Murray St

State of '08: Kentucky

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:33:50 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Kentucky. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

KENTUCKY

KENTUCKY - Obviously one of the top programs of all-time, Kentucky has amazingly made the tournament every since 1991. I say amazingly, because one would have thought that Tubby Smith drove the program into the ground. Then again, its been 10 years since their last Final Four trip, one of the longest droughts in the programs history (at least post-Rupp).

LOUISVILLE - Last year was the first time in over a dozen years that Louisville topped Kentucky in the RPI. The Cardinals finished 13th in the computer poll, and advanced to the Elite Eight.. while UK was a questionable at-best at-large bid with an RPI of 57. In 2005, while both teams had similar regular seasons, Louisville advanced to the Final Four, while UK just missed out due to an epic double-overtime loss. A couple more seasons where Louisville surpasses their Lexington rivals, and perhaps they will sit on top of this ranking.

WESTERN KENTUCKY - In the past eight years, WKU has made the postseason six times, including four NCAA Tournament trips. This is nothing new for an underrated program that historically never goes more than 3 or 4 seasons without competing for a postseason bid. However, now that Darrin Horn has bolted for South Carolina, and Courtney Lee is off to the NBA.. perhaps one of those postseason gaps is coming up?

MURRAY STATE - While not quite as good as WKU, Murray State is also a solid mid-major program that consistently competes for the OVC title. In fact, its been well over a decade, and many coaches ago, since Murray last finished below .500 in conference play. The program has been rather mediocre since Mick Cronin departed, and the Racers have only beaten one Top 100 team in the last three seasons. But Billy Kennedy's team is our preseason OVC favorites and this could easily be the program's 14th NCAA Tournament trip.

EASTERN KENTUCKY - In 2005 & 2007, EKU made the dance thanks to the impressive work done by Travis Ford, the new head coach at Oklahoma State. Now that the program is fully in Jeff Neubauer's hands, the future is a bit uncertain. Can Neubauer continue the recent success, or will the program slide into the dark pre-Ford depths of 1999-2003 when EKU won just 20 D1 games in 4 seasons.

6. MOREHEAD STATE - The Eagles are coming off a quality campaign that included a 12-7 OVC record and a pair of wins over in-state rival EKU. This was a welcome turnaround considering the struggles experienced between 05-07. While the team could be decent once again in 08-09, a return to the tourney for the first time in 24 years will have to wait.

Last: Iowa - Next: Louisiana

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

2008-09 Murray State Basketball Preview: #107

Joel Welser — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:57:43 -0700

Murray State Racers

Overall Rank: #107

Conference Rank: #1 Ohio Valley

2007-08: 18-13, 13-7, 2^nd

2007-08 postseason: none

Murray State has been on the outside of the Ohio Valley Conference elite over the last couple seasons, but it is time for Coach Billy Kennedy to take the Racers back to the NCAA Tournament. A couple key players are gone, but this is a talented team that continues to recruit quite well. Experience, or lack there of, has been an issue over the last couple of years since Coach Kennedy took over, but now the team finally has as many upperclassmen as underclassmen and that will keep Murray State in the race for a conference title.

Who’s Out:

However, losing Bruce Carter will make it a little more difficult. Carter, a 6-4 guard, led the team in points and rebounds during his senior campaign. Carter got to the basket with ease and was a decent enough outside shooter to keep the opposing defense honest. Ray George averaged 7.8 points per contest and was a big spark off the bench. Like Carter, George is not a superb shooter, but he was effective getting to the rim. Forward Tarod Sanders is not returning after averaging 8.2 minutes per game in 2007-2008.

Who’s In:

The Racers are pretty well equipped to run an experienced seven man rotation without any of the newcomers. This group will probably extend that number up to nine or ten. Power forward Ivan Aska is expected to make the biggest impact. At 6-7, 230 pounds, Aska has the size to battle in the paint in the OVC. Yet, his toughness and athleticism give him the potential to be more than just a big man in the conference. His scoring will not blow anybody away, at least not yet, but he should play an important role right away at Murray State as a rebounder. Jeffery McClain, a sophomore transfer from Three Rivers Community College in Polar Bluff, Missouri, will also provide some much needed help in the rebounding department. The 6-6 forward is a good athlete and a solid all-around player. At 6-3, guard Donte Pool has good size for a player who can handle the ball so well. Yet, it will be his scoring ability, which will help replace Carter and George’s production, that will earn him minutes as freshman. Fellow guard Matt Fraliex will be the best long range shooter on the team from day one. That might not be enough to earn him a ton of minutes right away, but he can at least be the marksman off the bench.

Who to Watch:

Even without the team’s leading scorer and their sixth man, the backcourt will be in good hands. Tyler Holloway shot over 46 percent from beyond the arc last year and will do plenty of scoring inside the arc as well. Without Carter, Holloway’s scoring prowess should be even better than his 10.6 points per game of a year ago. Having an experienced senior like Kevin Thomas to get him the ball makes his job even easier. Kevin Thomas is not much of a scorer, although he does have his moments, but it is his 4.5 assists per game and solid defense that make him so valuable to the Racers. Listed as a 6-4 forward, Danero Thomas has the skills to play on the wing and the strength to mix it up under the basket. His versatility makes him tough to guard and he is expected to take over a big chunk of the departed scoring after averaging 12.3 points per game as a sophomore.

Final Projection:

Under the basket the Racers have an emerging star in Tony Easley. The 6-9, 200 pound junior averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 2007-2008 and is due for a big campaign. Without Carter, who led the team in rebounds, it is up to Easley to shoulder more of the load and hit the glass a little harder. Easley is also a decent shot blocking threat and can at least make the opposition think twice before heading into the paint. Yet, it is 6-6 junior Marvin Williams who could become a better shot blocker if he can find more playing time. With the wide-bodied George Fotso, and Danero Thomas, who will certainly spend plenty of time at the four spot, the team has a decent amount of depth up front. That depth is also now experienced and the Racers can use their big men to bully their way to a conference championship. Having a senior heavy backcourt will help.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Kevin Thomas, Senior, Guard, 6.7 points per game

Tyler Holloway, Senior, Guard, 10.6 points per game

Danero Thomas, Junior, Forward, 12.3 points per game

Marvin Williams, Junior, Forward, 5.6 points per game

Tony Easley, Junior, Forward, 9.3 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

2008 San Juan Shootout: Final Pairings

Press Release — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:05:22 -0700

The Wright State men's basketball team will take a trip in December off the mainland for the first time since 1993 as the Raiders have signed a contract to be part of this year's San Juan Shootout December 20-22. Murray State, South Florida and Oral Roberts have also been confirmed.

2008 San Juan Shootout

Dec. 20 South Florida vs Murray State and WSU vs Oral Roberts

Dec. 21 Oral Roberts vs Murray State and WSU vs South Florida

Dec. 22 WSU vs Murray State and Oral Roberts vs South Florida

Live at the Dr Pepper Classic: Chattanooga Rolls

Bill Kintner — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

CHATTANOOGA – Winning is not usual territory for Chattanooga, since they have a better than .800 winning percentage over the years in the annual Dr. Pepper Classic, but winning by 24 points is a little unusual as the Mocs beat up on Murray State 74-50.

To understand the total destruction that took place here in the second game of the night it would be appropriate to whip out some stats.

Chattanooga (8-4) held the Racers to just 5.9 percent, that is not a typo, it really was 5.9 percent (1-17) from 3-point land. Another coach once said he could stand at half court and drop kick in one in 17 attempts. Well he actually said 18 attempts, but close enough.

Murray State (5-5) took a whopping 60 shots and made just 18 of them for a paltry 30 percent from the field while the Mocs were very efficient shooting 50 percent (22-44) from the field including 47.7 from beyond the 3-pointline (9-19).

Chattanooga out-scored the Racers 40-23 in the first half and 34-27 in the second half.

The only drama in the game happened twice and it both times it was only a slight drama. In the first half when the Mocs were up by 17 points with 10:52 left and Murray State went on a little run fueled by hitting three layups and five foul shots to get the game to within nine points at 26-17 at the 6:33 mark.

A couple of foul shots by Kenyon Sheard stopped the bleeding and Mocs went back to dismantling the Racers.

In the second half the Races went on a 9-0 run to cut the Mocs’ lead from 17 points to eight points at 40-32. Chattanooga put that to an end with an 11-4 run over the next almost six minutes to get the score back to 51-36 with 12:16 left yo play.

Chattanooga coach John Shulman didn’t like the little runs too much but was thankful his bench came in and played well.

“You give up a 17 point lead and how comfortable do you feel? Our bench carried us and pulled it out for us,” said Shulman. “I went with them (bench) and now they feel good about themselves.”

Murray State coach Billy Kennedy thought the Mocs defense had a lot to do with his team’s poor shooting along with just missing shots they normally make.

“Their defense was very good and we just missed shots,” explained Kennedy. “They were more physical and they played with a lot of confidence.

Kevin Goffney came off the bench for Chattanooga to lead all scorers with 16 points.

Notes:
-Murray State leads the all-time series 4-2.
-The Mocs are 29-6 all-time in the Dr. Pepper Classic.
-Shulman was joking around during his post game comments when he said he was trying to find a way to keep Wright State coach Brad Brownell’s team out of the tournament but couldn’t find another team to play. He meant that as a tribute to how good the Raiders are this year.
-Murray State plays Belmont at 6 pm on Sunday.
-Wright State plays host Chattanooga at 8 pm on Sunday.

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the Ohio Valley?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:10:30 -0700

11/17: Daily Dribble

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:00:18 -0800

In a battle of USCs, South Carolina got the best of Southern California in overtime last night. The Gamecocks got a Jason Kidd like 26 point, 8 rebound, 8 assist effort from Tre Kelley.. Tim Floyd though probably wasn't too worried about the loss considering he locked up top prospect OJ Mayo on Wednesday. 58-21 sounds like the score of a Patriots-Raiders game.. but its the first half spanking that Maryland gave St. John's. The Terps come into this season with less respect then they've had in a long time, but a win over Michigan State tonight and they could find themselves back in the top 25. They'll face the Spartans in the Coaches vs Cancer finals, because Drew Neitzel hit a shot near the buzzer to give MSU the win over Texas. The Maryland-MSU final will feature two top programs that are suddenly overlooked in the national eye. As inexperienced as MSU is, to have an experienced point guard like Neitzel gives them a heads up over most teams around the country. Despite the loss, the good news for Texas is that Kevin Durant is proving to be as good as advertised.. the heralded freshman is averaging 21 points, 9 boards, and almost 4 blocks per game. If you haven't seen him play, you can check him out on ESPN 2 tonight at 7 eastern. If you're a Murray State fan.. its probably time to be worried. The Racers are 1 and 3, and the lone win was by 1 point over Belhaven College.. I dont know much about Belhaven, but apparently being a Blazer (according to their atheltics site) is a culmination of what Christ asks us to be.. I wonder if this holds true for all Blazers, like Shawn Kemp and Qyntel Woods up in Portland.. Anyways, Murray shouldn't be losing to Seattle University or struggling at home to beat a school that think its basketball team is the culmination of Christ.. One good thing about early season college basketball is that the games are nicely distributed throughout the week.. Usually Fridays just feature a few Ivy League games and some other unnoticeables. Besides the Maryland-MSU game on ESPN tonight, other top teams like Ohio State, LSU, Pitt, Alabama, and Texas are playing as well.

Ohio Valley Conference Preview

CHN — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:30:30 -0800

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

Ohio Valley Preview

Conference Rank: 27th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Shawn Witherspoon, Murray St, F

Mike Robinson, Eastern Illinois, G

Shaun Williams, Morehead St, F

Clarence Matthews, Tennessee St, F

Courtney Bradley, Jacksonville St, F

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
119	Murray State	1	NCAA
157	Tennessee Tech	2
164	Samford	3
191	Austin Peay	4
239	Tennessee St	5
254	SE Missouri St	6
262	Eastern Kentucky	7
297	Jacksonville St	8
305	Morehead State	9
318	Eastern Illinois	10
326	Tennessee Martin	11

Head Coach Q&A's

Mike Sutton - Tennessee Tech

2006-07 Preview: Team's #111-120

Joel Welser — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:49:42 -0700

Capsules of teams ranked 111th to 120th in CHN's 144 Teams in 144 Days Preview.