The Place To Be Thursday At The Bank - Racers host EIU

EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (14-10, 6-4 Ohio Valley)
Head Coach: Jay Spoonhour (Pittsburg State, 1994)
Career Record: 197-148 (11th season) • At EIU: 91-116 (7th) • OVC: 49-57

MURRAY STATE RACERS (17-4, 8-2 Ohio Valley)
Head Coach: Matt McMahon (Appalachian State, 2000)
Career Record: 76-41 (4th season) • At MUR: Same • OVC: 42-18

Date: Feb. 7 Time: 7 p.m. CT Site: Murray, Ky. Arena: CFSB Center Radio: Racer Radio - WFGE 103.7 FM - PXP-Neal Bradley, Analyst-Kenny Roth TV: None Online Video: ESPN+ Audio: GoRacers.com & Froggy103.com Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com Twitter: @MSURacers @RacersHoops @RacerDave23

Series: MSU leads 47-11 Home: MSU leads 25-3 Away: MSU leads 19-7 Neutral: MSU leads 3-1 Last Meeting: 2019 Away MSU won 83-61 Last EIU Win: 2017 at MSU 82-65 Last EIU Win at MSU: 2017 EIU won 82-65 Last 5 Meetings: MSU leads 4-1 Last OT: 2008 MSU lost at EIU 83-80 Last 10 Meetings: MSU leads 8-2

MSU Last: Feb. 2 won at TTU 67-63 EIU Last: Feb. 2 lost at home vs MOR 84-78 MSU Next: Feb. 9 Home vs SIUE MSU next away: Feb. 14 at APSU EIU Next: Feb, 9 at APSU EIU Next Home: Feb. 16 vs SEMO

The quest for the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship isn't for the weak. It's a nine week grind with games on every Thursday and Saturday where at the end of 18 tough games, a champion will be crowned. On Thursday, the Racers (17-4, 8-2 OVC) host the Eastern Illinois Panthers (13-10, 6-4 OVC) and MSU hopes to keep their share of first place. The Racers enter week six of OVC play tied for first with Austin Peay, Belmont and Jacksonville State.

Froggy 103 (WFGS 103.7 FM) airs every MSU game with "Voice of the Racers" Neal Bradley calling the action in his 28th season. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides commentary. Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com has free online streaming audio. The game can also be seen online at Watch ESPN+.

After falling at JSU last week and out of first place in the league standings, the Racers came from five points down with three minutes left at Tennessee Tech on Saturday for a 67-63 win and when Austin Peay won at JSU, it created the four-way tie at 8-2.

fell out of a share of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 88-68 defeat to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks Thursday at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama. The Racers begin play Saturday as part of a three-way tie for second place with Belmont and Austin Peay. The Govs play at JSU and Belmont has a game at home with UT Martin.

MSU all-star, Ja Morant was named to two important national award watch lists this week when the Wooden Award placed him on it's top-20 list and the Cousy Award put in its top-10 list. Morant goes into the weekend games ranked eighth in NCAA D-I (first in the OVC) with 24.1 points per game and first in the nation and OVC with 10.3 assists per game. If he keeps those averages, Morant will become the first player since the assist became an official stat to average 20 and 10 in a single season. Morant enters the game with 53 games played with MSU and he already has 912 points and 419 assists.

In just 53 games, Ja Morant is putting his name beside many of the great guards that have put on the Racers' blue and gold. In this season, he is climbing up the ladder of the greatest seasons of points combined with assists, among those who had 100 assists in a season.

The Racers aren't a one man show by any stretch however. Shaq Buchanan is 44th in the nation in steals with two per game and Tevin Brown is 42nd in the nation in hitting three 3-point baskets per game.

After a week away from home, the Racers are back at the CFSB Center where they're 24-3 since 2017.

The Place To Be Thursday At The Bank - Racers host EIU

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Players Mentioned

Tevin Brown

Shaq Buchanan

Ja Morant

Murray State University Athletics