2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by fourth-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 28–5, 16–2 in OVC play to finish second to Belmont on a tiebreaker for the regular season championship with Belmont. They defeated Jacksonville State and upset the short-handed Belmont Bruins to be champions of the OVC tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Marquette in the first round before losing in the second round to Florida State.

2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball
Ohio Valley regular season co-champions OVC Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	28–5 (16–2 OVC)
Head coach	Matt McMahon (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Shane Nichols Tim Kaine Casey Long
Home arena	CFSB Center

2018–19 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Belmont	16	–	2		.889			27	–	6		.818
Murray State†	16	–	2		.889			28	–	5		.848
Jacksonville State	15	–	3		.833			24	–	9		.727
Austin Peay	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Morehead State	8	–	10		.444			13	–	20		.394
Eastern Illinois	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
UT Martin	6	–	12		.333			12	–	19		.387
SIU Edwardsville	6	–	12		.333			10	–	21		.323
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	12		.333			13	–	18		.419
Tennessee State	6	–	12		.333			9	–	21		.300
Southeast Missouri State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Tennessee Tech	4	–	14		.222			8	–	23		.258
† 2019 OVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Racers finished the 2017–18 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.

Roster

2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Mike Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr W. S. Neal HS Coastal Alabama CC East Brewton, AL G 1 DaQuan Smith   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Holly Springs HS Holly Springs, MS F 4 Brion Sanchious 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Northeast HS Pompano Beach, FL G 10 Tevin Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Fairhope HS Fairhope, AL G 11 Shaq Buchanan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Madison Central HS NE Miss CC Madison, MS G 12 Ja Morant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Crestwood HS Dalzell, SC F 13 Devin Gilmore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Madison-Ridgeland Academy Picayune, MS G 14 Jaiveon Eaves 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Madisonville North Hopkins HS Madisonville, KY G 22 Brion Whitley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Riverview HS Sarasota, FL F 23 KJ Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Cleveland Central HS Cleveland, MS F 24 Anthony Smith   6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Potomac HS Barton CC Suitland, MD G 25 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Hopkinsville HS Hopkinsville, KY F 32 Darnell Cowart 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 295 lb (134 kg) Jr Agua Fria HS Cowley CC Chicago, IL	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: August 30, 2018

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Brescia	W 99–61		CFSB Center (2,912) Murray, KY
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Wright State	W 73–54	1–0	CFSB Center (5,066) Murray, KY
Nov 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Spalding	W 106–36	2–0	CFSB Center (2,748) Murray, KY
Nov 24, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Missouri State	W 77–66	3–0	CFSB Center (2,701) Murray, KY
Nov 26, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN		at Alabama	L 72–78	3–1	Coleman Coliseum (9,004) Tuscaloosa, AL
Dec 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Prairie View A&M	W 83–67	4–1	CFSB Center (3,485) Murray, KY
Dec 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		at Middle Tennessee	W 64–42	5–1	Murphy Center (4,102) Murfreesboro, TN
Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		at Southern Illinois	W 80–52	6–1	SIU Arena (5,107) Crabondale, IL
Dec 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Jackson State	W 74–57	7–1	CFSB Center (3,612) Murray, KY
Dec 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Evansville	W 66–64	8–1	CFSB Center (4,099) Murray, KY
Dec 22, 2018* 3:30 pm, SECN		at No. 7 Auburn	L 88–93	8–2	Auburn Arena (8,356) Auburn, AL
Dec 29, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN		Bethel (TN)	W 110–82	9–2	CFSB Center (3,703) Murray, KY
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
Jan 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Morehead State	W 90–69	10–2 (1–0)	CFSB Center (4,006) Murray, KY
Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Eastern Kentucky	W 97–85	11–2 (2–0)	CFSB Center (6,552) Murray, KY
Jan 10, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN		at UT Martin	W 98–77	12–2 (3–0)	Skyhawk Arena (3,114) Martin, TN
Jan 12, 2019 4:15 pm, ESPN		at Southeast Missouri State	W 85–67	13–2 (4–0)	Show Me Center (3,143) Cape Girardeau, MO
Jan 17, 2019 7:15 pm, ESPN		at Eastern Illinois	W 83–61	14–2 (5–0)	Lantz Arena (2,410) Charleston, IL
Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		at SIU Edwardsville	W 82–72	15–2 (6–0)	Vadalabene Center (2,178) Edwardsville, IL
Jan 24, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Belmont	L 66–79	15–3 (6–1)	CFSB Center (8,969) Murray, KY
Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Tennessee State	W 100–62	16–3 (7–1)	CFSB Center (7,059) Murray, KY
Jan 31, 2019 7:15 pm, ESPN		at Jacksonville State	L 68–88	16–4 (7–2)	Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,718) Jacksonville, AL
Feb 2, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN		at Tennessee Tech	W 67–63	17–4 (8–2)	Eblen Center (5,250) Cookeville, TN
Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Eastern Illinois	W 86–75	18–4 (9–2)	CFSB Center (5,111) Murray, KY
Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		SIU Edwardsville	W 86-55	19-4 (10-2)	CFSB Center (8,007) Murray, KY
Feb 14, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2		at Austin Peay	W 73–71	20–4 (11–2)	Dunn Center  Clarksville, TN
Feb 16, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN		at Eastern Kentucky	W 102–70	21–4 (12–2)	McBrayer Arena  Richmond, KY
Feb 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		UT Martin	W 85–75	22–4 (13–2)	CFSB Center (5,175) Murray, KY
Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Southeast Missouri State	W 103–67	23–4 (14–2)	CFSB Center (7,762) Murray, KY
Feb 28, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN		at Morehead State	W 71–52	24–4 (15–2)	Ellis Johnson Arena (6,071) Morehead, KY
Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN		Austin Peay	W 94–83	25–4 (16–2)	CFSB Center (9,012) Murray, KY
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
Mar 8, 2019 10:00 pm, ESPNU	(2)	vs. (3) Jacksonville State Semifinals	W 76–74	26–4	Ford Center (8,294) Evansville, IN
Mar 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2	(2)	vs. (1) Belmont Championship	W 77–65	27–4	Ford Center (10,525) Evansville, IN
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2019* 3:30 pm, TBS	(12 W)	vs. (5 W) Marquette First Round	W 83–64	28–4	XL Center (14,838) Hartford, CT
Mar 23, 2019* 5:10 pm, TNT	(12 W)	vs. (4 W) No. 10 Florida State Second Round	L 62–90	28–5	XL Center (15,031) Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Source. All times are in Central Time.