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Murray State

Ohio Valley Conference report

SportsLine.com Report
March 12, 2000

By Murray State standards, the 1999-2000 season was not up to par. Why? The Racers had to share the OVC regular-season title with Southeast Missouri State, each with a 14-4 record. The Racers also lost to Southeast Missouri State, 67-56, in the championship game of the OVC Tournament.

For the first time since 1996, the Racers failed to win the league tournament and did not get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Murray State, 23-9 overall, didn't even get invited to the NIT. While the Racers posted some decent non-conference victories (Rutgers, Valparaiso, South Alabama and Rhode Island), they were far from a dominant team in the OVC, and that's very un-Racer-like.

A Glance at 2001

Murray State better reload in a hurry if it's going to regain control of the OVC. Four starters graduate, including OVC player of the year Aubrey Reese and All-OVC first-team forward Isaac Spencer.

Two other key players are also gone. Reese, the point guard, and Spencer averaged a combined 41 points as the league's top two scorers (Reese at 21 ppg, Spencer at 19.8 ppg). Spencer was third in the league in rebounding (8.1) and Reese was 15th (5.4) while ranking third in assists (4.84).

The Racers will probably go the JC route for some immediate help, and don't put it past them to land some quality players. Somehow, the Racers always come back with a strong team. This might be the program's biggest challenge in years.

The Coach

Veteran coach Tevester Anderson completed his second season as the Racers' coach, and he had to be disappointed when this senior-laded team didn't win the OVC Tournament and an NCAA bid. Anderson, 50-15 in two seasons, faces a tough task of keeping the Racers on top. A veteran assistant coach, Anderson knows how high expectations are in Murray, Ky. It's his first head coaching job after serving as assistants at Auburn (1980-86), Georgia (1986-95) and Murray State (1995-98).

Who'll Be Back

Ray Cunningham, a 6-5 junior guard/forward, is the Racers' only returning starter. Cunningham averaged 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds and had hit double-figures in scoring in nine straight games before being held to two points in the OVC championship game. Chris Shumate, a 6-6 freshman guard, and 6-1 sophomore guard Justin Burdine played sparingly but can look for increased roles next season.

Several redshirt freshmen should move into considerable roles, including 6-8 forward Chiwale Bedeau, 7-foot center Lennart Christiansen, 5-11 guard Kevin Paschel and 6-5 forward Antione Whelchel.

Who's Gone

The Racers had two of the top players in the league in Reese and Spencer, both All-OVC first-team players. Reese, the OVC player of the year, had the worst game of his college career in the tournament championship game, going 1 for 18 from the field and finishing with three points. Also gone is starting small forward Rod Murray and starting post player Mike Turner. Marlon Towns, a 6-5 small forward who started in 1998-99, also departs, along with 6-5 senior guard Aaron Page, a key player off the bench. Heavy losses that will hurt the Racers.