UTEP takes on Murray State tonight in NIT on ESPN2

The UTEP men’s basketball team will be making its first NIT appearance in four years this week when they take on Murray State tonight.

Tonight’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg and Darrin Horn calling the action at 7 p.m. MT.

But there’s a totally different feel from the last time the Miners participated in the nation’s oldest college basketball postseason tournament.

“Yeah, I think so,” UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. “We were coming off a very disappointing loss, one in which we led by 12 with six minutes to go against Memphis [in the Conference USA championship game]. I think our guys were really deflated at that point.”

The 2010-11 Miners were a year removed from reaching the NCAA Tournament and weren’t overly thrilled about the prospect of trying to extend their season with a road game at New Mexico. Predictably, they lost 69-57 to the Lobos. This year it’s a different story with a team that looks genuinely happy to be here.

“I do think our guys are excited about having the opportunity to put on the UTEP gear again,” Floyd said.

UTEP is 6-10 all-time in 10 NIT appearances (1965, 1972, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2006, 2011). The Miners won a game in the NIT in 1980, 1981, 1993, 1995, 2001 and 2006.

If they’re going to win a game this year, they’ll have to go through a Murray State team that had a 25-game winning streak before losing in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. Murray State was ranked 25th in the nation a couple of weeks ago, but not good enough to make the NCAA Tournament in the selection committee’s eyes. The Racers figure to be out to prove something starting on Tuesday night when they take on the Miners at the 8,600-seat CFSB Center.

“It will be difficult,” Floyd said. “I understand they’ve got a terrific guard, some other very good players with him and a very nice home court advantage.”

The Racers’ sophomore guard Cameron Payne is averaging 20.3 points per game and ranks 10th nationally in scoring, 19th in assists (5.8 avg.) and 28th in steals (2.0 spg). Payne is a Memphis product and played against UTEP’s Earvin Morris in AAU ball and summer leagues. Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School and Morris went to East High School in the Bluff City.

Murray State has three other players averaging at least 11 points per game including senior forward Jarvis Williams, who is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage (.574).

Murray State is 14-1 at home this season with a 77-74 loss to Houston in its season opener on Nov. 14.

“I know that when you win 25 games in a row, it means you’re winning a lot of them at home,” Floyd said. “We know that they’re going to have a tremendous home court advantage, and that’s the nature of the NIT and one of the challenges that it presents.”

The Miners returned to El Paso from the conference tournament late Sunday morning, learned that they were in the 32-team NIT field Sunday night, then left El Paso Monday afternoon for Nashville. That didn’t leave a lot of time for scouting and scheming for a team they hadn’t seen all year.

“I think you have to really rely on who you are at this point,” Floyd said.

Source: UTEP Athletics

The Murray State Racers (27-5) look to continue their winning ways Tuesday when they host the UTEP Miners (22-10) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky. The 8 p.m. tip will be seen on ESPN2. All Murray State games are heard over free radio on WFGE Froggy 103.7 FM and online at Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com. Neal Bradley is in his 24th season as the Voice of the Racers. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides analysis.

In the NIT bracket, the Racers are a No. 3 seed and UTEP is a No. 6 seed. The winner of this game will play the winner of No. 2 Tulsa (22-10) who hosts No. 7 William & Mary (20-12) also Tuesday.

The Racers are coming off an 88-87 loss in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game (March 7) that denied them their 16th trip to the NCAA Tournament, but with MSU’s regular season OVC title, they received an automatic spot in the NIT. The Racers are hosting an NIT game for the second time after they hosted Wake Forest at old Racer Arena in 1983 under Coach Ron Greene. MSU is making its eighth appearance in the NIT and first since 2011. MSU is 2-7 all-time in the NIT. The 2011 appearance ended with an 89-76 loss at Missouri State. The last time MSU hosted was against Wake Forest who came into old Racer Arena in 1983 and won 87-80. MSU’s two wins were in 1980 against Alabama and Jacksonville.

The Racers ended the nation’s second-longest winning streak when they were upset in the OVC Tournament. MSU’s 25-game run spanned 98 days and saw them go undefeated in December, January and February. MSU (16-0) was one of three teams this season, along with Kentucky and North Carolina Central, to go undefeated in their conference. It marks the first at Murray State and the fifth in the OVC in 67 seasons of basketball and the first since Austin Peay did it in 2003-04.

leads the Racers as the OVC Player of the Year. Payne, a sophomore from Memphis is also on the Naismith Trophy semifinal list. He’s the fourth rated player in the nation according to KenPom.com and 10th in the nation with 20.3 points per game. Payne ranks 14th in the nation with 186 assists. was named All-OVC First Team and scores 15.5 points per game and grabs 8.3 rebounds. and get 12.1 and 11.1 points per game. gets 6.8 rebounds per game.

For the first time since 2011, the Racers are back in the National Invitation Tournament. The last time MSU played in the NIT, they were coached by Billy Kennedy and lost on the road in Springfield at Missouri State. MSU made a pair of NIT appearances in the 1990’s under Scott Edgar and Mark Gottfried. In the 1980’s, Steve Newton took the Racers to one NIT in 1989. MSU coach Ron Greene has the record at Murray State in NIT appearances (3) and games (5). Greene led MSU to its only NIT wins when the Racers scored road wins in 1980 at Jacksonville and then Alabama. MSU is 2-7 all-time. MSU’s only time to host an NIT game came in 1983 when the Racers lost at old Racer Arena to Wake Forest.

The Racers lead the OVC with eight appearances in the NIT. Couple that with 15 NCAA trips and Murray State has one of the best histories in the game. Belmont was the OVC’s rep in the NIT a year ago and won a pair of games over Green Bay and Robert Morris before falling one game from a trip to the Big Apple with a loss at Clemson. In total, current OVC members have made 12 appearances in the NIT with eight from the Racers and pair each from Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech. Belmont and UT Martin had made one trip each. TTU (2002) and Belmont (2014) both advanced to the quarterfinals.

Along with The Racers in the NIT and Belmont in the NCAA, the OVC also sent three teams to the CollegeInsider Tournament.
Tuesday March 17
Eastern Illinois (17-14)@Oakland (16-16), 7 p.m.
Norfolk State (20-13)@Eastern Kentucky (19-11), 7 p.m.
Thursday March 19
UT Martin (18-12)@Northwestern State (19-12), 7:30 p.m.
Friday March 20
Belmont (22-10) vs Virginia (29-3), 2:10 p.m.

The 2015 NIT will use two experimental rules. Instead of the usual 35-second shot clock, they’ll trim it to 30-seconds. The NIT will enlarge the restricted area under the basket from three feet to four feet.

Source: Murray State Athletics