# 2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by fourth-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 28–5, 16–2 in OVC play to finish second to Belmont on a tiebreaker for the regular season championship with Belmont. They defeated Jacksonville State and upset the short-handed Belmont Bruins to be champions of the OVC tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Marquette in the first round before losing in the second round to Florida State.

## Previous season

The Racers finished the 2017–18 season 26–6, 16–2 in OVC play to win the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Jacksonville State and Belmont to become champions of the OVC tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to West Virginia.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brescia | W 99–61 | | CFSB Center (2,912) Murray, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wright State | W 73–54 | 1–0 | CFSB Center (5,066) Murray, KY |
| Nov 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Spalding | W 106–36 | 2–0 | CFSB Center (2,748) Murray, KY |
| Nov 24, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 77–66 | 3–0 | CFSB Center (2,701) Murray, KY |
| Nov 26, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Alabama | L 72–78 | 3–1 | Coleman Coliseum (9,004) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Prairie View A&M | W 83–67 | 4–1 | CFSB Center (3,485) Murray, KY |
| Dec 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | W 64–42 | 5–1 | Murphy Center (4,102) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 80–52 | 6–1 | SIU Arena (5,107) Crabondale, IL |
| Dec 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jackson State | W 74–57 | 7–1 | CFSB Center (3,612) Murray, KY |
| Dec 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 66–64 | 8–1 | CFSB Center (4,099) Murray, KY |
| Dec 22, 2018* 3:30 pm, SECN | | at No. 7 Auburn | L 88–93 | 8–2 | Auburn Arena (8,356) Auburn, AL |
| Dec 29, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bethel (TN) | W 110–82 | 9–2 | CFSB Center (3,703) Murray, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 90–69 | 10–2 (1–0) | CFSB Center (4,006) Murray, KY |
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 97–85 | 11–2 (2–0) | CFSB Center (6,552) Murray, KY |
| Jan 10, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 98–77 | 12–2 (3–0) | Skyhawk Arena (3,114) Martin, TN |
| Jan 12, 2019 4:15 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 85–67 | 13–2 (4–0) | Show Me Center (3,143) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Jan 17, 2019 7:15 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Illinois | W 83–61 | 14–2 (5–0) | Lantz Arena (2,410) Charleston, IL |
| Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 82–72 | 15–2 (6–0) | Vadalabene Center (2,178) Edwardsville, IL |
| Jan 24, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Belmont | L 66–79 | 15–3 (6–1) | CFSB Center (8,969) Murray, KY |
| Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 100–62 | 16–3 (7–1) | CFSB Center (7,059) Murray, KY |
| Jan 31, 2019 7:15 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 68–88 | 16–4 (7–2) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,718) Jacksonville, AL |
| Feb 2, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 67–63 | 17–4 (8–2) | Eblen Center (5,250) Cookeville, TN |
| Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 86–75 | 18–4 (9–2) | CFSB Center (5,111) Murray, KY |
| Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 86-55 | 19-4 (10-2) | CFSB Center (8,007) Murray, KY |
| Feb 14, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Austin Peay | W 73–71 | 20–4 (11–2) | Dunn Center Clarksville, TN |
| Feb 16, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 102–70 | 21–4 (12–2) | McBrayer Arena Richmond, KY |
| Feb 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 85–75 | 22–4 (13–2) | CFSB Center (5,175) Murray, KY |
| Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 103–67 | 23–4 (14–2) | CFSB Center (7,762) Murray, KY |
| Feb 28, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Morehead State | W 71–52 | 24–4 (15–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (6,071) Morehead, KY |
| Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 94–83 | 25–4 (16–2) | CFSB Center (9,012) Murray, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2019 10:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) | vs. (3) Jacksonville State Semifinals | W 76–74 | 26–4 | Ford Center (8,294) Evansville, IN |
| Mar 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (1) Belmont Championship | W 77–65 | 27–4 | Ford Center (10,525) Evansville, IN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 21, 2019* 3:30 pm, TBS | (12 W) | vs. (5 W) Marquette First Round | W 83–64 | 28–4 | XL Center (14,838) Hartford, CT |
| Mar 23, 2019* 5:10 pm, TNT | (12 W) | vs. (4 W) No. 10 Florida State Second Round | L 62–90 | 28–5 | XL Center (15,031) Hartford, CT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Source. All times are in Central Time. ||||||