1989–90 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

The 1989–90 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by head coach Steve Newton, played their home games at Racer Arena in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 21–9, 10–2 in OVC play to win the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Eastern Kentucky to win the OVC tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. As No. 16 seed in the Southeast region, the Racers took No. 1 seed Michigan State to overtime before losing 75–71.

1989–90 Murray State Racers men's basketball
Ohio Valley Regular season champions Ohio Valley tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	21–9 (10–2 OVC)
Head coach	Steve Newton (5th season)
Home arena	Racer Arena

1989–90 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Murray State †	10	–	2		.833			21	–	9		.700
Tennessee Tech	9	–	3		.750			19	–	9		.679
Morehead State	7	–	5		.583			16	–	13		.552
Eastern Kentucky	7	–	5		.583			13	–	17		.433
Middle Tennessee	5	–	7		.417			12	–	15		.444
Tennessee State	2	–	10		.167			7	–	20		.259
Austin Peay	2	–	10		.167			10	–	19		.345
† 1990 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1989–90 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 54 Popeye Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Dresden HS Dresden, TN	Head coach Steve Newton (Indiana State) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1989*		at Western Kentucky	W 66–64	1–0	E.A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, Kentucky
Dec 2, 1989*		at Saint Louis	L 68–78	1–1	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 4, 1989*		at Eastern Illinois	L 50–55	1–2	Lantz Arena  Charleston, Illinois
Dec 9, 1989*		Southern Illinois	L 108–114 3OT	1–3	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Dec 11, 1989*		Georgia Southern	L 69–71	1–4	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Dec 16, 1989*		at Evansville	L 69–93	1–5	Roberts Stadium  Evansville, Indiana
Dec 18, 1989*		Southern California College	W 71–68	2–5	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Dec 29, 1989*		vs. Texas-San Antonio Lamar Tournament	W 107–101 OT	3–5	Montagne Center  Beaumont, Texas
Dec 30, 1989*		at Lamar Lamar Tournament	W 88–81	4–5	Montagne Center  Beaumont, Texas
Jan 3, 1990*		Saint Louis	L 60–76	4–6	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Jan 5, 1990*		vs. Alcorn State McDonnell Classic	W 72–60	5–6	Clemente Center  Melbourne, Florida
Jan 6, 1990*		vs. Florida Tech McDonnell Classic	W 72–62	6–6	Clemente Center  Melbourne, Florida
Jan 9, 1990*		Arkansas State	W 64–62	7–6	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Jan 13, 1990		Morehead State	W 71–55	8–6 (1–0)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Jan 15, 1990		Eastern Kentucky	W 58–45	9–6 (2–0)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Jan 20, 1990		at Middle Tennessee State	W 80–71	10–6 (3–0)	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 22, 1990		at Tennessee Tech	W 81–75	11–6 (4–0)	Eblen Center  Cookeville, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1990*		at Nicholls State	W 75–56	12–6	Stopher Gymnasium  Thibodaux, Louisiana
Jan 29, 1990		at Tennessee State	W 80–67	13–6 (5–0)	Gentry Center  Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 3, 1990		at Austin Peay	W 58–55	14–6 (6–0)	Dunn Center  Clarksville, Tennessee
Feb 5, 1990		Austin Peay	W 66–58	15–6 (7–0)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Feb 10, 1990		Tennessee State	W 90–89	16–6 (8–0)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Feb 12, 1990*		at Georgia Southern	W 82–79	17–6	Hanner Fieldhouse  Statesboro, Georgia
Feb 17, 1990		Tennessee Tech	W 71–63	18–6 (9–0)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Feb 19, 1990		Middle Tennessee State	L 76–81	18–7 (9–1)	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Feb 24, 1990		at Eastern Kentucky	W 74–69	19–7 (10–1)	McBrayer Arena  Richmond, Kentucky
Feb 26, 1990		at Morehead State	L 79–81	19–8 (10–2)	Ellis Johnson Arena  Morehead, Kentucky
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
Mar 4, 1990*	(1)	(7) Austin Peay Semifinal	W 68–67	20–8	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
Mar 5, 1990*	(1)	(4) Eastern Kentucky Championship	W 63–57	21–8	Racer Arena  Murray, Kentucky
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1990*	(16 SE)	vs. (1 SE) No. 3 Michigan State First Round	L 71–75 OT	21–9	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Central Time.

Awards and honors

• Popeye Jones – OVC Player of the Year