Murray State takes a tumble

The Murray State Racers men’s basketball team sustained its first loss of the season, falling 72-68 on Thursday to Tennessee State at the CFSB Center. The Racers had previously won 23 straight games. They rebounded Saturday with a 82-63 win over archrival Austin Peay to clinch at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title.

MSU is now ranked 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 16th in the Associated Press poll.

Famed ESPN basketball announcer Dick Vitale announced Saturday he would be attending Murray State’s Saturday BracketBuster game against Saint Mary’s to broadcast the event. MSU fans have staged a grassroots campaign to get the announcer, known as “Dickey V” to a game in Murray this season. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 5 p.m.

UK gets closer to championship

The University of Kentucky Wildcats survived a tough road test at Vanderbilt, winning 69-63 on Saturday night. The Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the nation in both national polls, have a three-game lead in the Southeastern Conference with five games remaining.

Knicks capitalize on “Lin-sanity”

The New York Knicks NBA team has gotten a shot of energy from guard Jeremy Lin, the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. Lin, who graduated from Harvard and was undrafted and cut from his two previous teams, has helped the Knicks to five straight wins, scoring 38 points in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.