Racers Welcome Bradley to the Bank for First Time
The Murray State Racers (8-6, 3-1 MVC) take on the Bradley Braves (10-5, 3-1 MVC) in a battle of second place teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Murray State and Bradley have a history that dates back to 1962 with 14 games contested and each team with seven wins. However, they haven’t met in 29 years. It was 1994 when the Racers and Coach Scott Edgar played Bradley and Coach Jim Molinari in the National Invitation Tournament. Current Murray State assistant coach, Marcus Brown, a MSU Hall of Famer and Racer Radio analyst, Kenny Roth, were both with the 1994 Racers. Brown was a player and Roth was an assistant coach for head coach Scott Edgar. With the Racers joining The Valley in the 2022-23 season, this meeting after almost three decades is the first of many to come. The Racers return the game to Bradley on Feb. 11.
Kentucky Holds Off LSU on Tuesday
Tuesday night as Kentucky hung on late to beat LSU 74-71 at Rupp Arena. UK had 15 assists on its first 23 field goals. The Cats finished with 18 assists on 28. Five of the seven players who played significant minutes for the Cats recorded an assist in Tuesday’s win. Three of them (Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace and Jacob Toppin) had at least three assists. Defending National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe was the beneficiary of many of the good passes from his teammates. Tshiebwe made seven of nine from the floor on his way to 19 points in the game. And in what should come as no surprise, Tshiebwe had 16 rebounds, giving him his eighth double-double of the season and the 48th of his college career. Jacob Toppin followed his career-high effort against Louisville with another strong game on Tuesday. The senior had 21 points on nine of 13 shooting from the floor.
Louisville Drops 70-69 Heartbreaker to Syracuse
Louisville men’s basketball suffered its fourth one-point loss of the season Tuesday, dropping a 70-69 heartbreaker to Syracuse at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals (2-13, 0-4 ACC) led 35-34 at halftime and for the last time at 67-66 with 1:04 to play, but the Orange scored the game’s final four points from the free-throw line. Louisville got 20 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals from senior guard El Ellis, as well as a career-high 19 points from redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James, including four 3-pointers. The Cardinals tied their season high with 17 assists and set new season highs with 15 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points, but it was offset by 21 UofL turnovers that became 25 Syracuse points. The Orange (10-5, 3-1) also benefited from a 28-point performance by Joseph Girard III, including two crucial 3s in the final five minutes and the last two free throws of the game.
>>College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) — Number-9 Tennessee crushed Mississippi State 87-53. The Vols improved to 12-and-2 and will play South Carolina on the road Saturday afternoon. Vanderbilt beat South Carolina 84-79 in overtime. The Commodores are now 8-and-6 and will travel to 21st-ranked Missouri Saturday afternoon. Memphis is coming off a loss to Tulane. The Tigers dropped to 11-and-4 and will host East Carolina on Saturday.