Saturday, February 25, 2012

HP SPECIAL REPORT: All-time Racers

This is yet another Heath Post Special Report ... Murray State University's men's basketball team has come from behind to win, 69-64, at Tennessee Tech tonight.

Here are some of the great previous seasons in Racer history:

-- 23-2 in 1935-36,
-- 22-3 in 1936-37,
-- 27-4 in 1937-38,
-- 26-5 in 1940-41,
-- 22-6 in 1968-69,
-- 19-5 in 1970-71,
-- 23-8 in 1979-80,
-- 24-9 in 1990-91,
-- 23-6 in 1993-94,
-- 29-4 in 1997-98,
-- 27-6 in 1998-99,
-- 23-9 in 1999-00,
-- 28-6 in 2003-04,
-- 24-7 in 2005-06,
-- 31-5 in 2009-10 and
-- 23-9 in 2010-11.

Murray State has advanced to 14 NCAA tournaments--twice into the second round--and made the quarterfinals of the 1980 NIT. The Racers have won 23 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships. That's a pretty great history of hoops.

Well, tonight, the Racers (ranked 14th by the Associated Press) completed a 28-1 regular season and finished undefeated in road games for the first time in 87 seasons. Here's what Murray State did after losing to Tennessee State by four on Jan. 14, to end the team's season-opening, 23-game win streak: beat Austin Peay State, the preseason OVC favorite, by 19; won at Southeast Missouri State by nine; beat Saint Mary's, ranked 16th by the AP at the time, by 14; won at Tennessee State by 18, and tonight came back from 10 down in the second half to win at Tennessee Tech, which was picked by OVC coaches to finish second in the league behind APSU.

Murray State's first game in the OVC tournament is going to be Friday in Nashville against Eastern Kentucky, SEMO or Tennessee Tech. I think any of these opponents will present a stiff challenge, and I'm certain Saturday's championship is going to be a slugout if the Racers are fortunate enough to get there. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for Murray State, let's celebrate just how absolutely brilliant of a season this has already been.

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