Marquette In Hartford Is NCAA Task For Racers

A festival atmosphere greeted the Murray State Racers men's basketball when they entered the main arena at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, on NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday. The Racers watched the CBS television show on the arena's video boards and at 5:33 p.m. they learned their opponent will be Marquette. Murray State, a 12 seed meets the three-seeded Golden Eagles Thursday at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Racers are making their 17^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with wins over Jacksonville State and Belmont at the Ford Center in Evansville. The Racers are the only team in the OVC since 1999 to make back-to-back NCAA trips. MSU was the last to do it in 1999 when they made their third-straight appearance under Coach Tevester Anderson.

Thursday will be the third all-time meeting between the Racers and Marquette, with both previous meeting also coming in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette won both of those meetings, picking up an 82-62 win in the first round in Carbondale in 1969 and a 62-53 win in the second round in 2012 in Louisville. Sunday's selection marks the third time the Racers have been given the 12-seed in NCAA tournament play, in 2004 in Columbus and last year in San Diego.

Tip-off between the Racers and the Golden Eagles will be announced later Sunday and posted on GoRacers.com as soon as available. The winner of Thursday's game will take on the winner 4-13 matchup between Florida State and Vermont.

BY THE NUMBERS – MURRAY STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNANENT
First MSU Appearance: 1964, Lost Loyola (IL) 101-91 in Evanston, Ill.
Last MSU Appearance: 2018, MSU No. 12 seed, lost to West Virginia in San Diego.
Last MSU Win: 2012, No. 6 MSU defeated No. 11 Colorado State 58-41 in Louisville.
Total Appearances: 2019 is MSU's 17th NCAA trip and they'll be playing in their 20th game.
Record: MSU is 3-16 all-time in the NCAAs.
Total Wins: MSU has won three NCAA games. 1988 against NC State, 2010 against Vanderbilt & 2012 against Colorado State.
Overtime: MSU has played one. 1990 when they were & still are the only No. 16 seed to take a No. 1 to extra time.
How Did We Get Here? The Racers won the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAAs after they won the OVC Tournament with victories over Jacksonville State and Belmont at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Murray State University Athletics

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