2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball
Ohio Valley regular season co-champions
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record23–9 (15–3 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Shane Nichols
  • Tim Kaine
  • Casey Long
Home arenaCFSB Center
Seasons
2019–20 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Belmont † 15 – 3   .833 26 – 7   .788
Murray State 15 – 3   .833 23 – 9   .719
Austin Peay 14 – 4   .778 21 – 12   .636
Eastern Kentucky 12 – 6   .667 16 – 17   .485
Tennessee State 9 – 9   .500 18 – 15   .545
Eastern Illinois 9 – 9   .500 17 – 15   .531
Jacksonville State 8 – 10   .444 13 – 19   .406
Morehead State 7 – 11   .389 13 – 19   .406
Tennessee Tech 6 – 12   .333 9 – 22   .290
UT Martin 5 – 13   .278 9 – 20   .310
SIU Edwardsville 5 – 13   .278 8 – 23   .258
Southeast Missouri State 3 – 15   .167 7 – 24   .226
† 2020 OVC tournament winner


The 2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by fifth-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 23–9, 15–3 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Austin Peay in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Belmont. With 23 wins, they were a candidate for a postseason bid. However, all postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season

The Racers finished the 2018–19 season 28–5, 16–2 in OVC play, to tie as OVC regular season championship with Belmont. They defeated Jacksonville State and Belmont to become champions of the OVC tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they won in the first round against Marquette.[1] They then lost in the second round to Florida State.

Roster

2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Demond Robinson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Lee HS Montgomery, AL
G 1 DaQuan Smith 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Holly Springs HS Holly Springs, MS
G 2 Chico Jr. Carter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Cardinal Newman HS Columbia, SC
G 4 Noah Kamba 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Dexter Southfield School Lynn, MA
G 10 Tevin Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Fairhope HS Fairhope, AL
F 11 Matt Smith Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Independence HS Charlotte, NC
F 13 Devin Gilmore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Madison-Ridgeland Picayune, MS
G 14 Jaiveon Eaves 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Madisonville North Hopkins HS
John A. Logan College 		Madisonville, KY
G 22 Brion Whitley Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Riverview HS Sarasota, FL
F 23 KJ Williams 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Cleveland Central HS Cleveland, MS
F 24 Anthony Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Potomac HS
Barton CC 		Suitland, MD
G 25 Rod Thomas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Fr Paducah Tilghman HS Paducah, KY
F 32 Darnell Cowart 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Sr Agua Fria HS
Cowley College 		Chicago, IL
G 45 Jason Holliday 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Brusly HS
Bossier Parish CC 		Baton Rouge, LA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 23, 2019

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Martin Methodist W 105–64 
CFSB Center 
Murray, KY
Regular season
November 9, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southern W 69–49  1–0
 CFSB Center (3,709)
Murray, KY
November 12, 2019*
8:00 p.m., SECN+ 		at Tennessee L 63–82  1–1
 Thompson–Boling Arena (16,913)
Knoxville, TN
November 16, 2019*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Brescia W 114–48  2–1
 CFSB Center (3,909)
Murray, KY
November 19, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southern Illinois W 79–66  3–1
 CFSB Center (4,549)
Murray, KY
November 25, 2019*
6:30 p.m. 		vs. La Salle
Gulf Coast Showcase first round 		L 64–75  3–2
 Hertz Arena (1,112)
Estero, FL
November 26, 2019*
12:30 p.m. 		vs. Weber State
Gulf Coast Showcase consolation 2nd round 		W 69–68  4–2
 Hertz Arena (786)
Estero, FL
November 27, 2019*
12:30 p.m. 		vs. Drake
Gulf Coast Showcase 5th-place game 		L 53–63  4–3
 Hertz Arena (653)
Estero, FL
December 3, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3 		at Missouri State L 69–71  4–4
 JQH Arena (3,817)
Springfield, MO
December 7, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Middle Tennessee W 85–52  5–4
 CFSB Center (4,807)
Murray, KY
December 16, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Kennesaw State W 74–38  6–4
 CFSB Center (3,016)
Murray, KY
December 21, 2019*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Evansville L 76–78  6–5
 Ford Center (7,316)
Evansville, IN
December 28, 2019*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cumberland (TN) W 81–46  7–5
 CFSB Center (4,107)
Murray, KY
OVC regular season
January 2, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Martin W 89–76  8–5
(1–0) 		CFSB Center (3,314)
Murray, KY
January 4, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southeast Missouri State W 81–59  9–5
(2–0) 		CFSB Center (4,125)
Murray, KY
January 9, 2020*
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Jacksonville State W 72–68  10–5
(3–0) 		Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,139)
Jacksonville, AL
January 11, 2020
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tennessee Tech W 81–69  11–5
(4–0) 		Eblen Center (1,106)
Cookeville, TN
January 16, 2020
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Martin W 84–62  12–5
(5–0) 		Skyhawk Arena (3,209)
Martin, TN
January 18, 2020
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southeast Missouri State W 96–91  13–5
(6–0) 		Show Me Center (1,784)
Cape Girardeau, MO
January 23, 2020
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Belmont W 85–75  14–5
(7–0) 		CFSB Center (6,023)
Murray, KY
January 25, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tennessee State W 76–64  15–5
(8–0) 		CFSB Center (4,925)
Murray, KY
January 30, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Illinois W 73–70  16–5
(9–0) 		CFSB Center (4,530)
Murray, KY
February 1, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		SIU Edwardsville W 74–55  17–5
(10–0) 		CFSB Center (7,512)
Murray, KY
February 6, 2020
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Belmont L 64–71  17–6
(10–1) 		Curb Event Center (2,703)
Nashville, TN
February 8, 2020
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tennessee State W 73–65  18–6
(11–1) 		Gentry Complex (3,102)
Nashville, TN
February 13, 2020
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Austin Peay L 68–71  18–7
(11–2) 		Dunn Center (4,052)
Clarksville, TN
February 15, 2020
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Morehead State W 85–57  19–7
(12–2) 		CFSB Center (4,816)
Murray, KY
February 20, 2020
7:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Illinois L 60–63  19–8
(12–3) 		Lantz Arena (1,444)
Charleston, IL
February 22, 2020
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville W 59–58  20–8
(13–3) 		Sam M. Vadalabene Center (747)
Edwardsville, IL
February 27, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Kentucky W 74–62  21–8
(14–3) 		CFSB Center (5,727)
Murray, KY
February 29, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Austin Peay W 75–61  22–8
(15–3) 		CFSB Center (8,229)
Murray, KY
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
March 6, 2020
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		(2) vs. (3) Austin Peay
Semifinals 		W 73–61  23–8
 Ford Center (3,435)
Evansville, IN
March 7, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(2) vs. (1) Belmont
Championship 		L 75–76  23–9
 Ford Center (4,456)
Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Source:[2]

References

  1. ^ "Morant's triple-double leads Murray St past Marquette, 83-64". ESPN. March 21, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule". Murray State Racers. Retrieved July 25, 2024.