A long season full of ups and downs finished Saturday with a second consecutive home loss for the men’s basketball team.
Despite the adversity which has plagued the team since well before the season started, the task facing the Racers remains quite simple: win two games and advance to the NCAA Tournament, or lose and go home.
After seemingly righting the ship with a double-overtime win against Morehead State, and a convincing BracketBusters win over South Dakota State, the Racers closed out the regular season in the worst way possible, dropping home games to 8-19 UT Martin and 14-15 Southeast Missouri.
When asked about the final two games, senior forward Ed Daniel summed up the Racers’ struggles in one word.
“Defense,” Daniel said.
“We have to get back to defending on the perimeter to where we’re able to pressure the ball, deny passing lanes and push people farther out,” Head Basketball Coach Steve Prohm said. “We’re having a tough time guarding the basketball off the dribble right now and I think that’s been our biggest weakness. You win at a high level by defending and we’re not doing that right now.”
During the two-game skid, the Racers struggled mightily to defend the 3-point shot.
UT Martin and SEMO shot an astronomical 58 percent from beyond the arc during the two games.
The Murray State defense allowed opponents to easily find wide-open shots, and the Racers paid the price.
The team will have to figure out its defensive struggles quickly, however, as they face Eastern Kentucky tonight in the semi-finals of the OVC Tournament. If they can regain the defensive prowess which was present earlier in the season, and defeat the Colonels tonight, they will advance to the finals tomorrow night to play either Belmont or Tennessee State for the championship, and earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
“We’ve just got to be better on the defensive end,” senior guard Isaiah Canaan said. “We’ve got to be more locked in and focused on our defensive assignments. They always say defense wins championships, so now we’ve got to go prove it.”
Despite two straight losses, the Racers remain confident heading into the tournament as the defending champions. The team is led by six seniors, all of whom have participated in multiple OVC Tournament games, easily making them the most experienced team in the field.
Though they may be struggling heading into the tournament, Canaan reminds fans he and the other seniors have not forgotten the dominance they exhibited in the tournament a year ago.
“We’ve been taking bullets all year long and everyone wants to shoot us down,” Canaan said, “but until it’s all said and done and someone else is holding up the trophy, we’re on top. That’s where we plan on staying, and that’s what we’re preparing for.”
Compared to last season the Racers find themselves in a much different position headed into the tournament. In fact, in each of the last three seasons, Murray State entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets.
This season, however, the Racers find themselves with the No. 2 seed and are considered by many as an underdog. With the team limping into the tournament with consecutive home losses, and a dominant Belmont team seemingly poised to win its first OVC crown, the Racers no longer remain the favorites.
Senior Brandon Garrett said the team’s recent struggles has put them under a lot of teams’ radars. Garrett sees this underdog status as an advantage, however, as some teams may label the Racers an easy target and overlook the defending champions.
“(Other teams) probably think we’re pushovers, and every team thinks they can beat us,” Garrett said. “If I were them, I’d believe it too, but we’re going to come out Friday with our heads high and all the swagger in the world.”
Pushovers or not, Prohm said he is not happy about the way the Racers’ season ended, and he expects his players to respond.
“These guys are best when they’re a little angry,” Prohm said. “And they should be angry, because I’m angry. We’ll be ready. I’m looking forward to it.”
When asked if he was in fact angry, Daniel’s response was loud and clear.
“There’s a lot of heat in us right now,” Daniel said. “The next team that plays us is probably going to be mad they got these Racers.”
As the team prepares to fight for its season tonight, it can rest assured the slate is wiped clean. When the players hit the court tonight at 8 p.m. in the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., the entire season is reduced to one simple concept: win or go home.
Story by Jonathan Ferris, Staff writer.