Farewell to the Racers

Well, it turns out that Murray State was for real. This wasn't an example of some fluke team that pulled an upset in the first round, and were blown out in the second round. Murray gave Marquette -- the second-place team in the Big East -- everything they wanted, and actually led 46-41 with only 7:26 left in the game. At that point, the Racer fans could smell a trip to the Sweet 16 and a probable match-up with Billy Donovan and Florida. Oh, that would have been fun -- the first trip so deep into the tournament, and a game against one of UK's rivals to boot.

But Murray was a team built around three-point shooting, and in the last few games of the year, those shots just didn't fall. They didn't fall against Tennessee State in the OVC Championship, they didn't fall against Colorado State in the first round, and they didn't fall tonight. Murray shot only 4-21 from three-point range, for a total of 19 percent. And so when Marquette cranked up its defense down the stretch, Murray just couldn't score enough points to keep up. Marquette -- a team that has broken Kentucky hearts on many occasions -- outscored Murray 21-7 down the stretch, and they come away with a 62-53 victory.

It will be a long drive back home for the good people of western Kentucky who have done such a great job of supporting the Racers this year. But it's a pretty drive, and they will be able to see the signs of spring. And they will reflect on all the fun that they had during the long, long winter -- the visit from Dick Vitale, the weeks in the AP's top 10, the many big wins. (True fact: Murray went undefeated this year in games played outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky.) This was, by almost any measure, the best OVC team since the glory days of Jim McDaniels's Western team that went to the 1971 Final Four. And today they showed that it was all real. A few more three-pointers here and there -- three-pointers that they would normally make -- and everything would have been different. They didn't make those shots, and they lost. But before this tournament is over, 63 other schools will say the same thing.

So thank you to Isaiah Canaan, and Donte Poole (who had to play with a broken nose today), and Jewuan Long, and Ivan Aska, and Edward Daniel, and the rest of the team, and Coach Steve Prohm. You gave us a magical few months, and helped educate the rest of the country about the glories of the Purchase. We will remember you forever.

Murray State becomes the fourth team from the Commonwealth to be eliminated from the national title chase. The Racers finish with a record of 15-1 in the OVC, and 31-2. They are the OVC regular season champ, the OVC tournament champ, and they made it to the NCAA Round of 32 for the second time in the last three years. This was, in my opinion, the greatest season in Murray State's proud history.