Racers Meet The Press at NCAA Indy

The Murray State Racers have settled into their hotel in downtown Indianapolis and today participated in media day activities at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the site of their NCAA men's basketball tournament game Thursday. MSU (30-2) faces off with the San Francisco Dons (24-9) in an 8:40 p.m. Central Time tip in the Hoosier State.

With a veteran team that has three players with NCAA Tournament experience, the Racers should feel right at home when the bright lights come on. MSU's Tevin Brown and KJ Williams were part of the Racers' win over Marquette in 2019 in Hartford and Carter Collins went to one NCAA Tournament when he played at Davidson in 2018.

"For myself, remembering the environment we had when we played in Connecticut (in 2019), it's a thing where we've told the team, there is going to be a lot of people in there watching the game (Thursday)," said Brown, a junior from Fairhope, Alabama. "We've got a mature Matt McMahon

team and we live for those moments when we can play in a game like this."

As one of the top duos to wear the Murray State uniform, they have scored 3,521 combined points, pulled down 1,510 rebounds and dished out 495 assists in a combined 245 career games. Racer Nation has enjoyed seeing these two talents become the face of the program in the post-Ja Morant era. Brown and Williams have a special relationship that has caused them to push each other to be better and better as the years have come and gone.

"Tevin and I are very competitive with each other," said Williams, a junior from Cleveland, Mississippi. "We've always had each other's backs for sure and our relationship has grown over the years."

"We know each other well and know how to pick each other up when one of us is down," Brown added. "We know how to talk to each other to get us to play better and we feed off that because when he's doing good, it makes it easier for me to do the same and it's the same for him if I am playing well."

"Those two guys scored a combined 35 points (against Marquette in 2019) and Tevin and KJ have done a great job of leading the way all season long," said McMahon, who has led the Racers to the NCAA's three times in the last five seasons. "They have shown how you're supposed to work on a day to day basis and to stay focused on the process. They've exhibited how to go about trying to win the next game and to have tremendous focus."

The Murray State basketball program has a long history of great players and coaches. After nearly 40 years of winning, it's not easy to make history at this place. However, Coach Matt McMahon's Racers have done just that. In 2021-22, they are the first team in Ohio Valley Conference history to run the table in an 18-game league season and just the sixth overall to go undefeated. MSU is also just the second Murray State team in the last 41 seasons to stay in the national Top-25 rankings for more than one week. If the Racers could manage to win a pair of games this week in Indy, that would put them into the NCAA Sweet 16 for first time in school history and the first in the Ohio Valley Conference since Western Kentucky went to the Final Four in 1971.

"There is a lot of noise out there on what we could possibly do," McMahon added. "Yes, we are in the greatest sporting event in the world. But at the end of the day, we treat this the same as any tournament and all we're doing is trying to find a way to win the next game. We want our players to be excited to be here and have the time of their lives, but also stay focused on the task at hand."

The Racers and Dons can be seen on CBS television and online. Westwood One has national online radio coverage. Froggy 103.7FM will air the game over the Purchase Area, but all online streaming radio will originate with Westwood One. Live Stats can be found on the front page of GoRacers.com.

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.

About Murray State Athletics
Located in Murray, Kentucky, the athletics department of Murray State University is a NCAA Division I member and plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Racers have 15 programs including men's teams for baseball, basketball, cross country, football and golf and women's teams for basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball, as well as a mixed gender rifle team. Currently a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Racers will join the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.

Murray State University Athletics

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Tevin Brown

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