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Belmont vs. Murray State: 3 key storylines for first 2020-21 duel

By Benjamin Zacher

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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Belmont’s Adam Kunkel Ovc Championship 12
Belmont’s Adam Kunkel Ovc Championship 12 /

3. One of the fiercest mid-major rivalries culminated in last season’s OVC title game – and this will be another entertaining entry

Arguably, there was not a more exciting conference championship game in last season’s marred month of March than the Ohio Valley Conference’s title tilt between the Belmont Bruins and Murray State Racers, which saw the Bruins escape with a narrow 76-75 victory.

Both teams finished in a tie for first place in the OVC last year, going 15-3 in conference play – and both were two of just three OVC teams to win at least 20 games, with Belmont going 26-7 in Casey Alexander’s first season and Murray State finishing 23-9 in their title defense run – and Austin Peay being the other 20-win squad.

Last season’s OVC championship game on March 7th was nothing short of exceptional, where the two squads exchanged leads eight times and tied on seven occasions.  Neither team maintained a double-digit lead, with Belmont’s largest lead coming 11 minutes into the game (23-15), while Murray State led by seven (41-34) with just under 17 minutes left in the showdown.

In addition, both teams were unconscious from the field, with the Bruins knocking down 46.9% of their shots and the Racers maintaining a slight edge at 47.5%.  But, obviously, there was not a moment as significant and memorable as the closing seconds, where Belmont – down one after Murray State’s Tevin Brown knocked down two free throws with 11 seconds left – saw Tyler Scanlon scoop in a game-winning reverse layup with 3.8 seconds left.

In all, the Racers return 58 of their 75 points from last year’s loss, including their leading scorers in Brown (17 points) and Demond Robinson (14 points).  The Bruins, however, will feature a new look from last year’s win, returning just 36 points between three players – which includes Nick Muszynski’s impeccable 25-point output.

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Again, this rivalry has taken off since Belmont joined the OVC in 2012 and has become one of college basketball’s finest and fiercest – and it all culminated in last season’s conference championship game.  With both teams ultimately robbed of postseason bids last year, the quest for one this season means so much more – and this rematch could be the biggest regular-season game in the quest for a 2021 OVC title.