The Murray State men's basketball team was selected as one of the co-top picks in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason predictions in a poll conducted with votes from the league's head coaches and communication directors.
The Racers had 10 first place votes and they shared the top slot with Austin Peay who had nine first place tallies. Belmont was third in the preseason vote, with Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois rounding out the top-5. The rest of the pole included Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin, SIUE and Southeast Missouri State.
Additionally, Murray State's Tevin Brown and KJ Williams were each honored as part of the All-OVC Preseason Team, after the pair were named All-OVC after the 2019-20 season.
Brown scored 17.9 points per game (fifth in the OVC) and dished out 117 assists (seventh in the OVC) last season. He was one of only three players in the OVC to lead his team in scoring and assists. Brown was third in the OVC with a 3-point percentage of .419 (20th NCAA). He was the only player in NCAA D-I with 522 points, 148 rebounds, 117 assists and 85 made 3-point shots.
Williams Scored 13.7 points per game (14th OVC) last season with 7.4 rebounds per game (7th OVC). Having already set the Murray State single-season field goal percentage record in his freshman season when he made 69 percent on 111-of-159. In the last two seasons in the OVC, Williams (267-446) is second in overall field goal percentage with a percentage of .598.
The 2020-21 season marks the sixth for Coach Matt McMahon to lead the Murray State men's basketball program. Entering the season, the Racers are one of the greatest runs in team history. In the last three seasons, MSU has won three-straight OVC regular season championships (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20) and two OVC Tournament titles (2017-18, 2018-19). During that time, the Racers are a combined 77-20 (.777) overall and 47-7 (.870) in OVC games.
In the 2019-20 season, MSU was 23-9 and 15-3 in the OVC.
The 2020-21 schedule will be released soon.
2020-21 OVC Men's Basketball Predicted Order Of
Finish
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Communication Directors)
Murray State 226 10
first place votes
Austin Peay 226 9
first place votes
Belmont 214 5 first place
votes
Eastern Kentucky 173
Eastern
Illinois 153
Tennessee
State 139
Jacksonville State 124
Morehead
State 87
Tennessee Tech 84
UT
Martin 80
SIUE 48
Southeast
Missouri 30
2020-21 Preseasn All-OVC Men's Basketball Team
(Selected
by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Communication Directors)
Jordyn Adams Austin Peay G So. Silsbee,
Texas
Tevin Brown Murray State G Jr. Fairhope,
Ala.
Jomaru Brown Eastern Kentucky G Jr. Raleigh,
N.C.
Jr. Clay Tennessee Tech G Jr. Chattanooga,
Tenn.
Tre King Eastern Kentucky F Jr. Lexington,
Ky.
Carlos Marshall, Jr. Tennessee State G R-Jr. Memphis,
Tenn.
Grayson Murphy Belmont G Jr. Franklin,
Tenn.
Nick Muszynski Belmont C Jr. Pickerington,
Ohio
Mack Smith Eastern Illinois G Sr. Indianapolis,
Ind.
Parker Stewart UT Martin G R-Jr. Union
City, Tenn.
Terry Taylor (Preseason POY) Austin Peay F Sr. Bowling
Green, Ky.
Josiah Wallace Eastern Illinois G Sr. Marshall,
Ill.
KJ Williams Murray State F Jr. Cleveland,
Miss.