Getty Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers brings the ball up court as Houston King #14 of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels defends at CFSB Center on February 16, 2019 in Murray, Kentucky.
The Murray State Racers clash with the Belmont Bruins in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Final on Saturday night in a highly-anticipated rematch, with the winner going to the Big Dance.
Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 PM ET
Ford Center
Coverage: ESPN2
*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by BetOnline
- Murray State Racers vs. Belmont Bruins (-2 at -110)
- Over/Under: 157.5
Recent Takeaways
JA MORANT TO KEEP THE SEASON ALIVE! #SCtop10
Murray State survived a Jacksonville State comeback as star guard Ja Morant iced the game. The Gamecocks rallied from a 42-33 halftime deficit to take the lead late but Morant took over and hit a game-winning and-1 with eight seconds left.
The star guard scored 29 points on 9 of 14 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds in the 76-74 win last night. Shaq Buchanan finished with 13 points and Darnell Cowart added 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Racers turned the ball 15 times, were outrebounded 36-31 and missed seven free-throws (17-for-24), all areas of improvement ahead of tonight’s game.
Belmont extended their winning streak to 14 games with an 83-67 victory against Austin Peay in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last night. Dylan Windler led the way with 32 points and 21 rebounds, Kevin McClain had 20 points and freshman point guard Grayson Murphy added eight points and 11 assists.
The Bruins trailed 43-40 at halftime but held the Governors to a season-low 24 second half points. Belmont outrebounded Austin Peay 46-30 and held them to 33.3 percent from 3-point range (7-21).
Murray State vs. Belmont Prediction
Team rankings based on offensive efficiency according to KenPom.com:
Murray State – 41st (112.0 points scored per 100 possessions)
Belmont – 18th (115.5 points allowed per 100 possessions)
Team rankings based on pace according to KenPom.com:
Murray State – 97th (69.3 possessions per game)
Belmont – 31st (71.4 possessions per game)
These two teams met on January 24 and Belmont shot 53.2 percent from the field (33-for-62) while holding Murray State to just 32.3 percent shooting (20-for-62) and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc (8-for-28) in a 79-66 win, despite leading scorer Dylan Windler going 2-for-7 for just five points, although he did grab 13 rebounds. Belmont has an efficient offense that loves to run all over the court, Windler has to be productive and they need to keep playing like a unit.
Ja Morant has either made or assisted on 59.0 percent Murray State’s field goals over the last three games (he has 20 field goals and 31 assists in those games) and the key to this game for them will be getting other players involved.
Morant carried the Racers with 20 points in the first meeting against the Bruins but he was just 5-for-19 from the field and Shaq Buchanan and Tevin Brown had just 11 points apiece. Murray State needs Buchanan and Brown to have big games to have a chance tonight, particularly Brown, who had just six points on 2 of 11 shooting and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.
This game will come down to which team controls the pace and makes their free-throws. The Racers were just 18-for-28 from the charity stripe in the first meeting and they also struggled there last night. They won’t win this game with poor free-throw shooting and although this contest could be a track meet, I’m leaning towards the Under, Murray State will try to slow the tempo and Belmont is allowing just 66.6 points in their last three games.
Pick: Under 157.5
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