The Rivalry Continues - Racers Visit Belmont Wednesday

Opponent: Belmont Bruins Venue - Site: Curb Event Center (5,000) - Nashville, Tenn. Date-Game Time: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 - 7 p.m. CT MUR Record (Streak): 9-14, 6-6 MVC (W1) BEL Record (Streak): 12-11, 5-7 MVC (L2) All-Time Series vs. BEL: Bruins Lead 13-12 Murray State Head Coach: Steve Prohm Alma Mater: Alabama (1997) at MUR: 130-58 (6th Season) Career: 227-153 (12th Season) Missouri Valley: 15-15 BEL Head Coach: Casey Alexander Alma mater: Belmont 1995 at BEL: 110-41 (5th Season) Career: 247-161 (13th SSeason) Missouri Valley: 19-13 Racer Radio: Froggy 103.7 FM & Froggy103.com, Jeff Bidwell & Kenny Roth Television: Bally: Connor Onion & Dan Muller Live Stats: GoRacers.com & StatBroadcast.com

Game Story Lines

The Racers snapped a 4-game losing skid Saturday with a 28-point win at Northern Iowa by a 71-43 score.
The win is the largest margin win for the Racers in their MVC history, matching the win MSU had at Arch Madness against Valparaiso.
MSU is 15-15 all-time in MVC regular season play and 7-9 on the road.
MSU is 4-2 this season in MVC road games with victories
The Racers have road wins in MVC play at Evansville (Jan. 6) 81-59, at Missouri State (Jan. 10), 77-53, at UIC (Jan. 17) 73-58 and at UNI (Feb. 3) 71-43.
The Racers are 2-6 all-time at Belmont with wins there in 1998 and 2022.
The Racers and Bruins split their first two games in the MVC last season with each winning at home.
The Racers have won 3 of the last 4, after the Bruins had won four in a row.
MSU's Nick Ellington comes into the week ranked fourth in the MVC in field goal percentage in all league games at .614 (54-88). He is one of four in the MVC that are hitting 60 percent of their shots or better.
In the Racers split of games last week against Illinois State and UNI, Ellington was 9-of-12 (.750).
Last week vs ILST and UNI, MSU hit 45 percent from the field (50-of-110) and held the Redbirds and Panthers to 37 percent (36-of-96).
3-point range last week, MSU hit 31 percent (13-of-42) and held the Redbirds and Panthers to 27 percent (11-of-41).
The Racers committed only 12 turnovers and caused 26 to the opponent last week.
On Monday, the Racers moved up to No. 145 in the NCAA Net Rankings, their highest ranking this season.
The MVC is having a big season with seven teams inside the Top-150.
The Racers are 2-6 all-time at Belmont with wins there in 1998 and 2022.
The Racers and Bruins split their first two games in the MVC last season with each winning at home.
The Racers have won 3-of the last-4, after the Bruins had won four in a row.
In those previous 20 meetings, the Racers have produced 14 leading scorers of 20-plus points and three of 30-plus including: Ja Morant's 36pts in the 2019 OVC Tournament title game, 30pts for KJ Williams in Murray in 2022 and Justice Hill's amazing 36 points at the Curb Center a month earlier in 2022 when Hill scored 36 points hitting 10-of-19 from the field including 8-of-11 from the 3-point line and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
MSU's Nick Ellington comes into the week ranked fourth in the MVC in field goal percentage in all league games at .614 (54-88). He is one of four in the MVC that are hitting 60 percent of their shots or better.
In the Racers split of games last week against Illinois State and UNI, Ellington was 9-of-12 (.750).
In the two games vs ILST and UNI last week, Anderson hit 44 percent from the field (11-of-25) for 28 points and a 14.0ppg rate.
In last week's games vs ILST and UNI, the Racers hit 45 percent from the field (50-of-110) and had a very good defense week in holding the Redbirds and Panthers to 37 percent (36-of-96).
From 3-point range last week, the Racers didn't have a great success in hitting 31 percent (13-of-42), but certainly are pleased with their defense of the 3-point line as they held the Redbirds and Panthers to 27 percent (11-of-41).
The Racers committed only 12 turnovers and caused 26 to the opponent last week, further solidifying their national standing that is No. 10 and tops in The Valley at only 9.3 turnovers per game.
Current Belmont assistant coach, Tyler Holloway, is a member of the Murray State 1000-Point Club after a stellar career for the Racers from 2005-09. He was recruited by Coach Mick Cronin and also played for Coach Billy Kennedy and then assistant coach Steve Prohm. Holloway appeared in 122 games for the Racers and scored 1,083 points. He's one of eight Racers that made 200 or more 3-point baskets.

The Rivalry Continues - Racers Visit Belmont Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Nick Ellington

Murray State University Athletics