Why the Murray State Racers Deserve an NCAA Tournament Bid

by:John Wilmhoff03/12/15

@JohnWilmhoff

[caption id="attachment_175122" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Photo courtesy of @MSUracers Photo courtesy of @MSUracers[/caption]   As the #RacersDeserveABid movement continues to heat up on Twitter, Murray State head coach Steve Prohm went on the Tiki and Tierney radio show and crushed Jerry Palm and the number crunchers with some facts of his own. I have to admit, Prohm has convinced me the Racers and their future NBA point guard deserve a bid. Below, I add a few notes and opinions to further Prohm's argument. But first, listen to the coach's take for yourself:  

My take: The OVC is better than anyone gives it credit for

Murray State won at Evansville, where No. 10 Northern Iowa left with a loss. The Racers also defeated Illinois State, who beat beat No. 12 Wichita State. Eastern Kentucky tied with Belmont in the regular season for second in the OVC. The Colonels won at Miami (FL) by 28, but lost to Murray State. Those results do not mean Murray State is better than Northern Iowa and Wichita State (I do think they are better than Miami), but it's enough to reasonably wonder what Murray could do in the NCAA tournament if given the chance. There are quality teams in the OVC, simply not ones with big names. The OVC being good isn't a new thing, either. In 2010, Murray State knocked off fourth-seeded Vanderbilt, then lost to eventual NCAA runner-up Butler by just two points. In 2011, Kenneth Faried's Morehead State team defeated Louisville. In 2012, Murray State won a first-round game again over Colorado State. In 2013, Belmont fell to Arizona. In 2014, Eastern Kentucky nearly took down Kansas. During the same time period, the OVC has produced four current NBA players: Isaiah Cannon, Ian Clark, Robert Covington and Kenneth Faried. The Missouri Valley media darlings have produced just one: Cleanthony Early. So why is the OVC still always a one-bid league?

A 25-game win streak is an extremely difficult accomplishment

As Prohm said in his radio appearance, ask yourself this: how many of the BCS bubble teams could win 25 games in a row with the Racers schedule? If some of these teams can't beat the middle and lower-tier teams in their league, what makes anyone think they could pull of 25 straight wins against anyone? Jerry Palm says Murray State isn't worth more than 30 seconds of discussion, yet he has 12-loss Illinois in the field. Since starting the season 6-0, the Illini haven't won more than four in a row. Could they win 25 in a row? The Racers' streak, by the way, is the second longest this season and eighth longest since 2001. John Calipari and Brad Stevens have coached five of the seven teams with longer streaks. #RacersDeserveABid

Discuss This Article

Comments have moved.

Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.

KSBoard

2024-03-27