The No. 6 Murray Racers overcame any tournament tension they may have had, and just two years after they let slip their chances at a long run in the NCAA tournament, cruised to a 58-41 victory over Colorado State on Thursday. \u00a0<\/p>\n
(6) Murray State (31-1, OVC) vs. (3) Marquette (26-7, Big East) Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Now the Racers will have a chance to prove themselves, as they aim to take out third-seeded Marquette on Saturday, with a spot in the regional semifinals on the line once again.<\/p>\n In 2011, Murray State seemed to have everything it needed to be a tournament darling, but their triumphant return to the “big dance” after a four-year hiatus was cut short.<\/p>\n After stunning third-seeded Vanderbilt in the opening round, Butler delivered a crushing blow in the following game, ending the Racers’ Cinderella run.<\/p>\n The sting of that loss is still felt today by then-inexperienced freshman guard Isaiah Canaan whose desperation pass in the closing seconds was poked away.<\/p>\n But Canaan seems to have put that all behind him at least for now, scoring a team-high 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds against the Rams.<\/p>\n Dante Poole also contributed 13 points, as the Racers backcourt came up big, forcing 21 turnovers and only giving it away seven times themselves.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, one area Murray State will need to improve quickly will be rebounding. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n The Racers are going to have to get much more aggressive on the glass than they did against Colorado, as they will face a Marquette squad that dominated BYU, outrebounding them by 16 during their last outing.<\/p>\n Still, the Racers are in for a serious test against Marquette who was nothing short of impressive while eliminating the Cougars.<\/p>\n The Golden Eagles had their was with BYU for the most part, as Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder showed all of their star power.<\/p>\n Crowder racked up 25 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and five steals while Odom notched 20 to go along with five rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n But the stuffing of the stat sheet didn’t end there, as the G-birds got hefty donations from both Davante Gardner, who looked good after returning from injury, and Todd Mayo.<\/p>\n However, no matter how perfect Marquette looked against BYU, they did fall short in one statistical area. Turnovers. They turned the ball over 15 times against the Cougars.<\/p>\n Something they cannot afford to do against an opportunistic Racers\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n
\nDate\/Time: 5:15 PM ET, Saturday, March 17, 2012
\nVenue: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
\nBroadcast: TBS
\nSpread: Marquette -5
\nOver\/Under: 142<\/strong><\/p>\n