NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major squads with early 2022 Cinderella potential

Murray State Racers (Ohio Valley)

Head coach Matt McMahon has Murray State basketball back on track following a 10-10 season during the Covid plagued 2020-21 season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Racers are 10-0 already in conference play with eight games to go and a ton of momentum.

Junior guard Tevin Brown is leading the way in the backcourt with 17.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 1.4 spg while shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range. He leads the team with 3.3 3-point makes per contest. He’s back to his productive self while showing off his ability to do more than just score from range in 2021-22.

6-foot-10 junior forward KJ Williams is 16.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg while shooting 52.3 percent from the field. He’s made his presence felt in the paint on the offensive end with 3.3 offensive rebounds per contest on year so far.

Sophomore point guard Justice Hill leads the way with 4.8 apg along with 13.4 ppg on 41.3 percent shooting from behind the arc. He’s second on the team in 3-pointers made per game with 2.1.

Off the bench, they’ve got sophomore guard Trae Hannibal, who’s posting 9.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 1.3 spg. He’s another young name that’s made his presence felt in the backcourt for Murray State basketball.

They’re sporting a 10-game winning streak with eight games to go on the conference slate. As they look to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019, this one could prove to be a much-deeper run with more talent on the horizon.