Who's Playing
Valparaiso Beacons @ Murray State Racers
Current Records: Valparaiso 10-6, Murray State 9-7
How To WatchWhen: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 4 p.m. ETWhere: CFSB Center -- Murray, KentuckyTV: ESPN PlusFollow: CBS Sports AppOnline Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)What to Know
Murray State is 4-0 against Valparaiso since December of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Both will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 4:00 p.m. ET at CFSB Center. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Murray State is returning to their home court after beating N. Iowa on theirs, despite the fact N. Iowa has dominated at home this season. Murray State sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 71-68 win over N. Iowa on Wednesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Racers.
Murray State can attribute much of their success to JaCobi Wood, who posted 11 points in addition to six assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Valparaiso ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Indiana State 98-95. The win was familiar territory for the Beacons who have now won three contests in a row.
Valparaiso's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cooper Schwieger, who had 23 points plus eight rebounds and three blocks. Another player making a difference was Tyler Schmidt, who went 7 for 12 en route to 23 points plus seven rebounds and two steals.
Murray State has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season. As for Valparaiso, they pushed their record up to 10-6 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Murray State hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 75.2 points per game. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've been averaging 80.7. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Murray State was able to grind out a solid victory over Valparaiso when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 80-68. Will Murray State repeat their success, or does Valparaiso have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Series History
Murray State has won all of the games they've played against Valparaiso in the last 3 years.
Feb 24, 2024 - Murray State 80 vs. Valparaiso 68Mar 02, 2023 - Murray State 78 vs. Valparaiso 50Feb 26, 2023 - Murray State 77 vs. Valparaiso 76Dec 04, 2022 - Murray State 77 vs. Valparaiso 70