Murray State & OVC on the Rise

One-On-One with Murray State’s Matt McMahon

(St. Louis, MO) – Murray State is making its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Matt McMahon’s team has won 11 straight games and are fresh off a thrilling Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship. So we went one-on-one with the fourth year coach.

The Racers have sophomore guard Ja Morant to thank for some national notoriety, but this is a complete team, that defends, rebounds and plays an exciting brand of basketball.

McMahon said the tournament atmosphere at Ford Center was amazing. Ten thousand, mostly Murray State fans, made the Evansville arena ‘CFSB Center North’ and was practically a home game for the Racers.

So does McMahon have a preference for where the Racers play their March Madness opener? He would like it to be within driving distance of Murray, Kentucky.

 

 

MVP Morant

Without a doubt Morant is the face and best player on the Murray State squad. The 6’4 guard led the OVC in scoring (24.6 points per game) and leads the nation in assists (10.0) and is one of the national leaders in #SCTop10 appearances.

This week Sports Illustrated named Morant to its all-American team while NBC placed Morant on their second team.

McMahon says two things stand out about Morant. He makes other players better and he does exceptional things look easy.

 

 

Morant is the OVC’s ‘Player of the Year’ and has been named to numerous postseason all-American teams. He is rumored to be a ‘lottery pick’ in this Spring’s NBA draft.

Culture Building Buchanan

Senior Shaq Buchanan is the Racers’ defensive stopper, second leading scorer (13.0 ppg) and the player that has built toughness into the MSU culture. McMahon says Buchanan is one of the main reasons for the Racers’ two-year record of 53-10. Buchanan was a tireless and clutch performer last weekend in Evansville.

 

 

Freshman Torch Bearer

Tevin Brown is actually one of the reasons Morant is a Racer. Murray coaches were recruiting Brown and stumbled upon Morant in a back gym playing three-on-three. Now the two will play side-by-side in the ‘Big Dance’.

Brown is the next big thing in Murray, but for now he is content to hit big shots in the shadow of Morant and Buchanan. McMahon says Brown is an elite level shooter and he’s learning how to defend from Buchanan.

 

 

Surprise Inside Presence

Anthony Smith was supposed to be the Racers’ go-to post player. He started MSU’s first five games and averaged 7.6 points and five rebounds per game. It was the first taste of adversity for this year’s Racer team. Enter Darnell Cowart. The 6’8, 295 pound Cowley College transfer has been just what the Racers needed.

After averaging 4.6 points per game in the Racers’ first nine games, Cowart’s game began to take off. He finished the season with ten straight double-digit scoring games. In five of those games Cowart also grabbed at least ten rebounds. Cowart averaged 12.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in conference play.

McMahon says Cowart’s emergence has been the perfect addition to the Racers’ offense. His effectiveness inside is what has opened up the MSU’s perimeter game.

 

 

OVC On the Rise

It has been an historic season for the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray and Belmont have both earned N.E.T. ranking in the mid-forties and Jacksonville State (129) and Austin Peay (133) rank in the top 150. Morant, Belmont’s Dylan Windler, JSU’s Jason Burnell, Eastern Kentucky’s Nick Mayo and APSU’s Terry Taylor all had amazing and ‘Player of the Year’ worthy seasons.

McMahon says the OVC is deserves more respect than it’s receiving.

 

 

So, I went one-on-one with McMahon about Belmont’s credentials to be added to the NCAA Tournament.

 

 

There isn’t a player this side of Zion Williamson that can go one-on-one with Ja Morant and the Racers’ balanced team is ready to go toe-to-toe with the nation’s best teams.

Do Good