NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team will travel to Murray State on Thursday for their first road game in Ohio Valley Conference play.

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (6-8, 1-1 OVC) vs. Murray State Racers (12-2, 2-0 OVC)
Date/Time: Thursday, January 13 || approx. 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Location: CFSB Center || Murray, KY

Watch: ESPN+ will carry the game live with MSU's Neal Bradley & Kenny Roth on the call. || Listen: Head to GoRacers.com or Froggy103.com for an audio broadcast of the contest.

Live Stats: To follow live coverage of the game through the stats link, click here.

Series History: TSU and Murray State will meet for the 74th time as the Racers hold a significant lead on the series, 57-16. Last season, the teams only met once and MSU defeated TSU, 73-53 at the CFSB Center. The only remaining players for Tennessee State, Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. and Monty Johal, combined for 44 minutes of action. Murray State's won the last six meetings and own a 31-6 advantage at home. 

Last Time out for TSU: Tennessee State went wire-to-wire against SEMO, 95-84, on Saturday, January 8. It was the first victory in Ohio Valley Conference play for the Tigers. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., a Nashville native, led the TSU with a season-high 23 points. Five players registered double-digit scoring for Tennessee State. TSU shot 60.9% from the field, the second-best percentage this year (Fisk, 63.3%).
 
Nashville's Very Own: Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. attended Pearl-Cohn HS in Nashville, Tennessee; located 1.2 miles (5 minute drive, 27 minute walk) from the TSU campus. The second-year freshman tallied a game-high 23 points in a home victory over SEMO, a season-high and second-best of his career (32 points v. SIUE, 1/21/21). Fitzgerald Jr. has scored in double-figures in six consecutive games, as well as 10 of 14 games this season.
 
Last Time out for MSU: Murray State secured a road victory against SIU- Edwardsville, 74-69, on Saturday, January 8. The Racers played their first game in nine days and remained undefeated (2-0) in conference action. MSU owned a sizable advantage entering halftime, 42-27, but the Cougars fought back with a 24-7 scoring stretch to take a second-half lead. The Racers cashed in a five-point possesion during the contest, with two foul-shooters and a three-pointer. KJ Williams grabbed a season- high 15 rebounds, one off his career-best.
 
Dominating Fashion: The Racers' sit atop the conference with Belmont and Morehead State. Murray State leads the OVC in scoring offense (84.6), three- point percentage (38.4) and rebounds per game (39.3). Nationally, MSU ranks sixth in points per game, 24th in three-point shooting and 51st in rebounds. The five-point victory over SIUE was their second win of five of less.
 
Racers' Jockeying Up the Charts: Murray State's dynamic duo, Tevin Brown and KJ Williams, has played in a combined 65 wins in their careers. Brown became the third player in school history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists in a win over SEMO (12/30/21). The fourth- year redshirt junior is seven three-pointers away from the MSU record (304). Williams became the ninth Racer to total 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.
 
One Tiger, Two Tiger, Three Tiger, Four: The Racers will take on the Tigers of Tennessee State on Thursday evening. It will be the fourth opponent on Murray State's schedule with the "Tiger" mascot name. Thus far, MSU is 2-1 against previous Tiger schools. Most recently, the Auburn Tigers defeated Murray State, 71-58 (12/22). However, the OVC-foe pulled off an upset over the Memphis Tigers, 74-72 (12/10). On November 29, the Racers won by 37 points over the Campbellsville University Tigers.

So Long, Farewell: On January 7, Murray State announced a move to the Missouri Valley Conference. They will become the 11th member of the MVC on July 1, 2022. MSU joins Belmont as two OVC members transitioning to the MVC.
 
Shooters Shoot: Tennessee State ranks second in the OVC in three-point percentage (38.4) and 25th in the NCAA. Carlos Marshall Jr. leads the team in points per game (13.2), while Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. leads the team in free-throw shooting (83.0%) which ranks third in the conference. Marshall Jr. ranks fourth in the OVC in three- point percentage (43.5%).
 
Fitzgerald at the Line Pt. 2: Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. drained a career-high 8-of-8 at the free-throw line against SEMO. In consecutive games, the second-year player has converted at least seven attempts at the charity stripe. His previous career-high was seven (7) against UT- Martin last week (1/6/22) and versus SIU-Edwardsville last season (1/21/21).
 
The Story of the Vet: Shakem Johnson, a recent graduate, is entering his third year at TSU. In 2020-21, Johnson led the team in rebounds (115) and field-goal percentage (60.5%). The Youngstown, Ohio native ranked third in the OVC in shooting percentage while he ranked 11th in the conference in rebounds. This season, the veteran's played in nine games and has filled up the stat sheet. He's averaging 7.6 points per game on 56.3% from the field, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, one block and 0.7 steals. Johnson's started in the last two contests, entering Murray State, and registered double-figure scoring in three of the last four games.

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