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Murray State Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for Racers

By Jason Burgess

Coach McMahon is looking ahead to his 2019 recruiting class (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Coach McMahon is looking ahead to his 2019 recruiting class (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Ja Morant #12, Tevin Brown #10 and Shaq Buchanan #11 of the Murray State Racers react against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Ja Morant #12, Tevin Brown #10 and Shaq Buchanan #11 of the Murray State Racers react against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Ja Morant is gone to the NBA, but Murray State Basketball have reloaded and are ready to defend their Ohio Valley title in 2019. Here’s a preview of Matt McMahon’s squad.

Murray State Basketball is the two-time defending Ohio Valley Tournament champions and as I wrote earlier this summer the school has become a factory of backcourt stars, and the latest Ja Morant was the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft in June. The Racers will be looking for a three-peat under head coach Matt McMahon who is entering his fifth year at the school.

Last season the Racers went 28-5 and 16-2 in the Ohio Valley, after losing to Jacksonville State on New Year’s Eve, Murray State would reel off 13 straight wins before losing to Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But, with Morant gone, the Racers will have to start over in a sense, much like they did when former Murray State greats Cameron Payne and Isaiah Canaan before him graduated to the NBA.

In order to prepare for the season, McMahon took his team on a preseason trip to the Bahamas where they could gel as a team and get some game action as well. The trip consisted of three games against Bahamian squads, the trip saw Murray State go 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 30 points. But it’s not about wins and losses on these trips, more importantly, it is about building a togetherness in the games and 10 practices that are allowed by the NCAA.

The trip is over and Murray State is preparing for practice and they will once again be the hunted in the Ohio Valley, but McMahon’s team will be ready.