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Murray State should be a +9.5 underdog facing Kentucky in this NCAA Tournament game. Jazz offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $2000). 18 and up welcome.
With just two losses on the season, Murray State managed a win against Morehead State and the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title as well as an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“We got our culture back,” Tevin Brown said after scoring 23 points.
Tournament MVP Justice Hill added 21 points for the Racers (30-2), who shot just 38% from the field but won the rebounding battle 47-31 and had an edge on second-chance points (16-7). His late steal and drive and assist to 2022 OVC Player of the Year KJ Williams put Murray State up 65-61 late.
“It was just a lot of hard work,” Hill said. “I don’t really mind not being looked at. I really just want to win. Knowing I’ve got two guys on the side of me (Williams and Brown) who can go for 30-plus points each night really actually takes a lot of pressure off of me going into games knowing that these two will be the main focus of the other team.
“It really allows me to go out there and have performances like I had tonight.”
The Vols Kennedy Chandler scored 19 points, Zakai Zeigler added 11 and Tennessee held off fifth-ranked Kentucky 69-62 in the SEC Semifinal.
The Cats have won just one national championship (1998) in eight tries as a 2 seed. They’ve had four chances since and failed to reach the Final Four each time (2001, 2005, 2017, 2019).
Kentucky came into the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7 record. The Wildcats were undefeated at home.
As a favorite they went 24-2 Straight Up. Dating back to 2016, the Wildcats are 133-29 (82.1%).
