Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics
25TH RANKED RACERS WELCOME TSU, HONOR JACKSON
Sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 1998, 25th ranked Murray State welcomes Tennessee State for a 2 pm game Sunday at Stewart Stadium. The 1-2 Tigers notched their first win of the season when Antonio Zita nailed a 35-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Tigers past Eastern Illinois in Nashville. Also on Sunday, Murray State will honor the life and legacy of Dennis Jackson by officially naming the Racer Room on the bottom floor of Roy Stewart Stadium in his honor. Jackson was the first student-athlete to break the color barrier at Murray State in 1961, as a member of both the football and track & field teams. Usually wearing their own numbers on one-side of the helmet, all Racer players will replace them with his number 25 for the day. Airtime for Sunday’s 2 pm game is set for 1:30 on FROGGY 103.7.
RACER BASEBALL AT HOME TODAY, SOCCER ON THE ROAD
When Murray State baseball hosts Jacksonville State today, Ryan Perkins will be the tenth Racer to reach 200 career games in a Murray State uniform. The St. Charles, Missouri native is a career .265 hitter, with 35 career home runs, 138 RBIs and 154 runs scored. The Racers and Gamecocks battle today at 3 pm with a Saturday doubleheader set for noon and 4 at Reagan Field…The 5-0 Racer soccer team looks to win a sixth straight game when they square off at 1-3 Jacksonville State today at 3…Racer softball goes for their third straight OVC series win when they visit SIUE for a Saturday doubleheader at 1 and 3 and a Sunday game at 1 pm…Racer volleyball is at home this weekend against Tennessee Tech for matches at 6 pm Sunday and 4 pm Monday.
FIRST REGION GIRLS TOURNAMENT BEGINS SATURDAY
The girls first Region Tournament begins tomorrow with four first round games on tap at the CFSB Center. Calloway County faces Carlisle County at 6:30. The Lady Lakers enter the tournament with an 18-6 record and winners of 7 of their last 8, while the Lady Comets come in at 14-7 and winners of five in a row. When the teams played on January 5, Calloway County came away with a 60-46 win. Airtime for tomorrow night’s game is set for 6:15 on 104.5 WBZB. The Boys Region 1 Tournament begins on Monday. Here is the complete girls schedule for Saturday:
11:00 AM Graves County (18-3) vs. Hickman County (16-5)
1:30 PM Marshall County (19-2) vs. Paducah Tilghman (8-10)
4:00 PM McCracken County (13-7) vs. Mayfield (13-9)
6:30 PM Carlisle County (14-7) vs. Calloway County (18-6)
ROBINSON AND WHITLEY ENTER TRANSFER PORTAL
Movement continues within the Murray State men’s basketball program with Brion Whitley entering the transfer portal on Wednesday and Demond Robinson entering the portal on Thursday. Whitley averaged 4.4 points per game and started 9 games early, but played little down the stretch. Robinson started 22 of 23 games, averaging 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds before sustaining a season ending injury. The decisions create at least two scholarship openings, and possibly three if lone senior Devin Gilmore does not return for a bonus year due to NCAA Covid rules.
MOREHEAD STATE VS WEST VIRGINIA TONIGHT
The NCAA T ornament continues today and tonight with first round games in Indiana. Morehead State will face third-seeded West Virginia in its opening game of the South Region tonight in Indianapolis. It is Morehead State’s first NCAA Tourney in 10 years. They are the only team from Kentucky to make the tournament. Tennessee will play its first game in this year’s NCAA tournament at 3:30 this afternoon. The Volunteers will face Oregon State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
On the ice, the Nashville Predators clipped the Panthers 2-1 at Florida. The two teams tangle again tomorrow. The St. Louis Blues continue their road trip tonight with the first of two matches against the San Jose Sharks.
CARDINALS WIN
Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong had two hits and drilled his first homer of the spring in the Cardinals 7-5 win over the Marlins in Jupiter, Florida. Cards’ reliever Zack Thompson struck out two in the ninth to post his first save. St. Louis now travels to Port St. Lucie today to play the Mets at 12:10 p.m.
GRIZZLIES HOST WARRIORS
The Memphis Grizzlies will welcome the Golden State Warriors to Memphis for games tonight and tomorrow. The Grizz are coming off a win over the Heat to snap a three-game skid. Memphis is 18-and-19.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Four teams are moving on to the NCAA field of 64. In the First Four, Texas Southern topped Mount St. Mary’s 60-52, Drake nipped Wichita State 53-52, Norfolk State ousted Appalachian State 54-53, and UCLA beat Michigan State 86-80 in OT. NCAA Tourney first-round play starts today.
The free-agent shopping isn’t slowing down in the NFL. The Browns have agreed to a reported four-year deal with former Rams cornerback Troy Hill, the Jets have agreed to a one-year deal with former Jaguars receiver Keelan Cole and the Bills signed QB Mitchell Trubisky as a backup.
The NFL has new television packages in place with multiple outlets. The league announced deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN/ABC, NFL Network, and Amazon through 2033. It will allow flex scheduling on Monday’s from Week 12 on. Thursday’s will be exclusively on Amazon.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is now facing a third civil lawsuit for sexual assault. This latest allegation involves another massage therapist from December of last year and accuses Watson’s behavior as part of a disturbing pattern. The Texans say the NFL is investigating.
Matt Jones has the early lead at The Honda Classic. He shot a sizzling nine-under 61 in the first round at PGA National. Aaron Wise and Russell Henley are both three shots back in second place at six-under. Four others are five shots off the pace at minus-four.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Washington Wizards 131, Utah Jazz 122
Atlanta Hawks 116, Oklahoma City Thunder 93
New York Knicks 94, Orlando Magic 93
Minnesota Timberwolves 123, Phoenix Suns 119
Portland Trail Blazers 101, New Orleans Pelicans 93
Los Angeles Lakers 116, Charlotte Hornets 105
NHL
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New Jersey Devils 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2
Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 1
Philadelphia Flyers 4, New York Islanders 3
Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (OT)
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Chicago Blackhawks 2
Nashville Predators 2, Florida Panthers 1
Detroit Red Wings 3, Dallas Stars 2
Edmonton Oilers 2, Winnipeg Jets 1
Colorado Avalanche 5, Minnesota Wild 1
Anaheim Ducks 3, Arizona Coyotes 2 (OT)
MLB Grapefruit League
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Washington Nationals 3, New York Mets 1
St. Louis Cardinals 7, Miami Marlins 5
MLB Cactus League
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Chicago Cubs 4, Cleveland Indians 3
Chicago White Sox 9, Kansas City Royals 7
Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 7 (F/7)
Los Angeles Angels 3, Milwaukee Brewers 2
Oakland Athletics 4, San Diego Padres 2
Texas Rangers 12, Cincinnati Reds 9
Seattle Mariners 6, San Francisco Giants 3
NCAA Tournament
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#16 Texas Southern Tigers 60, #16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers 52 (First Four at Bloomington, IN)
#11 Drake Bulldogs 53, #11 Wichita State Shockers 52 (First Four at West Lafayette, IN)
#16 Norfolk State Spartans 54, #16 Appalachian State Mountaineers 53 (First Four at Bloomington, IN)
#11 UCLA Bruins 86, #11 Michigan State Spartans 80 (OT) (First Four at West Lafayette, IN)
PGA The Honda Classic (at Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
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1. Matt Jones (-9)
T2. Aaron Wise (-6)
T2. Russell Henley (-6)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
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7:30 p.m. – Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics
7:30 p.m. – San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers
8:00 p.m. – Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat
8:00 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Orlando Magic
8:00 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
8:00 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Houston Rockets
8:00 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies
9:00 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at Denver Nuggets
10:00 p.m. – Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns
10:00 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – New York Rangers at Washington Capitals
7:00 p.m. – Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens
7:00 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Toronto Maple Leafs
9:00 p.m. – St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks
10:00 p.m. – Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings
MLB Grapefruit League
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1:05 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
1:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers
1:10 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets
6:05 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Pittsburgh Pirates
6:05 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves
6:05 p.m. – Washington Nationals at Houston Astros
6:35 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees
MLB Cactus League
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4:05 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals
4:05 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Oakland Athletics
4:05 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Dodgers
4:10 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers
4:10 p.m. – Cleveland Indians at Colorado Rockies
9:40 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners
10:05 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants
NCAA Tournament (First Round)
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(South Region)
12:15 p.m. – #7 Florida Gators vs #10 Virginia Tech Hokies (at Indianapolis, IN)
12:45 p.m. – #3 Arkansas Razorbacks vs #14 Colgate Raiders (at Indianapolis, IN)
1:45 p.m. – #6 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs #11 Utah State Aggies (at Bloomington, IN)
3:00 p.m. – #2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs #15 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (at West Lafayette, IN)
3:30 p.m. – #1 Baylor Bears vs #16 Hartford Hawks (at Indianapolis, IN)
7:10 p.m. – #8 North Carolina Tar Heels vs #9 Wisconsin Badgers (at West Lafayette, IN)
7:25 p.m. – #4 Purdue Boilermakers vs #13 North Texas Mean Green (at Indianapolis, IN)
9:57 p.m. – #5 Villanova Wildcats vs #12 Winthrop Eagles (at Indianapolis, IN)
(Midwest Region)
1:15 p.m. – #1 Illinois Fighting Illini vs #16 Drexel Dragons (at Indianapolis, IN)
4:00 p.m. – #8 Loyola Chicago Ramblers vs #9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (at Indianapolis, IN)
4:30 p.m. – #5 Tennessee Volunteers vs #12 Oregon State Beavers (at Indianapolis, IN)
6:25 p.m. – #4 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs #13 Liberty Flames (at Indianapolis, IN)
7:15 p.m. – #2 Houston Cougars vs #15 Cleveland State Vikings (at Bloomington, IN)
9:20 p.m. – #7 Clemson Tigers vs #10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (at Indianapolis, IN)
9:40 p.m. – #6 San Diego State Aztecs vs #11 Syracuse Orange (at Indianapolis, IN)
9:50 p.m. – #3 West Virginia Mountaineers vs #14 Morehead State Eagles (at Indianapolis, IN)
PGA
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The Honda Classic (at Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
