Racers Try To Change Road Fortunes at Belmont

Wednesday, December 30

Nashville, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Murray State

Belmont

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

12/28/2020 8:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Live Links Game Notes Archives MSU Game Notes BEL Game Notes OVC Weekly Report

ESPNU will televise the first meeting of the 2020-21 season between the Racers and Bruins at 6 p.m. Wednesday

Date (Time): Dec. 30 (6 p.m. CT)
Murray State: 4-3 (1-1 OVC)
Opponent: Belmont Bruins 8-1 (2-0)
Site (Venue): Nashville, Tenn. (Curb Event Center)
Radio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley, Analyst: Kenny Roth)
Streaming Audio: Froggy103.com & GoRacers.com
TV: ESPNU (PxP: Roy Philpott, Analyst: Mark Wise)
Streaming Video: Watch ESPN
Live Stats: BelmontBruins.com
Twitter In Game: @MSURacers
MUR Record (Streak): 4-3 (1L)
APSU Record (Streak): 8-1 (5W)
All-Time Series vs. BU (Streak): Racers trail 10-9 (L2)
All-Time Series in Nashville (Streak): Racers trail 1-4 (L4)
First Meeting: 1986, Racers won at home 94-92
Last Meeting: March 2020, Bruins won 76-75 at OVC Tournament championship game in Evansville
Last 5 vs.BEL: MSU has won 2
MUR Next Game: Jan. 2, home vs Morehead State (ESPN+)
MUR Next Away Game: Jan. 7 at Eastern Illinois (ESPN+)

Racers Meet Belmont In Nashville For Final Game Of 2020
The Murray State Racers (4-3, 1-1) hit the road for an Ohio Valley Conference tilt against the Belmont Bruins (8-1, 2-0) at the Curb Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The 6 p.m. tip brings together the two teams that met in the OVC Tournament championship game last March in Evansville.

The recent history of Racers and Bruins begins when they first met as OVC rivals in 2013 in Murray. In that classic game, OVC MVPs Isaiah Canaan and Ian Clark showed off their talents like a couple of future NBA stars would as the Racers won the game 79-74. It was Canaan's 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining that helped MSU edge the game and overcome Clark's 22 points.

Since that time, no team outside the Racers and Bruins have won the OVC regular season championship. In the span of eight seasons, the Racers have won two outright titles and the Bruins four. The two have shared the championship in the last two seasons. They have also won the last three OVC Tournament titles with the Racers taking the win in 2018 and 2019 and the Bruins last March in 2020. The last five times the Racers have made it to the OVC Tournament title game, the Bruins have been waiting.

Froggy 103.7 FM - Flagship Station For Racer Basketball
In his 30th season, the "Voice of the Racers" and Murray State Hall of Famer, Neal Bradley is on the call again for the 2020-21 season. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides analysis. All MSU games can be heard online at Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com. The game is also ready to air on ESPNU with

Williams Perfect In OVC Play
MSU power forward KJ Williams hasn't missed a shot yet in two games of OVC play as he was 6-6 from the field in the Racers' first meeting with Austin Peay (Dec. 8) and followed with a 5-5 shooting game against the Govs (Dec. 21). He set the MSU single-season field goal percentage record during his freshman season (2018-19) by hitting 111-of-159 for a percentage of .698. He topped the previous mark set by Tony Easley at .689 (115-167) in the 2007-08 season. In all games this season, Williams is second in the OVC in making shots at a clip of .698, just behind teammate Demond Robinson, who leads the OVC at .893 (25-of-28). Williams leads the Racers with a rebound average of 6.6 which is eighth in the conference.

Racers Look To Reverse Road Fortunes
The Racers have started the season with a bumpy ride away from home. After losses at Middle Tennessee (Dec. 2) 78-61 and Southern Illinois (Dec. 11) 70-66, the Racers dropped their first OVC road game to Austin Peay (Dec. 21) 74-70. Knowing six of the first seven OVC games are on the road to start the league season and the Racers want to get this reversed soon. In the meantime, the Racers are looking to win at the Curb Center, something that they haven't done yet in four games there in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. In the game there last February, Devin Gilmore led the Racers with 13 points and DaQuan Smith led the team with five assists. In five career games against the Bruins, Williams and Tevin Brown have combined to hit 18-of-38 from the 3-point line for a percentage of ..473. Brown and Williams have combined to score 1,805 points in their careers with the Racers.

Check GoRacers.com for the latest basketball schedule information
Men's Schedule
Women's Schedule
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