While a season full of high-flying dunks, acrobatic passes and stellar three-point shooting didn’t end in a Cinderella-like NCAA Tournament run, it may just give Murray State sophomore Ja Morant a top-3 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Murray State began its NCAA Tournament run in Hartford, Connecticut, against the Marquette Golden Eagles, a game that struck the attention of the majority of college basketball fans last week. The Racers won in convincing fashion 83-64, as Morant posted the 12th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history with 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds.
The Racers saw their postseason aspirations fall short in their matchup with Florida State on Saturday, March 23, losing to the Seminoles 90-62. Morant hit his first five three-point attempts and led the team in scoring with 28 points but that wasn’t enough for the Racers against Florida State’s towering big men.
FSU 6’10” redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele crushed the Racers in the paint and beyond the arc, scoring 22 points with seven rebounds while shooting 10-12 from the field including 2-2 from three-point range. Senior guard Terance Mann scored 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds along with six assists.
Head Coach Matt McMahon expressed his pleasure about coaching this year’s Racers.
“It’s just been such a great privilege to coach Ja [Morant] and Shaq [Buchanan],” McMahon said. “It’s been a tremendous two-year run for our program, and I’m extremely proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish this season with the back-to-back regular season championships, the back-to-back OVC Tournament championships, and now an NCAA Tournament win. I’m very proud of these two and our entire team.”
Despite missing a trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in school history, Morant and Murray State achieved numerous accomplishments this season.
With an assist on an alley-oop to Devin Gilmore with 3:21 left in the game against Florida State, Morant became the Murray State all-time leading assists record holder, passing Don Mann who has held the record since 1989. Morant also broke the record for most points scored in a season by scoring his 808th point of 2018-19, passing Murray State’s all-time leading scorer Jeff Martin at 806.
Morant was adamant about giving his teammates credit for his record-breaking career in passing.
“I feel good about that, but it’s assists,” Morant said. “I wouldn’t be able to get it without my teammates; again that record goes to them.”
Following the Racers’ NCAA Tournament appearance, Morant added another All-America honor to his résumé as he was selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches first team. Along with this selection, Morant has been named to Sports Illustrated, United States Basketball Writers Association and Bleacher Report’s first teams as well.
Morant is also up for numerous “National Player of the Year” awards including the Oscar Robertson trophy, Naismith trophy and the John R. Wooden award. Morant is also in the running for the Bob Cousy award, given to the nation’s top point guard in college basketball.
Murray State, as a team, put together an unforgettable season, capturing back-to-back OVC regular season championships as well as back-to-back OVC Tournament championships. The Racers made their 17th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth trip to second round play.
Despite the possibility of losing Morant to the NBA draft in June, the Racers will receive multiple fresh faces in the fall who will look to add to the Murray State tradition.
Chico Carter Jr., a guard from Columbia, South Carolina, will bring leadership and a strong work ethic to a team that will need help at the guard position if Morant does leave. Forwards Demond Robinson, from Montgomery, Alabama, and Michael Smith, from Charlotte, North Carolina, will each add size to the Racer roster, something that has lacked in recent years before the arrival of freshman forward K.J. Williams and junior forward Darnell Cowart this season.