Racers Host Chattanooga In Saturday Night Tilt

Opponent: Chattanooga Mocs
Site (Venue): Murray, Ky. (CFSB Center)
Audio: WFGS Froggy 103.7FM (PxP: Neal Bradley Analyst: Kenny Roth)
TV(Live Streaming): None (ESPN+)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter In Game: @MSURacers
MUR Record (Streak): 9-1 (Won 6)
UTC Record (Streak): 9-2 (Lost 1)
MUR Last Game: W 74-72 H Tenn. Wesleyan (Dec. 15, 2021; Murray, Ky.is, Tenn.)
UTC Last Game: L 76-68 at Belmont (Dec. 15, 2021; Nashville, Tenn.)
All-Time Series vs. UTC: Racers lead 6-2
First Meeting: 1963 H Murray State won 79-60
Last Meeting: 2010 A Murray State won 73-65
Largest MSU Win: 1963 +21, 109-88 at Murray State
Largest MSU Loss: 2007 -24, 74-50 at Chattanooga
Last Five vs UTC: MSU 3-2
Next MSU Game: Dec. 22 at Auburn
Next MSU Home Game: Dec. 30 vs Southeast Missouri

Murray State Hosts Chattanooga In Bracket Buster Flashback
Murray State fans will remember the ESPN Bracket Buster series that was staged from 2003-13. The idea was to match great mid-major teams in February as a way of giving teams a chance to increase their stock going into postseason play.

The Bracket Buster series has been gone a while now, but the matchup between the Murray State Racers (9-1) and the Chattanooga Mocs (9-2) would've been a great one for the schedule back in the day. However, fans of both teams get a big game in December when the two meet Saturday at the CFSB Center in a 7 p.m. tip at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.

Even though the Mocs lost at fellow Ohio Valley Conference member Belmont Wednesday 76-68 in Nashville, the game still has great appeal. The Racers began week No. 44 in the NCAA Net Rankings and Chattanooga was No. 31 and the Mocs were No. 8 this week in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll and the Racers were No. 10. The Racers are coming off a tune-up game Wednesday against Tennessee Wesleyan by a 118-48 score in which six Racers scored in double-figures and MSU got 77 points off the bench.

Racers Set To Help Tornado Relief
With the recent devastation to cities in Western Kentucky happening Dec. 10, Governor Beshear has encouraged contributions in support of the victims and relief efforts, may be directed towards the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the "Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund." The Racers are also partnering with Eight Days of Hope and Journey Church to assist those that were affected by the severe weather. Murray State Athletics wants to honor all those affected and the first responders who were there for Kentucky when it needed them the most by offering free general admission tickets the Saturday doubleheader. The MSU women's team hosts Lipscomb at 5 p.m. before the men's game at 7 p.m.

The CFSB Center is also a place where fans can bring non-perishable food items and clothing items. A Teddy Bear toss will take place Saturday at halftime of the men's game. Fans are asked to bring stuffed animals to the game and after throwing them on the court, they will be gathered up and given to children in need after the tornado.

The Racers-Mocs Connection
This meeting marks the ninth for the Racers and Mocs and first at Murray State since Meet For First Time Since 2009. The last meeting between the two was in
December 2010 when the Racers won in Chattanooga 73-65. A lot has changed for the head coaches that led these teams in 2010. Murray State's Billy Kennedy headed for Texas A&M as head coach and now is an assistant coach at Wichita State. John Shulman led UTC and is now the head coach at Alabama-Huntsville.

The Racers have two assistant coaches that played at Chattanooga. Casey Long played for UTC from 2003-07 and is the only player in program history to finish his career with more than 1000 points, 450 rebounds, and 350 assists. Ronrico White was just promoted to assistant coach last summer at Murray State. He played for UTC from 2011-15 where he graduated as the 14th all-time scorer in program history. He was in the top-10 at UTC in made 3-pointers, free throws and assists.

Tevin Brown Named OVC Player of the Week
Murray State's Tevin Brown was named the Player of the Week after a vote by communications directors in the OVC. He is the third MSU player that tallied four weekly awards in the 2021-22 season. Brown played all 40 minutes at Memphis and hit six 3-pointers (four in the second half). He now has 279 career 3-pointers, four away from fifth place in OVC history and he is likely to catch Joe Sibbitt (Austin Peay 1994-98) who holds the mark of 318. The Murray State record is held by hall of famer Isaiah Canaan who made 304 from 2009-13.

Racer Ramblings

MSU has started the same lineup in all 10 games this season. In 2020, the Racers had a run of 18-straight games of a starting five that consisted of: Tevin Brown, DaQuan Smith, Jaiveon Eaves, Anthony Smith and Demond Robinson.
In the 2014-15, the Racers used the same starting five for all 34 games of a team that won 25-straight and went 29-5. The starting five included: Cameron Payne, Jarvis Williams, Jonathan Fairell, TJ Sapp and Jeffery Moss.
There is one team in the OVC that have yet to lose a game on the road and it's the Racers. The Racers have wins at Illinois State (Nov. 16) 77-65 and at Memphis (Dec. 10) 74-72. MSU gets a challenge next week (Dec. 22) in a game at Auburn.
In NCAA D-I games, the Racers have outscored opponents 237-209 in the first half and 297-245 (avg of 7.42 points) in the second half.
The Racers' win at Memphis Friday 74-72 was an amazing night for the team at the FedExForum.
The combined effort by Tevin Brown and Justice Hill at Memphis was simply one of the most amazing games by a pair of MSU players you will ever see. They combined for 14-of-29 FG (.482), 11-of-19 from the 3-point line (.578), 42 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The win over Tennessee Wesleyan pushed the Racers home winning streak at the CFSB Center to 21 in terms of games against non-conference opponents. The last time MSU lost a non-conference home game was in 2017 against Auburn.

Harlem Globetrotters Coming To CFSB Center – Feb. 2
The worldwide sensation Harlem Globetrotters have announced they will return to Murray State University for an eighth time on February 2, 2022 beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Guests may also visit the CFSB Center ticket office, located at 1401 State Route 121 North, Murray, Ky 42071 (Lower A Entrance). For more information, please contact the CFSB Center ticket hotline at 270-809-3000.

Racers Selected For Two Home Games On ESPNU
The Murray State men's basketball is hosting a pair of televised home games on ESPNU as announced by the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2021-22 season. The Racers will appear on ESPNU (Feb. 17) when they host the Austin Peay Governors at the CFSB Center in a 6 p.m. tip. The second game happens at home (Feb. 24) against the Belmont Bruins in a tip off of 8 p.m. Both of the TV games for the Racers come on Thursday nights. The OVC schedule has a total of nine total men's basketball televised games (six regular season contests and three OVC Tournament games) to be aired by one of the ESPN networks during the 2021-22 season. This includes three nights of coverage at the OVC Tournament (March 4-5) at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Racer Basketball Legacy Fund
The new fundraising initiative invites Racer supporters to have a lasting impact on the Murray State men's and women's basketball programs. Those interested in learning more about how you can support the Racer Basketball Legacy Fund initiative may contact Director of Development-Athletics, Taylor Mudd at (270) 809-3517 or tmudd3@murraystate.edu for more information.

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Players Mentioned

Tevin Brown

Jaiveon Eaves

Justice Hill

Demond Robinson

Anthony Smith

DaQuan Smith

Murray State University Athletics