Murray State (30-4)
COACH: Billy Kennedy, four years at Murray State, one year in NCAA Tournament
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid.
MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: The Racers will have to take advantage of their quickness because Vanderbilt has quality height inside, led by C A.J. Ogilvy, a skilled Australian junior who can score and rebound good teams into oblivion. Murray State will have to make quick, correct decisions on doubling down inside without leaving Jermaine Beal or John Jenkins open for 3-point looks. See if Gs Isacc Miles and B.J. Jenkins can force Beal to start the offense outside the quarter-court, as they've done against so many overmatched foes this year. Offensively, the Racers simply must stay balanced and take what the Commodores give them.
GO-TO GUYS: For most of the season, the Racers had six guys in double figures before Isacc Miles fell off to 9.5 points per game. Ivan Aska, B.J. Jenkins, Danero Thomas, Tony Easley and Isaiah Canaan all average between 10.3 and 10.6 points, with Aska the high scorer. Thomas and Miles are probably the guys who would take a last shot, but all six of the top guns have led the team in scoring at least once this year.
THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: They continue to marry balanced scoring with tough, physical defense. Murray State led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense and scoring defense, outscoring opponents by an average of 17 points per game. This isn't a team that you want to draw in the first round if you're a top-four seed.
STRENGTHS: It all starts at the defensive end for the Racers, who force more than 17 turnovers per game because of the excellent defense of Miles and Jenkins. Murray State also averages 10 steals per game and has an eraser under the basket in Easley, whose 93 blocked shots this year is a school record. Offensively, because they share the ball and get good shots, the Racers hit on 50.3 percent from the floor and nearly 37 percent from the 3-point line.
WEAKNESSES: In the games it's lost this year, Murray State has been susceptible to combo guards who can score from the 3-point arc or off the bounce, like Western Kentucky's A.J. Slaughter or California's Jerome Randle. The four teams that beat the Racers this year shot a combined 28-of-54 from the 3-point arc. Two of the team's double-figure scorers are below 64 percent at the foul line, which opponents will likely note.
