Is Murray State The Valley’s Best Team?

Fire Power, Depth and Size Make them Difficult to Defeat

(St. Louis, MO) – The very minute we decide we know who the Missouri Valley Conference’s best team is, they lose a game or some other team gets hot. So look out Racer fans, I’m about to announce that Murray State is the Valley’s best team! The Racers are 14-3 and the MVC’s only undefeated unit (6-0).

Surely, I just gave them the kiss of death, but can any MVC team match the Racers in depth and overall size? Is there a Valley squad since Wichita State’s 2014 team that has a second unit as good as this one? By-the-way, the 2013 Shocker squad had Fred VanVleet coming off the bench.

When Ryan Miller trots out his reserves, his team doesn’t hold its own, it seems to improve the situation.

Fred King is arguably the best true center in the conference and the Miller seems to employ a limitless group of players that are 6’5 or taller that can dribble, pass and shoot.

Is Murray State the Valley’s best team?

We think so.

Scoring in Bunches

With all due respect to Belmont, the Racers are the Valley’s best scoring team. While the Bruins are more ‘efficient’, the Racers score more (87.7 to 83.7 points per game), shoot and make more free throws and three pointers than any MVC squad. They jack it from deep, drive for layups and make you pay at the charity stripe.

Their free throw percentage (.763) is the Valley’s best and they make nearly 19 ‘freebies’ per contest. The Racers average an MVC best 10.41 triples per game.

Javon Jackson (16.8 ppg), King (12.8) and Roman Domon (12.4) are the Racers’ top scorers, and Jackson, J.J. Traynor, Mason Miller and Mathis Courbon all make better than 40 percent of their three-point attempts.

Traynor (9.4), Layne Taylor (8.2) and Miller (7.8) round out the top scorers, but the rest of the eleven-man rotation is filled with capable scorers. Corbon scored 16 points during Sunday’s game becoming the seventh Racer to have a game of at least that many points in a game.

After Wednesdays 79-69 win over Evansville, they have finished just two games where they didn’t score at least 81 points.

Because of their abundance of talent, interchangeable parts and great depth, they are almost impossible to defend and they play at a light’s out pace. Murray State is living up to its nickname of ‘Racers’.

AND the CFSB Center is filling up. That rabid fan base can make ‘The Bank’ one of the most difficult places to play in all the land. Ask Bruce Pearl.

Depth and Size

Murray State leads the Valley and is tied for twenty-fifth nationally in bench points (34.5 per game). While Miller starts virtually every game with King, Jackson, Traynor, Taylor and Mason Miller at the opening tip,  Domon, Shorter, Courbon and Tenner all play over 14 minutes per game.

While guards Layne Taylor and K.J. Tenner hover around 6-feet tall, the rest of this lineup has exceptional ‘positional size’. Miller’s starting unit of Taylor, Jackson (6’3), Miller, J.J. Traynor and King are all 6’9 and talented. The reserves aren’t any smaller.

Domon is 6’9 with outstanding guard skills. King’s backup is 7′ Dylan Anderson. Courbon, Shorter and Brock Vice are all 6’5 or taller and they all bring something different to the Murray State attack. Wednesday, Domon collected his second double-double (19-11) and his ‘French Connection’ rookie teammate Courbon earned his second straight and sixth overall double-digit scoring night.

That size and versatility helps the Racers on the defensive end too. They easily switch (when needed) and rebound well. The Racers are third in the Valley in rebound margin and in blocked shots. According to Kenpom.com their adjusted pace is top thirty nationally.

With their depth, Miller can maintain that pace when few MVC teams can keep up.

There are teams with bigs that will matchup against King and teams with efficient offense and perhaps better defensive schemes and abilities.

However, for the total package, we believe Murray State is the Valley’s best team.

Having said that, they are sure to lose to Valparaiso on Saturday. I’m sorry in advance to you Racer fans.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Fred King, courtesy of goracers.com.