College basketball rankings: No. 21 Murray State out to lock up OVC crown as bubble teams root on Racers
Teams on the outside looking in will be rooting heavily for the Racers to capture the tournament title on Saturday
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Murray State quickly ended any thought that it might be upset in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament by jumping to a 17-1 lead Friday that resulted in a 88-74 victory over Southeast Missouri State. It took the Racers barely four minutes to score those first 17 points.
"Our guys were locked in," said Murray State coach Matt McMahon.
That's more or less been the case for more than two months. The Racers have now won 19 straight games since losing at Auburn three days before Christmas. Their 29-2 record represents the best mark in the sport. If they beat Morehead State in Saturday's championship game of the OVC Tournament, they'll enter the NCAA Tournament with a perfect 20-0 record against OVC opponents.
Bubble teams need Murray State to prevail Saturday.
The Ohio Valley Conference will be a one-bid league as long as the Racers win its automatic bid. But if Murray State loses, Morehead State will get the automatic bid, Murray State will take an at-large bid and that'll be one less spot for a bubble team on Selection Sunday. So fans of Memphis, Florida, VCU, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Michigan, Rutgers, Indiana and every other bubble team should spend Saturday night rooting hard for Ja Morant's alma mater. Murray State-Morehead State is scheduled to tip at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Murray State remains No. 21 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. That's two spots higher than the Racers are in the NET, four spots higher than they are at KenPom.com.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gonzaga is 10-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech, Texas, Saint Mary's and UCLA. The Zags' next game will be in the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 9-1 |
| 2 |  | Baylor is 16-5 in the first two quadrants and in possession of a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 6-2 |
| 3 |  | Arizona is 13-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over USC (twice), UCLA and Illinois. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against California. | -- | 8-0 |
| 4 |  | Auburn is 14-4 in the first two quadrants with all four losses falling in Quadrant 1. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against South Carolina. | -- | 7-3 |
| 5 |  | Duke is 11-3 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Virginia falling in Quadrant 3. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday vs. North Carolina. | -- | 10-0 |
| 6 |  | Kentucky is 11-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Florida. | -- | 6-4 |
| 7 |  | Wisconsin is 16-4 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Rutgers falling in Quadrant 3. The Badgers' next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | -- | 7-2 |
| 8 |  | Kansas is 16-6 in the first two quadrants with five of the six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 7-3 |
| 9 |  | Villanova is 13-7 in the first two quadrants with wins over Providence (twice) and Tennessee. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Butler. | -- | 7-2 |
| 10 |  | Providence is 14-4 in the first two quadrants and Big East regular-season champions for the first time in history. The Friars are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 7-4 |
| 11 |  | Texas Tech is 13-7 in the first two quadrants with all seven losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 7-2 |
| 12 |  | Purdue is 12-6 in the first two quadrants with all six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Indiana. | -- | 8-1 |
| 13 |  | Tennessee is 11-7 in the first two quadrants with wins over Arizona, Auburn and Kentucky. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 7-3 |
| 14 |  | Arkansas is 11-4 in the first two quadrants with additional losses to Hofstra and Vanderbilt falling in Quadrant 3. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 7-2 |
| 15 |  | Saint Mary's is 9-6 in the first two quadrants with a win over Gonzaga and all six losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Gaels' next game will be in the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 9-1 |
| 16 |  | Houston is 8-4 in the first two quadrants with wins over Oregon and Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Memphis. | -- | 8-1 |
| 17 |  | UCLA is 9-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Arizona and Villanova. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against USC. | -- | 7-2 |
| 18 |  | Illinois is 11-8 in the first two quadrants with wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Iowa. | -- | 8-2 |
| 19 |  | UConn is 12-8 in the first two quadrants with victories over Auburn and Marquette. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | -- | 9-1 |
| 20 |  | Texas is 10-9 in the first two quadrants with wins over Kansas and Tennessee. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 7-3 |
| 21 | | Murray State is 5-1 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to East Tennessee State falling in Quadrant 3. The Racers' next game is Saturday against Morehead State. | -- | 7-3 |
| 22 |  | USC is 9-4 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Stanford falling in Quadrant 3. The Trojans' next game is Saturday at UCLA. | -- | 9-1 |
| 23 |  | Iowa is 8-8 in the first two quadrants with wins over Ohio State and Michigan State. The Hawkeyes' next game is Sunday at Illinois. | -- | 8-1 |
| 24 |  | Boise State is 11-5 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Cal State Bakersfield falling in Quadrant 4. The Broncos' next game is Saturday at Colorado State. | -- | 6-3 |
| 25 |  | Colorado State is 11-3 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to UNLV falling in Quadrant 3. The Rams' next game is Saturday against Boise State. | -- | 8-2 |
| 26 |  | Seton Hall is 9-9 in the first two quadrants with wins over UConn and Texas. The Pirates' next game is Saturday at Creighton. | -- | 9-1 |
