Murray State vs. Evansville preview
MBB: The Racers and Purples Aces meet tonight at Arch Madness
Murray State will open up Arch Madness Thursday night against Evansville. Here’s what you need to know:
#7 seed Murray State (15-16 overall, 9-11 Missouri Valley Conference) vs. #10 seed Evansville (11-20 overall, 8-12 MVC) — 6:00pm CST at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
KenPom Rankings: Murray State #147; Evansville #252
NCAA NET Rankings: Murray State #148; Evansville #243
Series history: 46th meeting (Murray State leads 31-14)
You can watch the game on MVC TV/ESPN+
Kenny Roth and I will have the radio call, with the pregame show starting at 5:30pm CST. You can listen to the game here: https://player.amperwave.net/2845
Vegas line: Murray State -5.5
Murray State Scouting Report
After 31 dress rehearsals, the four-act play known as Arch Madness begins tonight in St. Louis. The Racers will take on an Evansville team they split their two previous matchups with this season.
In Game 1 back in early December, the Racers never trailed, but had to watch a Tanner Cuff three-point attempt bounce harmlessly off the rim as time expired to escape with a 63-61 win.
In Game 2, it was a tale of two halves. Murray State used a 17-0 run in the first half to take a 25-20 lead to the locker room. In the second half, neither team could get a defensive stop, as the Aces outscored the Racers 58-49 to grab the 78-74 win.
In that second meeting, Evansville packed their defense into the lane and dared Murray State to shoot three-pointers, as the Racers made 12-of-36. Murray State has struggled from deep in their last five games, shooting 32.5% as a team. Senior guard Terence Harcum has been the one bright spot from deep, as he’s emerged from his slump to make 40.5% (15-for-37) from beyond the arc over that time.
The Racers are shooting 38.0% from the field in the last five games, while giving up 44.7%. 44.8% is the number to watch. When the Racers hold opponents to under 44.8% from the field, Murray State is 12-2 this season.
Evansville Scouting Report
The Purple Aces head to Arch Madness having dropped their last three games to UIC, Drake and Illinois — but all three were by nine points or fewer.
Evansville brings a ton of size to the table the Racers will need to deal with. Anchored by 6’10 Connor Turnbull (the Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year) and 6’10 Joshua Hughes on the inside, the Aces also have 6’7 Tanner Cuff and 6’7 Gabriel Pozzato on the wings. Evansville blocked nine Murray State shots in the first meeting, so the Racers will have to be strong around the rim.
Tayshawn Comer has led the Aces in scoring down the stretch, averaging 17.8 points over the last five games. Comer isn’t a great three-point shooter, but at 36.0% from beyond the arc, the Racers will have to respect his ability to knock down the open shot. He’s shooting just 31.4% from deep for the season, so the recent uptick in his shooting percentage almost assuredly will have his confidence sky-high tonight.
Defensively, Evansville has held opponents to 39.9% from the field in the last five games, and just 29.2% from three-point range. Murray State and Evansville are the two worst three-point shooting teams in conference play this season, so if either team is able to steal a couple triples throughout the game, it might prove to be the difference in who advances.
Evansville Head Coach David Ragland will play up to nine guys, but he really plays just five. If the Racers can get the tempo going and, maybe most importantly, get some Aces in foul trouble, that could go a long way toward helping Murray State advance to the quarterfinals against Bradley on Friday.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ podcast later tonight.
