First Valley Road Test Comes At Valparaiso Sunday

Game Information
Date (Time): Sun., Dec. 4, 2022 (1 p.m. CT)
Opponent: Valparaiso Beacons
Site (Venue): Valparaiso, Ind (ARC)
Audio: Froggy 103.7 FM (PxP: Neal Bradley, Analyst: Kenny Roth)
TV: ESPN+ (PxP: Jordan Bernfield Analyst: Adam Emmenecker)
Live Stats: ValpoAthletics.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersHoops
MUR Record (Streak): 4-3, 1-0 (W1)
VU Record (Streak): 3-5, 0-1 (L1)
MUR Last Game: W 70-67 OT H Illinois State
VU Last Game: L 76-64 A Belmont
All-Time Series vs. VU (Streak): VU leads 3-1 (W3)
All-Time Series In Valparaiso (Streak): VU leads 1-0 (W1)
First Meeting: 1999 N MSU won 78-58
Last Meeting: 2014 N VU won 93-58
Largest MSU Win: +20, 78-58 N 1999
Largest MSU Loss: -35, N 93-58 2014
Next MSU Game: Dec. 10 at Bellarmine

First Week In The Valley Continues at Valpo
The Murray State Racers (4-3, 1-0) hit the road for their first Missouri Valley Conference road game when they travel to play the Valparaiso Beacons (3-5, 0-1) Sunday in a 1 p.m. CT tip at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana.

The Racers won their historic first Valley game Thursday night in overtime over the Illinois State Redbirds 70-67. The Beacons opened MVC play with a
76-64 loss at Belmont.

It Has Been a Long Time
In MSU's last visit to Valparaiso (Nov. 8, 2013) it was Cameron Payne's first of 69 games as a Racer. A green freshman, Payne made the start, played 36 minutes, hit 6-24 from the field (4-10 3PT) with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists. Later that season, his talent rushed to the front, he was named OVC Freshman of the Year and by the end of his second season, Payne was headed to becoming MSU's first NBA Draft lottery selection. The Oklahoma City Thunder took Payne as the 14th overall pick. The Racers lost that game in 2013 77-74. The game in 2013 was MSU's only trip to Valpo.

Burns Leads Racers
With 12 new players on a roster of 14, Murray State's DJ Burns is the lone hold-over from last season's team that won 31 games, became ranked nationally, made it to the NCAA Tournament where the Racers defeated San Francisco in overtime.

Burns, from New Orleans, started every game last season. It's safe to say, there aren't many players in the game that match his enthusiasm, leadership and general desire to play hard every second he's in the game. He is the heartbeat of the MSU team.

A season ago, DJ Burns was 25th in NCAA division-one in offensive rebounding and he has only increased his ability on the glass this season, with an average of 8.3 rebounds per game, which is second in The Valley. In the Racers' win over Texas A&M at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Burns was a key factor in the Racers' first victory over a nationally ranked team since 2012 and the only such win so far this season in the Missouri Valley Conference.

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Players Mentioned

DJ Burns

Murray State University Athletics