Racers Visit Mississippi State - First since 2007 - Murray State University Athletics

Opponent: Missippi State Bulldogs Venue - Site: Humphrey Coliseum - Starkville, Miss.
Date/Game Time: Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023/6:30 p.m. CT MUR Record (Streak): 3-5, 1-1 MVC (L2) MSU Record (Streak): 7-2, 0-0 SEC (W1) All-Time Series vs. MSU: Racers trail 7-2 First Meeting: 1941 MUR won at home 56-36 Home: Racers trail 3-2 Away: Racers trail 4-0 Neutral: None

Murray State Head Coach: Steve Prohm Alma Mater: Alabama (1997) at MUR: 124-49 (6th Season) Career: 221-144 (12th Season) Missouri Valley: 12-10
Mississippi State Head Coach: Chris Jans Alma mater: Loras College (1991) at MSU: 28-15 (2nd Season) Career: 171-59 (8th Season) SEC: 8-10

Game Day Story Lines

The Racers and Mississippi State Bulldogs meet for the first time since 2007 and for the 10th time in their history.
The Bulldogs leads the series 7-2, with Murray State's wins coming in 1941 and 1956.
JaCobi Wood is 10 points from 1000 in his career. He has 990 points in 102 career games.
MSU is No. 28 in NCAA DI and second in the Missouri Valley Conference for fewest turnovers per game at 9.9
MSU is No. 61, second in MVC, in committing the fewest fouls per game at 15.4.
The Racers are No. 84 in assist/TO ratio.
Nick Ellington is No. 64 nationally and first in the MVC at 8.6.
In offensive rebounding, Ellington is No. 43 nationally and second in the MVC at 3.2.
MSU wants to snap a 6-game non-conference road skid. The last won at Memphis 74-72 (12-10-21).
MSU used the same starters in the first seven games: Wood, Moore, Perry, Walker, Ellington.
Wood, Moore and Perry will make their 22nd straight start together at APSU.
Wood and Perry each have started all 40 games they've played at MSU.
The Racers made 10 threes at ILST for the second time this season 1st against a NCAA DI opponent since they hit 10 at UNI last season (01-10-23).
In the last two games, the shots haven't been falling for the Racers as they are 45-of-108 from the field (.417) and 17-of-52 from the 3-point line (327).
From the free throw line, MSU is 14-of-23 in the last two games (.609).

The Ron Greene Connection
There was a time when the Racers and Bulldogs made it a regular game as they met each other at least one time per season from 1956-61 under Murray State coaches Rex Alexander and Cal Luther. There were two seasons (1957-58 and 1958-59) when they played two times.

One particular note pops up when looking at this period of history for the Racers is that Ron Greene played against Mississippi State twice and led the Racers in scoring in the 1961 game in Starkville with 19 points. The Bulldogs won that game 69-57 in Starkville, and nobody knew it at the time, but the next time he came to Starkville, it was Coach Ron Greene as he led the Bulldogs men's basketball program for one season in 1977-78. Greene was named SEC Coach of the Year after the Bulldogs went 18-9 and 13-5 in league play and finished second. Coach Greene had put the Bulldogs on the right path with it's first winning season in the SEC in 12 years.

Greene came back to his Alma Mater and is credited with leading the Racers into a modern era of collegiate basketball. Coach Greene was 39 years old when he came back to MSU and the Racers hadn't won an Ohio Valley Conference Championship in 11 years. The rebuilding effort was not without challenges, as Greene's first team (1978-79) won but four games. However, fans were thrilled to see two of those wins come against rival Western Kentucky. His second season (1979-80) tied the NCAA D-I record for improvement. When his seven seasons at Murray State were finished, Coach Greene had 119 wins, which was third all-time at MSU when he left for a coaching job at Indiana State. He is among six coaches at MSU that won at least three OVC championships.
Greene was a two-time OVC Coach of the Year (1980 & 1983) and became a Murray State Hall of Famer in 2016. Greene passed away March 31, 2021.

Another pair of notes connects the Racers and Bulldogs is Coach Jim Hatfield, who became head coach in Starkville after Greene in 1978 and stayed for three seasons. Hatfield found his way to Murray State in 1998 to be assistant coach to Tevester Anderson. Gary Hooker left Starkville and came to Murray State with Coach Greene where he was the OVC Player of the Year in the 1979-80 season.

Racers Visit Mississippi State - First since 2007

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Players Mentioned

Nick Ellington

JaCobi Wood

Murray State University

Racers Visit Mississippi State - First since 2007

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nick Ellington

JaCobi Wood

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