One of the best parts about college basketball is the sheer number of cut-throat, decades long rivalries, both within and outside of conference play. From Kentucky vs Louisville, Duke vs North Carolina, Michigan vs Michigan State and Cincinnati vs Xavier, rivalries are often one of the most entertaining, adrenaline-inducing aspects of college basketball for both the players and the viewers.
One of the most beloved topics of discussion within Racer Nation is who is Murray State basketball’s biggest rival?
We posted on social media on Friday, Nov. 14 and presented the same question to see what people had to say.
An overwhelming majority of people who responded to our post said the Belmont University Bruins. After ample discussion in the newsroom, we’ve reached the same conclusion, and it’s not a surprise as to why.
The first time the Bruins and Racers met on the men’s stage was in November of 1997 during the first year of Racer basketball in the former Regional Special Events Center, the now CFSB Center. Murray State overcame Belmont 79-59 and boasted a three-game win streak against the Bruins until 2007.
In 2012, Belmont joined Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference and the teams began to play twice a year–thrice if they met in the conference tournament–which only added fuel to the fire. The two schools transitioned from the OVC to the Missouri Valley Conference together in 2022, and their conference tournament record remains at 2-3 in the OVC and they have yet to meet in the MVC tournament.
Murray State’s longest winning streak in program history began on Nov. 30, 2014 and ended after 25 games on March 7, 2015, against Belmont in the OVC championship game when Taylor Barnette sank a three-point shot from the top of the key with 3.2 seconds left in regulation. At the time, the Racers were ranked #25 in the country, and though they didn’t make the NCAA tournament, they made it through three rounds of the NIT tournament before losing to Old Dominion University.
The two have met 30 times and the Racers have won 12 of those to Belmont’s 18 wins. Though the teams have met fewer times than other debatable rivals, the series record is closer than that of any other team the Racers have faced. Additionally, of the 30 games played, five were for a conference championship.
The women’s team’s history with Belmont looks a little different, with 26 total meetings and only six Racer wins, four of which were at home. Murray State’s longest losing streak against Belmont was 11 games from 2001 to 2021, when the Racers finally earned a 72-66 win at Belmont’s Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The first time the women’s teams met in a MVC tournament was on March 16, 2025, when the Racers beat the Bruins 83-62 in the MVC tournament championship in Evansville, Indiana at the Ford Center. The Racers then went on to fall 92-57 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes.
The second most mentioned Murray State rival by the fanbase on social media was the Austin Peay Governors, with the Southern Illinois Salukis at a close third. From 1941-2023, the men’s team boasted a 90-46 overall record against the Governors and a 9-6 OVC tournament record from 1967-2020.
The women hold a 55-53 record against the former OVC foes, with their most significant win being 116-80 on December 7, 2024 at the CFSB Center. The team also scored their second highest number of 3-pointers during this game, with Halli Poock scoring 6 of the team’s 16 three-point shots. Katelyn Young also scored the program’s second highest number of single-game points, 31, against the Governors in 2022.
Southern Illinois has a marginal lead in the all-time record versus Murray State, leading 23-21. Six of those games have been played with both teams being members of the MVC, with Murray State’s record being 2-4 against the Salukis in those games.
Although the current Racer nation may not see Western Kentucky University as a frequent foe, day-one fans recall the decades when the two schools battled for the status of the best basketball program in Western Kentucky. The men’s teams have only met ten times since 2007 and have split the matches 5-5, while the women have only met six times in the last two decades, and have fallen by at least seven points in each of their meetups.
The Hilltoppers lead the overall series 100-55 over the Racers. If this series was closer, WKU would have more of a chance at being Murray State’s biggest rival. The massive difference in record dissuades us from choosing them, but they definitely deserved a shoutout.
The women’s basketball team will meet Belmont for the first time of the 2025-2026 season on Sunday, Jan. 18, and the men’s team will meet the Bruins in Nashville on Saturday, Jan. 31.
All in all, rivalries, no matter who you consider a rival, are some of the most important traditions in college basketball. The ever-changing atmosphere of college basketball only adds to the anticipation and excitement around these matchups.
