MSU Wins Third Straight OVC Regular Season Championship

Saturday, February 29

CFSB Center

7 p.m.

Murray State

22-8,15-3OVC

Austin Peay

20-11,14-4OVC

Austin Peay

Murray St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

MSU Wins Third Straight OVC Regular Season Championship

2/29/2020 11:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers clinched their third-consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championship Saturday with a 75-61 victory over the Austin Peay Governors, played in front of a crowd of 8,229 at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers (22-8) share the title with Belmont at 15-3. The Bruins won the tiebreaker over the Racers and will be the No. 1 seed and the Racers will be the No. 2 seed, in next week's OVC Tournament (March 4-7) in Evansville, Indiana.

The OVC title win for the Racers is their 27^th, best in the league that they helped start in 1948.

On a night when the Racers faced a must win, they got the job done with balanced scoring. Anthony Smith had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds and KJ Williams gave the Racers a second double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Tevin Brown added 15 points and Jaiveon Eaves added 13 points, while Chico Carter, Jr., scored 12, giving MSU five players in double-figures.

The Racers led 36-33 at half, after Brown hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left.

When Carter hit a three with 15:32 left in the game, the Racers had their first double-digit lead at 45-35. APSU got as close as seven points at the 8:18 mark, but the Racers put together a 10-2 run, punctuated by a Williams slam dunk to make it 66-51 Racers with 4:27 left. APSU never got any closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Game Notes
The announced crowd of 8,229 was the largest attended game for the Racers this season at home and the second-largest this season behind the 16,913 that watched the Racers take on the Tennessee Volunteers (Nov. 12) in Knoxville. The crowd tonight marks the 12^th crowd of 8,000 or more in the 22 seasons the CFSB Center has been hosting Racer games since 1998. Tonight's attendance gives the Racers an average of 4,887 per game for the 15 games played at home this season. The record for the arena was set in the final game of the regular season in 2019, also against Austin Peay, when 9,012 watched the Racers win an OVC title.

Overshadowed in the Racers' OVC title win, is the fact the Racers pushed their home win streak in the CFSB Center to 21 tonight, a streak that they will carry into the 2020-21 season.

The Racers had a couple of combinations working well tonight against APSU. Front line players, Williams and Smith combined to hit 13-of-18 shots for 32 points to go with 22 rebounds. MSU's guard tandem of Brown and Eaves combined for 28 points.

The amazing run the Racers have been on in the last three seasons under Coach Matt McMahon has been incredible. After today's win, McMahon's teams have won three-straight OVC titles and have posted a mark of 76-19 (.800) total and 47-7 (.870) in OVC play. At home in the CFSB Center, McMahon's teams are 44-3 (.936).

MSU's run is the fourth time in the 95 seasons of the program that the team has won three in a row, or more. MSU won or shared five-straight OVC championships from the 1987-88 season under Coach Steve Newton to the 1991-92 season under Coach Scott Edgar. After placing second one season in 1992-93, the Racers ran off another seven in a row from the 1993-94 season to the 1999-00 season. Those seven championships were guided by coaches Edgar, Mark Gottfried and Tevester Anderson. Coach Billy Kennedy and Steve Prohm won three-straight OVC titles from the 2009-10 season to the 2011-12 season.

OVC Tournament news and schedule
The field for the 2020 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship Presented by TicketSmarter has been set after the final day of the regular season.

Belmont will be the No. 1 seed after finishing OVC play 15-3 and sharing the OVC regular season championship with Murray State for the second-straight year. It marks the sixth regular season crown for the Bruins in eight years as members of the OVC. Belmont, 24-7 overall on the season, earned a double bye to the semifinals and will open play on Friday night.

Murray State also finished the regular season 15-3 in the OVC (22-8 overall), but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bruins and will be the No. 2 seed. The Racers did earn a share of the regular season crown, marking its record 27th OVC title. As the No. 2 seed MSU will open play on Friday night after earning a double bye to the semifinals.

Austin Peay (20-11, 14-4) is the No. 3 seed while Eastern Kentucky (in the tournament field for the first time since 2015) is the No. 4 seed. Both of those teams receive a single bye to Thursday's quarterfinals.

The field is rounded out by No. 5 seed Tennessee State, No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois, No. 7 seed Jacksonville State and No. 8 seed Morehead State.

Since 2011 the men's bracket has used a merit-based system that gives the No. 1 and 2 seeds a double bye to the semifinals while the No. 3 and 4 seeds get a single bye to the quarterfinals. The first round will match up the No. 5/8 and No. 6/7 seeds.

This year marks the third-straight year the event has been held at the Ford Center, which opened in 2011 and is located in the core of Evansville's downtown district. The event is scheduled to be at the venue through at least 2023.

This event marks the 57th time the OVC Men's Basketball Championship has been held; it is the fourth-oldest Division I basketball championship tournament.

Ford Center Clear Bag Policy
As part of an ongoing commitment to safety and security, aligning with the best practices at major entertainment and athletics venues, there is now a "Clear Bag Policy" in effect at the Ford Center. Fans are encouraged to visit www.OVCSports.com/ClearBag for complete details on the policy.

2020 OVC Men's Basketball Championship Presented by TicketSmarter (Ford Center - Evansville, Ind.)

First Round - Wednesday, March 4
Game 1 - #5 Tennessee State vs. #8 Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2 - #6 Eastern Illinois vs. #7 Jacksonville State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 5
Game 3 - #4 Eastern Kentucky vs. Game 1 Winner, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4 - #3 Austin Peay vs. Game 2 Winner, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Semifinals - Friday, March 6
Game 5 - #1 Belmont vs. Game 3 Winner, 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6 - #2 Murray State vs. Game 4 Winner, 9:00 p.m. (ESPNU)

Championship - Saturday, March 7
Game 7 - Semifinal Winners, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2/Westwood One)

All Times Central