Racers Host TSU Saturday at The Bank

Game 20 - Tennessee State - CFSB Center - Murray, Ky. - Jan. 25, 2020 - 7 p.m.

Tennessee State Tigers   (12-8)   (4-3)   Ohio Valley
Last: 01/13   H Austin Peay   Lost   A 99-74
Next: 01/30   A Jacksonville State   02/01   A Tennessee Tech

Murray State Racers   (14-5)   (7-0)   Ohio Valley
Last:    01/23   H Belmont   Won   H 85-75
Next:    01/30   H Eastern Illinois   02/01   H SIUE

MSU leads TSU (54-17) H: 30-6 A: 23-8 N: 1-3 OVC: 45-13 OVC Tournament: 6-3 1st Game: 1983, H, MSU W 65-58 OT 1st OVC: 1988, H MSU W 99-84

Matt McMahon   5th Season Alma Mater: Appalachian State (2000) Career Record: 101-47 (5th) At Murray State: Same Ohio Valley: 57-18 Home: 58-11 Away: 31-28
Neutral: 12-8 vs Tennessee State: 3-1
Brian "Penny" Collins 2nd Season Alma Mater: Belmont (2006) Career Record: 21-29 (2nd) at Tennessee State: Same Ohio Valley: 10-15 vs Murray State: 0-1

Racers Rolling - Welcome Tennessee State To The Bank
The Murray State Racers (14-5, 7-0 OVC) play, play the second game of a four-game home stand Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The Tennessee State Tigers (12-8, 4-3 OVC) visit MSU after dropping a 99-74 decision at Austin Peay Thursday night.

The Racers defeated the Belmont Bruins at home 85-75 in front of a national televison audience on ESPN2 with the largest crowd of the season at the arena of 6,023. The win for the Racers advanced some impressive winning streaks for MSU including 15 wins in a row at the CFSB Center and 16 straight Ohio Valley Conference regular season wins. MSU's current win streak is eight since their last loss (Dec. 21) at Evansville.

Saturday's game is part of an OVC doubleheader with the Racers starting after the women's game which has a 5 p.m. tip. The day is also Academic Day for Racer Athletics with honors and recognition coming at halftime of the men's game.

Racers vs Tigers Series
The Racers lead the all-time series with Tennessee State 54-17 and have won the last three and 17-of-19 since 2009. TSU's last win was in 2016 in Nashville and their last win at MSU was in 2012. That game is still remembered as the Tigers ended the Racers' amazing run of starting the season 23-0 as the final undefeated team in the 2011-12 season. The first game these two teams played as an OVC game was in 1988.

Racers' Winning Offensive Combination
The Racers have gone through seven OVC games with improved accuracy from the 3-point line. In 12 games of non-league play, MSU was 71-of-216 (.329). But in OVC play, MSU is 54-of-126 (.429) for tops in the OVC. DaQuan Smith is 51 percent (14-of-47) and No. 1 in the OVC, while Tevin Brown is hitting 44 percent (21-of-47). Jaiveon Eaves is 44 percent on 11-of-25.

So with the offensive tool box now including a perimeter tool, the Racers can really make it tough on opponents with an inside game that is one of the best and deepest parts in recent memory. In all games, MSU's Anthony Smith is No. 6 in the OVC in field goal percentage at 57 percent (64-of-112) and KJ Williams is No. 8 at 56 percent (98-of-175). On the boards, MSU is rebounding at a high level and have the best rebound margin in the OVC at +9.8 which ranks No. 6 nationally. Smith and Williams are No. 3 and 6 in the OVC with rebound averages of 8.2 and 7.1. In the win over Belmont, Smith had a career-high 15 rebounds. MSU is limiting second-chance points as a result and have 14 games of allowing less than 10 second chance points to opponents this season.

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Players Mentioned

Tevin Brown

Jaiveon Eaves

Anthony Smith

DaQuan Smith

KJ Williams

Murray State University Athletics