Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
We have a Missouri Valley matchup between Murray State (10-8 SU, 7-10 ATS, 5-3 MVC) and Belmont (13-6 SU, 9-8-1 ATS, 6-2 MVC) from Curb Event Center in Nashville on Tuesday at 9pmET.
These teams used to meet every season when they were in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State won both games and covered last season.
Murray State expected to have some issues heading into a new conference with a new coach and 10 of 11 scorers gone. They've played better than expected at home, where they are 6-1, but the Racers are 2-6 on the road. Former coach Steve Prohm took over for Mike McMahon, who went to LSU and took three players with him after going 31-3 last season. Murray State (174 KenPom) had lost two straight and four of their last six, before beating UIC 81-64 on Saturday. JaCobi Wood led the Racers with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 8-of-9 shooting. The 6-2 Belmont transfer will be facing his former team for the first time. Brian Moore Jr. also had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting with five boards. The Races shot a sizzling 57% from the field and held Illinois-Chicago to just 35% shooting (35% 3pt).
EVERY ANGLE OF JA MORANT'S UNBELIEVABLE DUNK OF TH E YEAR CANDIDATE ????? pic.twitter.com/8u1j6ZNH3F
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2023
The Racers are a work in progress with so many new players. Offensively, they are fine, averaging 71 points per game on 45.2% shooting on only 31.8% three-point shooting (289th). Defensively, they are allowing 68.9 points per game on 41.7% shooting (30.9% 3pt). Rob Perry leads the Racers with 14.9 points per game on 44.9% shooting and 38.5% from long range. Jamari Smith (6-8, 225) adds 12.4 points and 5.2 rebounds on 47.8% shooting.