2017–18 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

2017–18 Murray State Racers men's basketball
OVC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
2017–18 record	26–6 (16–2 OVC)
Head coach	Matt McMahon (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Shane Nichols Tim Kaine Casey Long
Home arena	CFSB Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The 2017–18 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by third-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 26–6, 16–2 in OVC play to win the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Jacksonville State and Belmont to become champions of the OVC Tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the First Round to West Virginia.

Previous season[]

The Racers finished the 2016–17 season 16–17, 8–8 in OVC play to finish in third place in the West Division. As the No. 7 seed in the OVC Tournament, they defeated Tennessee Tech and Morehead State before losing to UT Martin in the semifinals.

Preseason[]

In a vote of conference coaches and sports information directors, Murray State was picked to finish in 3rd place in the OVC. Jonathan Stark was picked as the Preseason OVC Player of the Year, and Terrell Miller was also named to the 2017–18 Preseason All-OVC Men's Basketball Team.^[1]

After five years of divisional play in the OVC, the conference eliminated divisions for the 2017–18 season. Additionally, for the first time, each conference team will play 18 conference games.^[1]

Roster[]

2017–18 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Terrell Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Arlington Country Day School SW Miss CC Jacksonville, FL G 2 Jonathan Stark 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Bob Jones HS Tulane Munford, TN F 4 Brion Sanchious 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Northeast HS Pompano Beach, FL G 10 Tevin Brown   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Fairhope HS Fairhope, AL G 11 Shaq Buchanan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Madison Central HS NE Miss CC Madison, MS G 12 Ja Morant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Crestwood HS Dalzell, SC F 13 Devin Gilmore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Madison-Ridgeland Academy Picayune, MS G 22 Brion Whitley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Riverview HS Sarasota, FL G 23 Jachai Taylor 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Waukegan HS Waukegan, IL F 24 Anthony Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Potomac HS Barton CC Suitland, MD G 25 Byron Hawkins 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Clinton Christian HS Towson Fort Washington, MD G 35 Zach Hopewell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Apollo HS Owensboro, KY F 40 Jalen Dupree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Cordova HS Cordova, TN	Head coach Matt McMahon (Appalachian State) Assistant coach(es) Shane Nichols (Wofford) Tim Kaine (Winthrop) Casey Long (Chattanooga) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 9, 2017

Schedule and results[]

References[]