT with eight from the Racers and pair each from Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech. Belmont and UT Martin had made one trip each. TTU (2002) and Belmont (2014) both advanced to the quarterfinals.
Along with The Racers in the NIT and Belmont in the NCAA, the OVC also sent three teams to the CollegeInsider Tournament.
Tuesday March 17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Eastern Illinois (17-14)@Oakland (16-16), 7 p.m.
Norfolk State (20-13)@Eastern Kentucky (19-11), 7 p.m.
Thursday March 19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
UT Martin (18-12)@Northwestern State (19-12), 7:30 p.m.
Friday March 20
Belmont (22-10) vs Virginia (29-3), 2:10 p.m.
The 2015 NIT will use two experimental rules. Instead of the usual 35-second shot clock, they'll trim it to 30-seconds. Â The NIT will enlarge the restricted area under the basket from three feet to four feet.
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Players Mentioned
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