Murray State, on a 20-game winning streak, rewarded with a No. 7 seed
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Murray State, 30-2 overall with the longest winning streak in the nation at 20 games, earned a No. 7 seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced Sunday. The Racers, the Ohio Valley Conference’s regular-season and tournament champions, will face San Francisco (24-9) in their opener on Thursday in Indianapolis.
The bracket is set up for a possible Murray State-Kentucky matchup in the second round if both teams win their tournament opener.
It is the third time in program history that 20th-ranked Murray State has earned a single-digit seeding.
The Racers were seeded sixth in 2012, defeating 11th-seeded Colorado State before losing to third-seeded Marquette. They earned a No. 9 seed in 1998 and lost to eighth-seeded Rhode Island.
“Now the work begins,” Murray State head coach Matt McMahon said. “I’m thrilled we’re in Indianapolis; very close to home for us. … For us, it’s a one game (at a time) tournament. Our goal is to get better and go 1-0 on Thursday. And that’s all from a basketball standpoint we’ll be focused on.”
It’s Murray State’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. Seeded 12th, the Racers knocked off fifth-seeded Marquette 83-64 before losing 90-62 to fourth-seeded Florida State.
The Racers’ biggest NCAA Tournament wins include a 78-75 defeat of third-seeded N.C. State in 1988 and edging fourth-seeded Vanderblt 66-65 in 2010.
This Murray State squad is the first team in OVC history to go undefeated in the regular season and postseason tournament. (Three Western Kentucky squads — 1949-50, 1965-66 and 1969-70 — went undefeated in the regular season before the league held a postseason tournament.)
The Racers, who will move to the Missouri Valley Conference later this year, earned the OVC’s automatic bid with tournament wins against Southeast Missouri in the semifinals and Morehead State in the finals. Justice Hill was named the tournament MVP after averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 assists in the pair of victories.
OVC Player of the Year KJ Williams, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, is the team’s leading scorer (18.2 points) and rebounder (8.6). Tevin Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, is second in scoring (16.9) and third in rebounding (5.5) while Hill, a 6-foot sophomore guard, averages 13.2 points and a team-best 5.0 assists.
Williams, Brown and Hill were all named first-team All-OVC.
McMahon, who was named OVC Coach of the Year, is 153-66 (.698) in seven seasons and 93-31 (.750) in league play.
As for a possible matchup with Kentucky, McMahon said, “Absolutely no thoughts of that. It’s a one-game tournament for us. … You don’t win on Thursday, there is no matchup.”
Murray State’s tournament opener
No. 7 seed Murray State vs. No. 10 seed San Francisco
What: NCAA Tournament East Regional
When: About 9:40 p.m. Thursday
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
TV: CBS-27
Records: Murray State 30-2, San Francisco 24-9
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Enrollment: 10,714.
Nickname: Dons.
School colors: Green and Gold.
Head coach: Todd Golden (57-35 in three seasons at San Francisco and overall).
Conference: West Coast Conference.
NCAA berth: At-large.
All-time series: Murray State leads 1-0.
Last meeting: The Racers won 70-67 in the semifinals of the 2011 Great Alaskan Shootout.
Common opponents with Murray State this season: None.
Notable games this season: The Dons lost all three of their matchups against No. 1 Gonzaga, 78-62 on Jan. 20, 89-73 on Feb. 24, and 81-71 in the WCC Tournament on March 7. Other NCAA Tournament teams they have faced include Davidson (W, 65-60), UAB (W, 63-61), Loyola Chicago (L, 79-74) and Saint Mary’s (L, 72-70 and L, 69-64).
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 6:47 PM.
