Thursday, February 28th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Eblen Center (10,250) -- Cookeville, Tennessee. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: MSU 12-2, TTU 6-6. Away Record: MSU 4-8, TTU 6-12. Neutral Record: MSU 0-1, TTU 0-0. Conference Record: MSU 12-6, TTU 9-10. Series Record: Murray State leads, 115-44.

GAME NOTES: Ohio Valley Conference play is set to take place at the Eblen Center tonight, as the Murray State Races face off with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. The Racers enter the tilt on a down note, as they suffered a 79-62 loss to Indiana State in non-conference play on Saturday. It was the second setback in three games for MSU, which fell to 16-11 overall. The Racers now turn their focus back to OVC play, where they can assure themselves no worse than a second place finish with a win tonight. As for TTU, it stepped away from conference action on Saturday, only to be outlasted by East Tennessee State 88-80. It was the third loss in a row, as the Eagles dropped to 12-18 overall. The team now returns to league action, where it has gone just 9-10 thus far. In regard to the all-time series, MSU holds a 115-44 advantage over TTU and that takes into account an 81-67 win in the first meeting of the season.

The Racers turned the ball over 14 times and that resulted in 21 points for Indiana State in a 79-62 setback on Saturday. The team lost the battle on the glass, 32-24, and was even outscored in the paint, 32-26. Bruce Carter led MSU in defeat with 21 points and five boards, while Danero Thomas had 17 points and a pair of steals. For the season, Carter tops the roster in both scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) and he is also shooting 37.8 percent from long range. Thomas checks in with 12.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while Tyler Holloway chips in with 11.3 ppg on the strength of 47.2 percent shooting from downtown. As a team, the Racers are making good on 48.9 percent of their attempts from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point range for an average of 72.1 ppg.

The Eagles simply could not slow down ETSU on Saturday, allowing it to shoot 49.2 percent from the field, including 12-of-26 from three-point land, in an 88-80 setback. TTU converted 18-of-21 free-throw tries and controlled the boards, 42-36, but it wasn't enough to compensate for the poor defense. Daniel Northern notched a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards to lead the team, while Amadi McKenzie logged one of his own with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Anthony Fisher chipped in with 11 points, but he also accounted for six turnovers. On the season, Fisher has fared much better, leading the squad in scoring (16.6 ppg), assists (3.4 apg) and steals (46). McKenzie is second on the club in scoring (14.8 ppg) as well as rebounding (8.4 rpg), while Northern puts forth 12.6 ppg and a team-high 9.1 rpg. Overall, the Eagles are scoring a solid 75.5 ppg on 45.9 percent shooting from the field.

The Racers are the better defensive and shooting team here and that is why they should be able to defeat a slumping TTU club tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Murray State 77, Tennessee Tech 73