The Murray State Racers tempted fate earlier this week when they released a t-shirt mentioning their undefeated status, and it has officially came back to bite them in the butt. The Racers dropped their first game of the season Thursday evening, losing 72-68 at home to the Tennessee State Tigers. Murray State led by as much as 13 in the second half, but the Tigers stormed back and pulled away in the final four minutes. This came in spite of 31 points from Murray State's Isaiah Canaan.
The Racers still hold a 2 1/2 game over Tennessee State and remain conference favorites. While they should still end up in the NCAA tournament, this loss takes a little bit of the luster off their Bracketbuster matchup against Saint Mary's in ten days. If the Gaels can beat Gonzaga on the road Thursday evening, they would have likely been rolling when they arrived in Murray State. It remains a great matchup, but the Gaels can no longer take the Racers' zero.