Men's Basketball: Welcome to Nashville: Win or bust
Men gear up for test of skill, ability, endurance in Nashville today
Bob Bajek/Sports Editor
Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: Sports
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The game-which begins at 6 p.m. in the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.- will be the third time No. 4 Eastern will battle the Racers (28-4, 17-1 Ohio Valley Conference).
Eastern lost 75-59 in Murray, Ky., on Jan. 11 Then the Racers came to Charleston and won 60-51 on Jan. 21 in a defensive match-up.
"I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but we played them twice within a week," Miller said.
"There wasn't a big gap, so it's been awhile since we played them. We're going to have to look at what we did well and what didn't work."
Murray State does not have star players, but five players average in double figures.
The Racers also lead the league in scoring (78.7 points per game), scoring defense (61.1 ppg), assists (15.1), rebounding (37.5) and field goal percentage (51.1 percent).
In both games against Murray State, the Panthers averaged 37.7 percent shooting, 8.6 percent below their seasonal mark.
Turnovers were also a problem, with the Racers nabbing 38 turnovers or 19 per game from Eastern, 5.6 more turnovers a game than normal.
Sophomore guard Jeremy Granger said turnovers will have to be lower. During the last meeting, Granger had four turnovers.
"Offensively, we've just got to play strong with the ball," Granger said. "Murray State is a good defensive team. They like to get up into you. Defensive, we have to just be together, communicate out there and play as a team."
Senior guard T.J. Marion has been a force on the floor, scoring 15 points, four rebounds and three assists Tuesday against Eastern Kentucky.
Against Murray State, Marion has nine points but eight turnovers in two games.
"We just got to play as hard as we can and play the whole time against them because they have been at the top of the league the whole year," Marion said. "If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best."
Red-shirt freshman James Hollowell said the Racers like to play physically and jam up Eastern, so Hollowell will be stronger with the ball, face up by looking over the defender and drive or pass it to a teammate.
If the Panthers upset Murray State, they will play the winner of No. 6 Tennessee Tech (15-16, 8-10 OVC) and No. 2 Morehead State (22-9, 15-3 OVC). They play at 8 p.m. Friday.
The OVC championship game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or rtbajek@eiu.edu.
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