Murray State will be seeking its 11th Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship this weekend in Nashville. Eastern is still hunting for its first-ever OVC conference title.

But Racer head coach Tevester Anderson said come tonight’s 8 p.m. semi-final game against the Panthers (19-9) none of that will matter.

“As far as experience, Eastern has more experience in Nashville than this team does,” he said. “We’re a very, very young team, and we’re the most inexperienced team in the conference right now.

“We’re starting three freshman and a sophomore,” he said. “Eastern’s guys have been there before and know what to expect.”

Anderson views his team as the underdog, not just because his team is the No. 3 seed taking on the No. 2 seed, but also because he’s worried about how his young players will react to their first tournament atmosphere.

“It does concern me,” he said of his team’s inexperience. “Most of our guys have never been on that stage before and you’ll never know how they’ll react until we get out there.”

But what worries Anderson more than his young players in their trip to Nashville is stopping a potent Eastern Illinois team, which boasts the No. 3 and 5 scorers in the nation in sophomore forward Henry Domercant and senior guard Kyle Hill.

“It’s going to be a very difficult game for us,” he said. “Hill and Domercant just shoot the ball so well, and they’re very tough to guard.”

Anderson said he doesn’t plan on double-teaming Hill or Domercant because, “If our defense tries to stop one of those guys, than one of their other guys will hurt us.”

Unlike the Panthers, Murray State (17-11) will feature an offensive attack centered around one player, senior First Team All-OVC selection Isaac Spencer.

“Isaac Spencer will have the basketball for us most of the time, because so goes Ike, so go the Racers,” Anderson said. “I think he’ll really battle and hopefully take us to another level.”

While most of Murray’s attack will center around Spencer, the Panthers must also be aware of the Racers’ first man off the bench, Justin Burdine. The guard scored a career-high 27 points in their 92-77 win against Eastern Feb. 8 at Murray Ky.

“Justin shot pretty well the other night, but before then he was in a little bit of a slump,” Anderson said. “He’s a streaky shooter, though.

“He’s not like Domercant, Britton, or Hill, he’s a little more shaky,” he said. “Those guys are just pure shooters.”

With the game on the line, Anderson’s Racers will have to worry about defending those multiple threats while Eastern can focus in on Spencer.

“We don’t have the arsenal Eastern Illinois has,” he said. “Ike’s our warrior, and when you come down the stretch of the game and the final seconds, you have to go to your warrior, and we hope he’ll step up big for us.”

But when faced with a last-second play who will take the ball for the Panthers? Anyone’s guess is as good as Anderson’s.

“If it comes down to a last-second situation with Eastern, they have so many weapons they can come at you with in the last seconds and so many guys that can shoot the ball, and it’s very difficult to defend that,” he said. “They have one of the best offenses in the nation, and they’re a very sure team. We just hope to keep it close.”