# 2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by fifth-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Racers finished the 2018–19 season 28–5, 16–2 in OVC play, to tie as OVC regular season championship with Belmont. 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 won in the first round against Marquette. They then lost in the second round to Florida State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Martin Methodist | W 105–64 | | CFSB Center Murray, KY |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern | W 69–49 | 1–0 | CFSB Center (3,709) Murray, KY |
| November 12, 2019* 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Tennessee | L 63–82 | 1–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,913) Knoxville, TN |
| November 16, 2019* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Brescia | W 114–48 | 2–1 | CFSB Center (3,909) Murray, KY |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 79–66 | 3–1 | CFSB Center (4,549) Murray, KY |
| November 25, 2019* 6:30 p.m. | | vs. La Salle Gulf Coast Showcase first round | L 64–75 | 3–2 | Hertz Arena (1,112) Estero, FL |
| November 26, 2019* 12:30 p.m. | | vs. Weber State Gulf Coast Showcase consolation 2nd round | W 69–68 | 4–2 | Hertz Arena (786) Estero, FL |
| November 27, 2019* 12:30 p.m. | | vs. Drake Gulf Coast Showcase 5th-place game | L 53–63 | 4–3 | Hertz Arena (653) Estero, FL |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 69–71 | 4–4 | JQH Arena (3,817) Springfield, MO |
| December 7, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | W 85–52 | 5–4 | CFSB Center (4,807) Murray, KY |
| December 16, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 74–38 | 6–4 | CFSB Center (3,016) Murray, KY |
| December 21, 2019* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | L 76–78 | 6–5 | Ford Center (7,316) Evansville, IN |
| December 28, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cumberland (TN) | W 81–46 | 7–5 | CFSB Center (4,107) Murray, KY |
| OVC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 89–76 | 8–5 (1–0) | CFSB Center (3,314) Murray, KY |
| January 4, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 81–59 | 9–5 (2–0) | CFSB Center (4,125) Murray, KY |
| January 9, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Jacksonville State | W 72–68 | 10–5 (3–0) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,139) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 11, 2020 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 81–69 | 11–5 (4–0) | Eblen Center (1,106) Cookeville, TN |
| January 16, 2020 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 84–62 | 12–5 (5–0) | Skyhawk Arena (3,209) Martin, TN |
| January 18, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 96–91 | 13–5 (6–0) | Show Me Center (1,784) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| January 23, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Belmont | W 85–75 | 14–5 (7–0) | CFSB Center (6,023) Murray, KY |
| January 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 76–64 | 15–5 (8–0) | CFSB Center (4,925) Murray, KY |
| January 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 73–70 | 16–5 (9–0) | CFSB Center (4,530) Murray, KY |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 74–55 | 17–5 (10–0) | CFSB Center (7,512) Murray, KY |
| February 6, 2020 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 64–71 | 17–6 (10–1) | Curb Event Center (2,703) Nashville, TN |
| February 8, 2020 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tennessee State | W 73–65 | 18–6 (11–1) | Gentry Complex (3,102) Nashville, TN |
| February 13, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Austin Peay | L 68–71 | 18–7 (11–2) | Dunn Center (4,052) Clarksville, TN |
| February 15, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 85–57 | 19–7 (12–2) | CFSB Center (4,816) Murray, KY |
| February 20, 2020 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Illinois | L 60–63 | 19–8 (12–3) | Lantz Arena (1,444) Charleston, IL |
| February 22, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 59–58 | 20–8 (13–3) | Sam M. Vadalabene Center (747) Edwardsville, IL |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 74–62 | 21–8 (14–3) | CFSB Center (5,727) Murray, KY |
| February 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 75–61 | 22–8 (15–3) | CFSB Center (8,229) Murray, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2020 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | (2) | vs. (3) Austin Peay Semifinals | W 73–61 | 23–8 | Ford Center (3,435) Evansville, IN |
| March 7, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (1) Belmont Championship | L 75–76 | 23–9 | Ford Center (4,456) Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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