Feb. 26, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will square off against a familiar foe Tuesday as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at 7:30 p.m., on the road versus the defending champion Murray State Racers.

The opening-round matchup will be held at the Regional Special Events Center (8,500) in Murray, Ky., where the Racers own an impressive 105-20 all-time record.

Justin Firesheets, "The Voice of the Bulldogs", will broadcast the game live, but coverage on 91.1 FM will alternate between both the men's basketball contest and the women's first-round matchup at home against Tennessee Tech beginning at 7 p.m.

Samford (15-15) heads into postseason play with a bit of positive momentum after recording its biggest victory of the season against Eastern Illinois, 71-45, on Saturday.

The 26-point win ended a five-game losing streak for the Bulldogs and was the final contest held in historic Seibert Hall, where Samford compiled a 353-171 all-time record in its 45 years of existence.

In its fourth season in the OVC, Samford heads into the conference tournament with a 2-3 all-time record in the event.

The Bulldogs lost in the first round at Eastern Kentucky, 81-61 in 2004, and then again in 2005 at home against Austin Peay, 71-60, but advanced all the way to the OVC Tournament championship game a year ago.

During last season's run, Samford defeated both Tennessee State, 78-67, and Tennessee Tech, 73-66, before losing to Murray State in the title game.

Murray State (16-13) heads into the 2007 OVC Tournament as the No. 4-seeded team in the field.

The Racers finished their OVC slate with a 13-7 record and ended the season in a three-way tie for second place along with Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech. Due to a pair of losses to Eastern Kentucky this season, Murray State received the No. 4 seed.

The Racers currently possess the OVC's longest winning streak at three games.

The Bulldogs and Racers have split the seasonal series this year with each team winning on the home court of its opponent.

On Dec. 21, Samford handed Murray State its worst home defeat in over four years with a 55-44 win at the RSEC. The Racers then countered on Jan. 29, with a 57-51 victory in Seibert Hall. Murray State currently leads the all-time series between the teams, 10-8.

Samford owns a 13-0 record this season when shooting better than its opponent.

The Bulldogs are also 6-2 when shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range and hold an unblemished 5-0 record when tallying at least a 50-percent mark from the field. Samford is 10-2 when shooting better than its opponent from 3-point range and owns a 13-1 record when leading a game with five minutes remaining in regulation.

Conversely, the Bulldogs have compiled a 2-15 record when shooting worse than their opponent. Samford has also played to a 1-7 mark when its opponent shoots at least 50 percent from the field.

Full broadcast coverage of both the men's and women's basketball teams' first-round OVC Tournament games Tuesday will be available online. Radio coverage will alternate between the two games.

Both games can be seen in their entirety online through the OVC-sponsored webcast at www.ovcsports.tv. Each game is available for a small fee.

Due to the overlap of the men's and women's game times, neither game will be on radio in its entirety. However, the radio coverage on 91.1 FM (and online at www.al.com/wvsu, where fans can listen for free), will alternate between games.

Radio coverage of the women's game will start at 6:45 p.m., with the AmSouth Bank Pre-game Show and lead to a 7 p.m., tip-off. Jeremy Neisser will call the action from Seibert Hall.

Once the women's game goes to halftime, radio coverage will join the men's broadcast in progress, featuring Firesheets (since the men's game will not start until 7:30 p.m., or 7:40 p.m., only a few minutes of the early first half will be missed).

When the men's game goes to halftime, the radio feed will switch back to the women's game, which will be around the midway point of the second half. At the conclusion of the women's game, coverage will again alternate back to the men's game and will carry that game until its conclusion.

If fans wish to follow the men's game uninterrupted, Murray State offers a free radio broadcast and Live Stats on its website, www.goracers.com, in addition to the pay-per-view webcast through the OVC.

The only uninterrupted feed of the women's game is through the OVC webcast. The winner of Samford's first-round OVC Tournament game at Murray State will advance to the semifinal round held in Nashville, Tenn., and will face either top-seed Austin Peay or eighth-seed Tennessee State at 5:30 p.m., Friday.