(1) Murray State vs. (3) Belmont preview
WBB: One more game with the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title on the line
Murray State will try to win their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship this afternoon against Belmont. Here’s what you need to know:
#1-seed Murray State (24-7 overall) vs. #3-seed Belmont (22-11 overall) — 1:00pm at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
NCAA NET Rankings: Murray State #53; Belmont #57
Series history: 29th meeting (Belmont leads 23-5)
You can watch the game on ESPN2/ESPN+
Jeremy Rose and I will have the radio call on WNBS, with the pregame show starting at 12:30pm
Murray State Scouting Report
Today is simply a chance to make history for the Racers. It’s a chance to win their first-ever Missouri Valley title. It’s a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008, and for just the second time ever. It’s a chance to win a 25th game for the first time in program.
In the end, nothing about this chance will be simple.
The Racers will face a Belmont team they split with in the regular season. On February 1st, Belmont hit 16 three-pointers, the most they’ve hit in a game in three years, to beat Murray State, 96-89, in Nashville.
Three weeks later, the Racers trailed by five going to the 4th quarter, but thanks to 24 points from Haven Ford, Murray State rallied to beat the Bruins, 83-78, in Murray.
Scoring 96 points yesterday helped solidify the Racers as the #1 scoring offense in the country with 87.9 points per game. Toss in their 29-for-33 effort at the charity stripe, Murray State is also #4 in the country in free throw percentage with 80.4%.
Coming off her 30-point semifinal performance against Drake, senior forward Katelyn Young is just 11 points away from becoming the 17th player in Division I history to score 3,000 points in a career. Yesterday was the 15th time in her career Young has scored at least 30 points in a game, and the first time she’s done it in a conference tournament game.
One other milestone to watch is 300 rebounds in a season has only been done seven times in Murray State Women’s Basketball history. Sitting at 298, senior forward Ava Learn is two shy of joining that exclusive club.
Belmont Scouting Report
This Bruin program is ingrained with a championship pedigree. In their final seven years in the Ohio Valley Conference, Belmont won six tournament championships. They’ve yet to return to the NCAA Tournament since coming to the Missouri Valley in the 2022-23 season, but they will try to kick that door in this afternoon.
When the Racers beat the Bruins in Murray, that was the last defeat in a four-game losing streak that dropped Belmont from the top of the conference standings. Since that loss, the Bruins have ripped off six-straight wins, including Saturday’s 76-67 win in the semifinals against Missouri State.
Murray State brings in the #1 scoring offense in league play with 86.6 points, but Belmont is right there at #3 with 74.4 points a game. The Bruins have the #1 field goal percentage defense in conference play, as they hold opponents to 38.3% shooting.
Belmont’s Kendal Cheesman averages 14.2 points per game in conference play. Yesterday against Missouri State, the Bruins had four players score in double-figures, none of which were Cheesman, so Belmont is able to present a balanced scoring attack the Racers will need to try to contain.
Murray State is really good.
Belmont is really good.
All the analysis at this point means very little. The team that can make some shots and can get the most stops will be cutting down the nets about 3:00pm today.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ podcast posted after the game.