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Murray State Basketball: 3 reactions from their victory over Marquette

By Jerran Anderson

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates after making an assist during the second half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. Murray State defeated Marquette 83-64. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates after making an assist during the second half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. Murray State defeated Marquette 83-64. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images /

3. The Ja Morant experience is real

Ja Morant certainly earned himself some money on Thursday behind 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. Morant showed the nation why he’s been such a hot name in NBA Draft circles with his performance on Thursday. He put up the first triple-double in the NCAA Tournament since 2012, back when Draymond Green had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Michigan State against LIU Brooklyn.

Before halftime, with his team up four, Morant drained a stepback 3-pointer as time expired to put his team up seven. In the second half, his backdoor cut and two-handed jam at the rim began a number of highlight plays that involved him. The good thing was he didn’t try to force things too much despite his seven total turnovers.

Morant controlled the rhythm of the whole game on both ends. All of his rebounds came on the defensive end. Markus Howard scored 26 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field and 4-of-14 shooting from 3-point range.

In the second half, the Racers outscored Marquette 41-29 and despite shooting 14.3 percent from behind the arc, they still shot 53.1 percent from the field overall. The Racers have a star in the making in Morant and with him as their floor general, they look ready to make a Cinderella run.