Racers Return to Hardwood on Saturday

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Photo by MSU Athletics

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The Murray State Racers host the Missouri State Bears for the first time Saturday in a 7 p.m. tip at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

Froggy 103 (WFGS 103.7 FM) airs every MSU game with “Voice of the Racers” Neal Bradley calling the action in his 28th season. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides commentary. Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com has free online streaming audio. The game can also be seen online at ESPN+.

The Racers and Bears recent history had them meeting in Springfield, Mo., in 2011 in the National Invitation Tournament in which Missouri State prevailed 89-76. The Racers were back in Springfield for the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and the Racers scored a late comeback win 66-63. The Bears are making their first visit to Murray State.

The Bears belong to the Missouri Valley Conference where they’ve been members since  1990 and the Racers are one of the founding members of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1948. The Racers have a long history of facing teams from MVC with the majority of them against the Evansville Purple Aces (37 games) and the Southern Illinois Salukis (35 meetings). The Racers travel this season to SIU (Dec. 12) and host UE (Dec. 18). This season marks the eighth-straight in which the Racers have played a team from the Missouri Valley.

The Racers carry a 11-game home win streak into the game after an opening night win over Wright State and a win over Spalding last Friday. MSU’s last home loss was last December to Auburn. Murray State’s longest streak is stuff of legend when the Racers enjoyed the nation’s longest home winning streak of 47 that began in old Racer Arena in 1996 and ended at the CFSB Center in 2000. This current 11-game run is the longest streak for head coach Matt McMahon in his four seasons and the best for the Racers since 2015 when they won 18 consecutive games. The Racers are 35-10 in the four seasons of home games in the McMahon era.

The Racers hit the road for the first time and travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a 7 p.m. tip at Coleman Coliseum.  It’s their first meeting since 1991 when they clashed in the NCAA Tournament.

 

Courtesy of MSU Athletics

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