# 2020–21 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by sixth-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

## Previous season

The Racers finished the 2019–20 season 23–9, 15–3 in OVC play to finish in a tie for the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Austin Peay in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Belmont. With 23 wins, they were a candidate for a postseason bid. However, all postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 29, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Greenville | W 173–95 | 1–0 | CFSB Center Murray, KY |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 2020* 6:30 pm | | at Middle Tennessee | L 61–78 | 1–1 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| Dec 5, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 76–65 | 2–1 | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Dec 8, 2020 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 87–57 | 3–1 (1–0) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Dec 11, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | L 66–70 | 3–2 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Transylvania | W 90–49 | 4–2 | CFSB Center Murray, KY |
| Dec 21, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Austin Peay | L 70–74 | 4–3 (1–1) | Dunn Center (502) Clarksville, TN |
| Dec 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Belmont | L 55–68 | 4–4 (1–2) | Curb Event Center (756) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 2, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Morehead State | L 56–61 | 4–5 (1–3) | CFSB Center (872) Murray, KY |
| Jan 7, 2021* 7:30 pm | | at Eastern Illinois | L 68–74 | 4–6 (1–4) | Lantz Arena (ESPN+) Charleston, IL |
| Jan 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 79–57 | 5–6 (2–4) | Skyhawk Arena (231) Martin, TN |
| Jan 21, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | L 82–85 | 5–7 (2–5) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Jan 23, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 72–63 | 6–7 (3–5) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Jan 28, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 73–53 | 7–7 (4–5) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Jan 30, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | L 71–72 | 7–8 (4–6) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Feb 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 77–60 | 8–8 (5–6) | Show Me Center (690) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Feb 4, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Morehead State | L 56–66 | 8–9 (5–7) | Ellis Johnson Arena (765) Morehead, KY |
| Feb 6, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 76–64 | 9–9 (6–7) | McBrayer Arena (887) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 11, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 80–60 | 10–9 (7–7) | CFSB Center (1,252) Murray, KY |
| Feb 13, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 84–55 | 11–9 (8–7) | CFSB Center (1,257) Murray, KY |
| Feb 15, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 86–57 | 12–9 (9–7) | First Community Arena (17) Edwardsville, IL |
| Feb 18, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | L 59–68 | 12–10 (9–8) | CFSB Center (1,260) Murray, KY |
| Feb 20, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 89–62 | 13–10 (10–8) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| Feb 25, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 74–87 | 13–11 (10–9) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (725) Jacksonville, AL |
| Feb 27, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | L 61–71 | 13–12 (10–10) | Eblen Center (920) Cookeville, TN |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (5) | vs. (4) Jacksonville State Semifinals | L 65–68 $^{OT}$ | 13–13 | Ford Center (645) Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||