No. 19 Murray State will look to run its winning streak to 17 straight games when it battles Belmont in Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday night at Murray, Ky.
The Racers (26-2, 16-0 OVC) have already clinched a share of the league’s regular-season title and will claim it outright if they can defeat the Bruins (24-5, 14-2) for the second time this season. Murray State rolled to an 82-60 win at Belmont on Jan. 15.
The Bruins figure to be a much tougher team to beat in the rematch, as they own a 10-game winning streak and look to snap Murray State’s 15-game home winning streak that dates to last season.
“What an atmosphere it is going to be,” Racers coach Ryan McMahon said of the matchup. “Obviously, I have great respect for this Belmont team. They are playing well. They haven’t lost in a long time either. It’s two of the best teams in America.”
The Racers have won more games than any other Division I program this season and also have a chance to become the sixth team in Ohio Valley history to post an undefeated conference regular season. Murray State closes at Southeast Missouri State on Saturday.
One of the previous five teams to notch the milestone was the 2014-15 Murray State team that went 16-0 in OVC play and 29-6 overall.
Surprisingly, the Racers almost were handed a conference loss by lowly UT Martin on Saturday before escaping with a 62-60 victory.
Murray State trailed 59-54 with 3:18 remaining before rallying and KJ Williams converted the go-ahead three-point play with 10.2 seconds to play to save the Racers’ winning streak.
“At the end of the day, the goal is to win,” McMahon said. “You have to find different ways to do it. I’m really proud of our players for hanging in there and finding a way. … It certainly wasn’t a thing of beauty.”
Williams leads Murray State in scoring (17.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.6). Sharpshooter Tevin Brown (16.5) has 89 3-pointers this season and holds the OVC career mark of 337.
Third-leading scorer Justice Hill averages 13.3 points and 5.1 assists. He established career highs of 36 points and eight 3-pointers in last month’s rout of Belmont.
The Bruins had defeated Murray State four straight times before Hill put on a show.
Belmont’s most recent loss was 83-74 at Morehead State on Jan. 20. During the ensuing 10-game winning streak, the Bruins have posted four victories by 20 or more points.
Belmont notched a 73-62 home win over SIU Edwardsville last Saturday as Ben Sheppard contributed 20 points and a season-best five steals. The Bruins recorded a season-high 20 thefts.
Grayson Murphy had six steals to mark the seventh time this season he has registered five or more in a game. He leads the Bruins in steals (69), assists (6.0 per game) and rebounding (6.2) while averaging 7.4 points. Murphy is the OVC’s all-time career leader with 760 assists and his 273 career steals are six shy of the conference mark held by Tennessee Tech’s Van Usher (1989-92).
Nick Muszynski paces Belmont in scoring (16.4) and blocked shots (50). He ranks third in school history with 1,841 career points, trailing Evan Bradds (1,921 from 2013-17) and Ian Clark (1,920 from 2009-13).
Bruins coach Casey Alexander hasn’t always been impressed despite his team winning 19 of its past 21 games.
“It concerns me just because I want to be playing better,” Alexander said recently. “But over the course of a season, you see everything. Every team does. You lose perspective of that sometimes.
“We have to learn to respond to that better, and I think we have.”
Sheppard (16.3) is Belmont’s second-leading scorer.
–Field Level Media