Murray State Racers - Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball

Murray State is known for its men's basketball program, which has won 23 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships, 15 OVC Tournament championships, and made 15 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2012. The tournament appearances included two wins in 1988 the Racers defeated North Carolina State in the first round but lost to Kansas in the second round. In 2010, 22 years to the date of the 1988 win, the Racers beat the Vanderbilt Commodores and lost to the Butler Bulldogs in the second round. In addition to Murray's win in 1988, two years later the No. 16 seed Racers took No. 1 seed Michigan State into overtime before falling 75-71. The loss in 1990 was the closest a 16 seeded team had ever come to knocking off a No. 1 seeded team in the tournament. In 1997, the No. 15 seed Racers nearly shocked the No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils in a 71-68 loss. In the 2006 tournament, junior guard Trey Pearson missed a critical 3-point shot in the final seconds of the first round game against No. 3 seeded defending champion North Carolina. UNC was fouled on the rebound and went to the line to sink the game clinching shots to defeat the No. 14 seeded Racers 69-65.

The Racers won their first-round game in the 2010 NCAA tournament in dramatic fashion, defeating fourth-seeded Vanderbilt 66-65 on a buzzer beating jump shot by senior Danero Thomas. This was the first time that any Ohio Valley Conference team had advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament since Middle Tennessee State advanced in 1989.

The Murray State basketball program first competed in the 1925-1926 season under head coach Carlisle Cutchin. Murray State finished 9-5 in their inaugural season, with the first game being a 14-31 loss to Will Mayfield College. From 1925-1941 Cutchin went on to lead the basketball team to a 296-96 record and three appearances in the NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where the Thoroughbreds finished third in 1938 and second in 1941.

Former Alabama head basketball coach Mark Gottfried coached the Racers to three Ohio Valley Conference Championships, all three years he coached there, the only OVC coach to accomplish such a mark.

The Murray State basketball program has been recognized as one of the top 30 basketball programs in modern history by ESPN. The Racers are the highest true mid-major team in ESPN's rankings.

The most well-known players in Racer history are Joe Fulks and Popeye Jones. Fulks starred for two seasons at Murray State (1941–42 and 1942–43), twice earning All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors, before leaving school to join the Marines during World War II. Fulks scored 621 points in 47 games during his Murray State career, a 13.2 average in an era when teams averaged less than 50 points a game. His fame grew to greater heights as a professional, becoming one of the NBA's early stars as a scoring champ with the Philadelphia Warriors. He was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

While at Murray State, Jones scored 2,057 points which still ranks fourth all time for the Racers. He is also Murray State's all-time leader in rebounds with 1,374, and led the nation in that category in the 1990-91 season. Jones is the only player in MSU history to record more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Jones helped lead the Racers to OVC championships in 1991 and 1992. He went on to have a successful career in the NBA after being drafted in the second round by the Houston Rockets in the 1992 NBA Draft.

Murray State's historic basketball rivalry is with nearby Western Kentucky. The two teams became arch rivals during their time together in the Ohio Valley Conference. Although the schools no longer share their conference affiliation, the rivalry game remains an annual event on each team's schedule. The two teams have met in basketball 148 times. The Racers' primary OVC rivalry is now with Austin Peay State University.

The Murray State basketball program has become a steppingstone to major-college coaching success in recent years. Three of the last four Murray State coaches have gone on to head coaching positions at major conference schools.

• Mark Gottfried served as head coach of the Racers from 1995-1998. Gottfriend became the first head coach to win three OVC titles in only three seasons. In his last season, the Racers finished 25th in the final AP Poll—the last time to date an OVC team has appeared in a final major basketball poll. Gottfried went on to coach the University of Alabama, and he is currently the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Mick Cronin served as head coach of the Racers from 2003-2006. Cronin coached the Racers to two OVC championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances in his three seasons as head coach at Murray State. He is now head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats of the Big East Conference.
• Billy Kennedy served as head coach of the Racers from 2006-2011. Kennedy set a Murray State record for most wins in a season, with 31 victories in the 2009-2010 season. Kennedy took the Racers into the second round of the NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history. He now serves as the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies of the Big 12 Conference.

Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season Championships
1951, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championships
1951, 1964, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012