Report: Cayman Islands Classic field set
MBB: Murray State will play in this event from November 23-25
We already knew Murray State is slated to be playing in the Cayman Islands Classic late in November for their annual multi-team event. Now it appears we know all the teams that will be joining the Racers.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday morning that Middle Tennessee will be the fourth team in the event, joining Murray State, and the previously reported McNeese and George Washington. Last year, this event had eight teams, including former Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State. This season, the event has struggled to fill eight spots, so it appears there will only be four teams involved this time around.
The Cayman Islands Classic is scheduled to take place November 23-25, but no tournament format has been released as of yet. We will have to wait to see if it is a traditional four-team bracket where each team plays twice, or if it will be a round-robin affair where each team gets three games.
Middle Tennessee being added to the Cayman Islands Classic clears up part of Murray State’s scheduling puzzle. The Racers and Blue Raiders had played every year for the last 12 seasons, but their home-and-home contract expired after last November’s game in Murfreesboro. MTSU was not expected to be on Murray State’s schedule this year, but depending on the MTE’s format, the two old Ohio Valley Conference rivals could meet again this upcoming season.
(Disclaimer: This is the first year Ryan Miller is putting together a schedule for Murray State. How things have been done in the past may be done differently this season, so take much of this with a grain of salt until I can have a scheduling philosophy conversation with Coach Miller.)
There are several games, including some home-and home series, that are expected to be continued this year, but dates have not been confirmed yet:
Home vs. Western Kentucky (Year three of a four-year series)
Home vs. Little Rock (Back end of a home-and-home series from 2023-24)
Home vs. Non-Division I
November 11 — at SMU
November 23-25 — at Cayman Islands Classic (with McNeese, Middle Tennessee and George Washington)
December 2 — vs. Morehead State
The games above would fulfill seven or eight of Murray State’s 11 non-conference games. Questions on whether Miller will have the Racers play a non-DI game (or two — since that is allowed by the Missouri Valley Conference with Miller being a first-year head coach), whether the Racers will go play a guarantee game on the road, and how many guarantee games the Racers will host still need to be answered.