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Belmont vs Murray State: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Carter Chapley

Belmont's Nick Muszynski (33) is forced to pass as the Belmont Bruins play the Murray State Racers during the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game at Ford Center Saturday evening, March 7, 2020.Ovc Championship 03
Belmont's Nick Muszynski (33) is forced to pass as the Belmont Bruins play the Murray State Racers during the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game at Ford Center Saturday evening, March 7, 2020.Ovc Championship 03 /
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The two premier programs of the Ohio Valley Conference meet as Murray State travels to Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins in what could be a preview of the OVC Championship.

TV Schedule: Wednesday, December 30th, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU.

Arena: Curb Event Center, Nashville, TN.

In the Ohio Valley Conference’s pinnacle matchup, the Murray State Racers travel to Nashville to continue their conference season against the Belmont Bruins. The two programs have become the consistent league powerhouses in the last couple of years and will almost certainly find each other at the top of the league standings again after meeting each other in the conference championships the last three consecutive seasons.

Last year, Belmont beat the Racers in the tournament finals on a beautiful backdoor cut to become one of the only Conference Champions in 2020.

Belmont Head Coach Casey Alexander has opened the 2020-21 campaign with an 8-1 record, though the overall strength of schedule is something to be desired, ranking 316th in the country. Those eight wins also include a clean 2-0 record in the OVC, with both wins coming over Tennessee State. The Bruins lead a very balanced attack, ranking third in offense in the OVC with 79.1 points per game and third in scoring defense, allowing just 68.4 points a night.

One of the greater stories of the Belmont season has been the emergence of Luke Smith. Smith is a Division Three transfer from The University of the South, leading the team and is fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.4 points a night, while also leading the conference in three-point shooting and steals. It is rare to see a D3 transfer make such an immediate impact at the D1 level, but Smith has become absolutely vital to the Bruin’s success.

The Racers have opened the season less excitingly. Matt McMahon’s group has opened the season 4-3 with losses at Middle Tennessee, Southern Illinois, and a disappointing conference loss to Austin Peay. Murray State has played a more challenging schedule but has less to show for it.

Leading with their offense, the Racers score an average of 89 points a night, good enough for first in the Ohio Valley. They also score the ball very efficiently, having one of the highest effective field goal percentages in the country at 55.55, good enough for 40th best nationwide.

Led by Junior small forward Tevin Brown, Murray State uses a barrage of strong shooters and movement to create havoc on the offensive end. The only problem is that with that havoc comes frequent turnovers, giving up the ball on a staggering 16.6% of all possessions.

Belmont appears to have the upper hand in this iteration of the two OVC super programs’ annual matchup. The Bruins are more consistent, and playing at home seems to have given them a significant edge. That being said the Racers could beat just about anyone on a given night with their high-octane offensive firepower. So, if the wind is right (so to speak), look for Murray State to potentially shock in Nashville.

Next. Key storylines for Belmont vs Murray State. dark

This matchup represents some of the best that Mid-Major basketball has to offer in the 2020-21 season. Since 2013 only these two programs have won regular-season titles in the OVC, so each game will be critical when they meet. The rivalry is bitter, and one of these teams will almost surely find themselves in the NCAA tournament come March. That’s more than enough reason to tune in for this battle in Nashville.