THE LATEST LINE: RACERS PULL OFF STINKER IN NCAA HOOPS

It's not like they tried to get hammered, but Murray State's Racers certainly didn't do the Ohio Valley Conference any favors with their dismal performance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

At worst, Friday night's game against Rhode Island figured to be a tossup between two athletic yet somewhat undersized teams.

At best, the contest figured to be a national coming out party for the high-flying Racers, who were being picked by most observers to advance to a second-round meeting with Kansas.

And a win for the ninth-seeded Racers would have been quite a boost to the relatively unknown OVC, which received the highest NCAA seed ever for one of its basketball teams.

Instead, the Racers -- despite jumping out to an early 14-7 lead -- shot miserably and looked like they had never played defense before as the Rams got easy basket after easy basket on their way to a 97-74 romp.

The Racers won most of their games this season handily, using their athletic ability and offensive talents to overshadow any defensive deficiencies they might have had.

But with their offense struggling Friday, Murray couldn't come up with enough defense to hang in the game.

Still, it was a sensational season for the Racers, who finished with a 29-4 record and ran away with the OVC regular-season and tournament titles.

Next year also figures to be good for Murray, which loses standout senior guards De'Teri Mayes and Chad Townsend but returns just about everybody else.

And the Racers also figure to lose their coach, Mark Gottfried, who is expected to take the Alabama job.

* Like most people, considering the many surprises that have already taken place, my official NCAA bracket has already taken some big hits.

For the record, my bracket has Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Arizona reaching the Final Four, with Kansas beating Carolina in the championship game.

* Despite again falling just short of a state title, congratulations to Jackson High's girls basketball team for a third straight Class 4A runnerup finish.

* Also major kudos to Delta's boys for reaching the 1A Final Four for the first time ever.

While all the Bobcats have done a great job this year, senior standouts Garrett DeBrock and Shawn Kinder are quite a talented duo for the 1A level -- or for any level. They would certainly be stars on just about any team in the area.

* Former SEMO baseball star Kerry Robinson has been assigned to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' minor league camp, but word is that Robinson is very much in the Devil Rays' future major league plans.

Robinson, a star in the Cardinals' minor league system the last few seasons, was taken by Tampa Bay in the expansion draft. He could start the season in Triple A.

* Former Cape Central High baseball star Talley Haines was recently named the TranSouth Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Haines, who transferred from SEMO after last season, has a record of 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA for Freed-Hardeman University, an NAIA school located in Henderson, Tenn.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian