Missouri Valley Basketball: Storylines for league after Loyola-Chicago’s exit

Murray State raced to join their rivals

Undoubtedly the MVC’s next addition turned more heads than Belmont’s valley-to-valley trip. Not only did they double dip into the OVC, but they grabbed a program that was a founding member of the conference way back in 1948, the Murray State Racers. Murray State was one of the schools that came up with the idea of forming a new conference back in 1941 but the idea was put on hold because of World War II, but was revisited in 1948, and now some 77 years later Murray State is racing off to the MVC in 2022-23.

The Racers had been a model of consistency in the Ohio Valley, especially over the last 30 years that saw them win 13 conference tournament titles to go along with 17 regular season championships. Over the 15 years or so Murray State has become a guard factory, turning out guard after guard that would go on to play in the NBA, from Marcus Brown to Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne to current superstar Ja Morant. By adding Murray State, the Missouri Valley adds an already built-in rivalry as the Racers and Belmont had many memorable clashes in the OVC. It also gives the league its first team in the state of Kentucky, widening its footprint in that area.

The additions of Murray State and Belmont represent quite the coup for the MVC, but even after adding the two OVC juggernauts, they added one more piece to the puzzle heading into this season.