Racers hoops to play Stanford

News from the college hardwood....

After the most successful season in school history (31-5 overall; 17-1 OVC and within a 3-pointer of the Sweet 16) Murray State looks ahead to what many believe could be even better.annouced earlier today... the Racers will play Stanford November 25th in the first round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, CA.

The Racers and Stanford tipp off at eight o'clock on ESPNU in the first meeting between the two programs. If you are not making the trip westward you will be able to cozy up in front of the tv and watch all 12 tournament games on one of the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.

76 Classic Tournament Bracket

2010 OVC Softball Tournament Is set

The 2010 OVC Softball Tournament is locked in and ready to roll but there is one problem... For only the third time this decade Lana Richmond's SEMO Redhawks did not qualify. They failed to make the tournament field in '07, '08 and 2010.

SEMO last won a OVC Tournament Title in 1999 advancing to Tuscon, AZ to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks finished with a record of 2-1.

1999 Tucson, AZ
Game 1 - Kansas 5, Southeast Missouri 1
Game 2 - Southeast Missouri 2, East Carolina
Game 3 - Kansas 3, Southeast Missouri 1


BRENTWOOD, TN (OVC) - The 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament field is set. UT Martin earned the top seed and the right to host the three-day event that will take place May 13-15. Jacksonville State earned the No. 2 seed and along with the Skyhawks will receive a first-round bye. Morehead State is the third seed followed by Eastern Illinois, Murray State and Tennessee Tech.

Tournament action is set to begin on Thursday with the first game getting underway at 11:00 a.m. CT. The entire tourney will be available on OVCSports.TV.

2010 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament Schedule

Thursday, May 13
Game 1 - #3 Morehead State vs. #6 Tennessee Tech – 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - #4 Eastern Illinois vs. #5 Murray State – 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 - #2 Jacksonville State vs. Game 1 winner – 4:00 p.m.
Game 4 - #1 UT Martin vs. Game 2 winner – 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 14
Game 5 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser – 11:00 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser – 1:30 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 winner – 4:00 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 15
Game 9 – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner – 11:00 a.m.
Game 10 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 1:30 p.m.
(if necessary Game 11 follows at 4:00 p.m.)

*All time Central

Racers Deserve to Dance

The NCAA Tournament dream for the Murry State men's basketball team can come true with a pair of victories this weekend in Nashville beginning with Friday nights Semifinal game against Eastern Illinois. The Racers swept the regular season series against the Panthers winning by 16 in the first meeting and 9 just ten days later.

A loss in Nashville could turn the dream into a nightmare which could last more than a week untill the NCAA Selection Show. Most bracket projections have only one team from the OVC playing in the tournament. Of course that would be the winner of the conference tournament with no other OVC team receiving an at-large bid.

In years past that formula has been correct, but this year the predictable tried and true recipe used by the Selection Committee needs a little tweaking. To borrow from Chef Emeril Lagasse, the process could use some "Bam".

This quote from Emeril fits the situation.

“I had these recipes that say do this, do that. Who MAKES these rules?”

I would love to see that written on the dry erase board in the Selection Commitee's "War Room". Variety is the spice of life - the NCAA Tournament could use some out-of-the-box forward thinking.

By no means is the OVC a power conference or one which can even be mentioned with the likes of the ACC, Big East, SEC, Big XII or even the mid-majors (MVC, Horizon, etc.).

As of Thursday March 4th the OVC ranks 20th in RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) out of 33 Division 1 leagues.

RPI Rankings: Conference
1. Big XII
2. Big East
3. ACC
4. SEC

5. Big Ten
9. MVC
33. Great West

Simply looking at the overall RPI and it's easy to see why it appears Murray State needs to secure the OVC's automatic bid. Dig deeper and you'll see the Racers have done everything possible (short of going undefeated) to get an at-large bid. They dominated the regular season (17-1) in the OVC, nearly won road games over Cal (RPI 23) and Lousiana Tech (RPI 80), won all 15 home games and have a 28-4 record heading to Nashville. Honestly! What more could you ask for.

Bypassing Murray State for a .500 team from a power conference would be a huge injustice and continue to devalue the importance the regular season. You can't blame coach Kennedy, Ivan Aska, Tony Easley, Isaiah Canaan or the rest of the team for playing in a bad conference, but you can reward a team for doing what great teams do...Dominate their opponent.


Coach Kennedy talks about the struggles for national recognition.

Former Racers Coach Griffin Heads To NFL

It appears Matt Griffin has landed on his feet after being kicked to the curb by Murray State.

The Jags could use some help...They ended the season with the NFL's 18th ranked total offense (10th in the AFC).

--- --- --- ---

Former Murray State Racers football coach Matt Griffin has landed a position as an offensive assistant withthe NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Griffin, who was fired by the school in November after a 3-8season, spent the past week in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl.

Griffin told the Murray Ledger & Times that he was as nervous as he has ever been about interviewing for a job, but knew an opportunity would arise after his dismissal from the Racers. Griffin said he's looking forward to learning the NFL game.

Former Georgia Southern coach Chris Hatcher replaced Griffin atMurray State.

Information from: Murray Ledger & Times

http://www.murrayledger.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Looking Forward To Next Weekend

or me this was not a great weekend for football.  However it did begin well with my alma mater (Toledo) drilling Colorado 54-38.  If you get a chance to see the Rockets play this year don't miss the opportunity. I'm sure they will be on one of the ESPN channels at some point again this season.

Saturday the Buckeyes lose to USC in the final minute and it's topped off Sunday with a Bengals loss to Denver on a play some are calling "The Immaculate Deflection". An 87 yard td reception by Denver's Brandon Stokely off a deflected pass with seconds left in the game...Blah, Blah, Blah...Bengals find another way to lose.  I fear it's going to be a long season.

With that said I am actually looking forward to next weekend.  SEMO and Murray State are back playing competition more to their level. Redhawks host Eastern Illinois (not another Big East team) and Murray State travels to Missouri State (not another ACC team). I don't think we'll see either team involved in 70-3 or 65-7 game. Those were clearly pay day games for SEMO and Murray State.
Tennessee Martin get a money game Saturday at Memphis and SIU hosts SW Baptist.

The Redhawks run defense will need to come prepared Saturday against Eastern Illinois.  The Panthers feature junior running back Mon Williams and his 6.45 yards per carry (two games 31 carries for 200 yards and 2 td's). 

The University of Florida transfer brings more than great running skills to the EIU roster, he owns a pair of National Championship rings wons while and underclassman with the Gators. He was with Florida from 2006-2008 and took a medical redshirt in 2007 after suffering a torn ACL in spring practice.
Williams transfered into Eastern Illinois in time for the '09 Spring Semester.

This will be the first "real" test of the season for the Redhawks playing against guys on their level. SEMO held NAIA school Quincy to only 63 yard rushing while top 25 Cincinnati gutted the Redhawks for 351.

Everyone loves a prediction so I'll step out and say EIU 27, SEMO 10. Hope I am way off base, but it's hard to go against the numbers. This decade SEMO is 1-8 against the Panthers (the only victory coming in a 2003 30-17 final) and they have been outscored 270-156. 

Now it's time for a shameless plug: You can watch the game webcast live at www.kfvs12.com.

While surfing the net scouring sports pages I stumbled upon a great site for college football / numbers geeks like me.

• Football Championship Subdivision
• Football Bowl Subdivision

Bret Campbell Returns To The OVC

I must admit I found this a bit surprising when I read this e-mail from Murray State Assistant Athletic Director-Media Relation Dave Winder.

I think it's a good move for the Racers program. Bret Campbell brings a wealth of general basketball knowledge (X's and O's) to Murray State and a lot of  Ohio Valley Conference knowledge to the table. He has been in the league since 1992 as an assistant or head coach. I just hope (for all involved) Campbell's recent issues at UT Martin do not negatively the the Racers program or Murray State University.

Coach Campbell resigned as the Skyhawks mens head basketball coach back in June after an internal audit showed he cashed checks for summer basketball camps (which goes against school policy) and a contract with Anaconda Sports that did not have school approval.

Here is the official release from Murray State concerning the hiring of Bret Campbell:


 CAMPBELL JOINS MSU BASKETBALL AS DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

 August 21, 2009

Murray, Ky. --- Murray State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Billy Kennedy announced today that Bret Campbell will join the program and serve as the director of basketball operations.Campbell is no stranger to the Racers and the Ohio Valley Conference after leading the program at UT Martin as head coach for the last 10 seasons.

“I’m excited to have someone with Bret’s experience and abilities join our program,” Kennedy said. “He’s going to be an excellent addition to our staff.”

 “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with Coach Kennedy and his staff,” Campbell said. “I have great respect for Murray State and their commitment to their athletics department.”
Campbell is a veteran of 17 years in Ohio Valley Conference basketball having been the head coach at UTM from 1999 to 2009 and at Austin Peay as an assistant from 1992-99.

Last season, he led the Skyhawks to a school record 22 wins and their first regular-season championship.

Prior his time at UTM and APSU, Campbell was an assistant coach at Central Florida (1989-92), Birmingham Southern (1987-89), Kennesaw State (1985-87) and his alma mater, Valdosta State (1983-85).

He and his wife, Marcia, have three children, daughter Caitlin, 15, and sons Cannon, 12, and Carter, 10.