Murray State’s home game against Northern Iowa postponed because of campus power outage
MURRAY, Ky. — Murray State’s home game against Northern Iowa on Sunday was postponed because of a power outage on campus.
The game was moved to Monday at the Curb Event Center on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, about 120 miles away. Tipoff was set for 6 p.m. CST and admission was free.
The region experienced inclement weather, including a lightning strike early Saturday morning that disrupted power on the campus.
No. 1 Auburn defeats No. 2 Alabama 94-85 in a big SEC matchup on Saturday. (1:57)
Auburn’s win at Alabama confirmed the Tigers would keep the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a sixth consecutive week.
The Tigers (23-2) received 59 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, reclaiming nearly all the support lost when they fell at home to Florida on Feb. 8. Auburn had been the unanimous No. 1 for three straight weeks before that loss but remained at the top this past week despite seeing nearly half of those first-place votes go primarily to Alabama, with a few to Florida and Tennessee.
First-place votes in parentheses
But the Tigers won Saturday in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 road matchup against the rival Crimson Tide, hours after the committee that will choose the 68-team field for the NCAA tournament put Auburn as its No. 1 overall seed in its preliminary rankings.
The two teams to beat the Tigers sit right behind them. Florida and Duke were tied for third last week, and the Gators inched past the Blue Devils to break that tie and take the No. 2 spot while claiming the remaining first-place vote.
Alabama fell to No. 4, followed by Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M — with its highest ranking since December 2017 — Iowa State, Texas Tech and St. John’s to round out the top 10.
Of that group, the Red Raiders represented the only change from this past week’s set of teams, climbing three spots to replace Purdue for their first top-10 appearance in three years. Grant McCasland’s squad, which has lost just twice since the start of 2025, was unranked until cracking the poll at No. 22 on Jan. 27.
Rising
Michigan had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams, climbing eight spots to No. 12 after beating Purdue this past week and pushing its win streak to six games.
No. 15 Missouri jumped six spots, while No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 18 Clemson and No. 20 Maryland each rose five spots.
In all, 12 teams moved up from their position this past week.
Sliding
Memphis took the biggest tumble of the week, falling eight spots to No. 22 after its overtime loss at Wichita State ended an eight-game winning streak.
No. 13 Purdue, No. 19 Arizona and No. 23 Kansas — the preseason No. 1-ranked team — all fell six spots, while No. 24 Mississippi tumbled five.
Ten teams fell from this past week’s poll.
Welcome back
No. 25 Louisville was the week’s lone new addition, returning to the poll for the second time after a two-week stint in January. First-year coach Pat Kelsey has guided the program to its first 20-win season since 2019-20, with the Cardinals having lost just once since mid-December.
Farewell (for now)
Creighton (No. 24) fell out of the rankings for the second time this season. The Bluejays were ranked for the first four weeks, then returned this past week for what turned out to be a one-week stay.
Conference watch
The Southeastern Conference had a national-best nine teams, including three of the top four and five of the top 10. The Big 12 and Big Ten each had five teams, though the Big 12 had three in the top 10 while the highest-ranked Big Ten team checked in at 11th.
The Atlantic Coast Conference had three, followed by the Big East with two and the American Athletic Conference with one.
Terrence Shannon Jr.’s jersey retirement is accidentally unveiled upside down. (0:18)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr. is out indefinitely after breaking his wrist while making a spectacular block over the weekend.
Coach Brad Underwood announced the severity of Johnson’s injury Monday. Underwood said the injury occurred when Johnson fell to the floor after blocking a shot during Illinois’ 79-65 loss to No. 14 Michigan State on Saturday.
The injury means Johnson won’t be available Tuesday when Illinois (17-9, 9-7 Big Ten) visits No. 11 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4).
“I feel terrible for that young man,” Underwood told reporters. “What an incredible play. It’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Unfortunately, that injury happened.”
Underwood said Johnson’s potential return date is uncertain.
“He fell, he hit the floor pretty hard and was tough enough to bounce up and just say, ‘Tape it,'” Underwood said. “That impacted a couple of his close misses at the rim as well late in the game. He’s in a cast. No timeline to that at this point. So, we’ll strap it up and have to move forward without his presence.”
Although Johnson averages just 17.8 minutes per game, he has averaged 6.6 rebounds to rank second on the team. The 6-foot-9 freshman has averaged 7.2 points and 1.1 blocks per game in 26 appearances, including eight starts.
ESPN
Associated Press Men’s Top 25
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1dMyron Medcalf
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| 1. Auburn (59) | 23-2 |
| 2. Florida (1) | 22-3 |
| 3. Duke | 22-3 |
| 4. Alabama | 21-4 |
| 5. Houston | 21-4 |
| 6. Tennessee | 21-5 |
| 7. Texas A&M | 20-5 |
| 8. Iowa State | 20-5 |
| 9. Texas Tech | 20-5 |
| 10. St. John’s | 22-4 |
| 11. Wisconsin | 20-5 |
| 12. Michigan | 20-5 |
| 13. Purdue | 19-7 |
| 14. Michigan State | 20-5 |
| 15. Missouri | 19-6 |
| 16. Marquette | 19-6 |
| 17. Kentucky | 17-8 |
| 18. Clemson | 21-5 |
| 19. Arizona | 17-8 |
| 20. Maryland | 20-6 |
| 21. Mississippi State | 18-7 |
| 22. Memphis | 21-5 |
| 23. Kansas | 17-8 |
| 24. Ole Miss | 19-7 |
| 25. Louisville | 20-6 |
Murray State University cancels classes due to power outage
MURRAY, KY — Class is canceled for Monday, Feb. 17, at Murray State University due to a lightning strike disrupting power.
As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, there is no power in the CFSB Center, Wellness Center, RH White Hall, and Regents Hall.
The university said the housing staff is temporarily relocating residents of RH White and Regents Halls as contractors continue to work on restoring full power to these buildings.
Both in-person instruction and online instruction, as well as all of our regional campuses, will not have class. Campus operations will continue, and all employees should report to work on their regular schedule, with all offices open during normal hours.
Despite the outage, MSU anticipates returning to campus operations, including classes, on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
“We greatly appreciate your patience. Following the lightning strike that was the cause of the power outage early Saturday morning, crews, contractors, and University personnel have worked around the clock, beginning Saturday morning,” said MSU in a Facebook post.
MSU added that the power outage occurred during heavy rains and severe weather, including tornado warnings and hail.
Murray State men’s basketball will play Northern Iowa at the Curb Event Center in Nashville on Monday at 6:00 p.m. The Racers had announced their game against the Panthers, initially scheduled for Sunday, was postponed due to the ongoing power outages on Murray State’s campus.
The game had originally been planned for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff at the CFSB Center. Due to the outages, it was pushed back two hours before ultimately being postponed on Sunday afternoon. Click here for more details.
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Murray State University
2/16/2025 4:49:00 PM | Men’s Basketball
Game will tip-off at 6 p.m. in Belmont’s Curb Event Center
