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MSU Basketball Continues Winning Streak

The Murray State Racers Thursday home match up with Tennessee State could net the Racers at least a tie for the regular season title in the OVC with a 12-0 record conference play. TSU  is coming to Murray having won their last five games and are looking to stop the Racer’s streak.  Winning their last game against U-T Martin ensured the Racer’s their 25th consecutive winning season, which ties them with Connecticut at fourth best winning  streak in the nation. Thursday’s game begins at 7:00pm at the CFSB center.

From a Murray State Press Release:

The Murray State Racers face the Tennessee State Tigers Thursday at 7 pm at the CFSB Center. The game will be aired by ESPN3.

The Racers kept their perfect season alive Saturday with a 65-58 win at UT Martin, giving them an 11-0 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Racers have a four game lead with five games remaining. MSU will clinch at least a tie for the regular season title with a win Thursday night.

TSU comes into the CFSB Center a hot team having won their last five games. Meanwhile, the Racers have won their last 18 home games dating back to January, 2011.

The Racers’ 2011-12 season has been one of a movie script as they’ve placed themselves as the top story of the college basketball season. MSU is the only undefeated team in NCAA D-I at 23-0 and has set the OVC record for the best start to a season, surpassing the Western Kentucky team of 1953-54 that started 21-0.

MSU has already clinched its 25th straight winning season, which is tied with Connecticut for the fourth-best streak in the nation behind only Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona.

The Racers are going places they’ve never been when it comes to rankings. This week marks the ninth consecutive week of being ranked in the Associated Press poll. MSU’s No. 9 ranking in the AP poll this week and No. 7 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today poll are all-time highs in the MSU program.

This season’s rankings mark the first for the Racers since 1998. MSU is also the No. 1 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll for the first time in program history.

Since the Eastern Illinois game (Dec. 30), the Racers have played in front of either the opponent's largest crowd of the season or a sellout. MSU’s games at Austin Peay and SIU-Edwardsville were sellouts and the CFSB Center has had three straight sellouts heading into Thursday’s game with TSU.

MSU junior guard Isaiah Canaan is having an MVP-type season in the OVC. He’s turned in three 30-point performances this season and 10 games of 20 points or more. He has been named as one of the finalists for the Bob Cousy Award and Oscar Robertson Award. Canaan has also been recognized this season as Sporting News Mid-Season All-America and to the CBSSports.com Player of the Year watch list.

The Racers are also getting great leadership from the senior trio of Ivan Aska, Jewuan Long and Donte Poole. Coming into the UT Martin game they’ve been a part of 96 wins over four seasons. The record for one class is 99, set between 1996 and 2000. The class included the likes of Isacc Spencer, Aubrey Reese, Rod Murray and Mike Turner. They won 99 career games as Racers.

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