Raiders Hoping to Stay Hot in Murphy Center

MURFREESBORO – Coming off of a 22-point victory against conference foe North Texas, the Blue Raiders now turn their attention to Rice as they look to hold their place near the top of the Conference USA standings.

GAME INFORMATION
(Full Game Notes)

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Date: Saturday, Jan. 23
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Teams: Middle Tennessee (13-5, 5-1 C-USA) vs. Rice (6-13, 1-5 C-USA)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: Murphy Center (11,520)
Radio: WMOT-FM (89.5), WGNS (1450 AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM), Game 2 (102.5/94.9/95.1)
Play-by-Play: Chip Walters
Analysis: Kyle Turnham

Live Audio/Video | Live Stats

GAME NOTES
There's No Place Like Home
The Blue Raiders have kicked it up a notch at home this season, going 7-1 through their first seven home games in front of an average crowd of 5,200 Blue Raider fans. MT is averaging 77.5 ppg in the Murphy Center compared to 67.7 on the road and are holding opponents to just 66.8 ppg at home. The Raiders also collect 9.7 more rebounds, 2.9 more blocks and 1.7 more steals per game at home.

Depth Chart
Middle Tennessee boasts one of the deepest rosters in Conference USA this season. Head coach Kermit Davis has played each of the 12 scholarship players in at least 75 percent of this season's contests, with the exception of Jacob Ivory who sat out the first eight games due to injury. Each of the 12 are averaging over five minutes per game while eight of the 12 are averaging over 15 minutes per game. With that kind of depth, Davis has been able to try eight different starting lineups in 18 games to find his best combination.

Protecting the Rock
Since Jacob Ivory's return against Belmont on Dec. 17, Middle Tennessee has taken better care of the ball, leading to more scoring. The Blue Raiders have dropped from 14.4 turnovers per game while Ivory was out to only 10.9 since his return. The emphasis on protecting the ball has helped the Blue Raiders increase their offensive output from 70.2 points per game to 73.5.

Get it Going, Guards
Head coach Kermit Davis has been looking for more consistent play from his guards outside of Giddy Potts. Sophomore Edward Simpson filled that void as he poured in 14 points in the second half at Old Dominion. In fact, Simpson's best performances often coincide with Blue Raider victories. When MT wins, Simpson is 46.3 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range, good for 6.8 points per game. In MT losses those numbers drop to 16.7 percent from the field, 9.1 percent from three and 2.0 points per game.

Fantastic Four
Just last season, Middle Tennessee did not have a single player average over 10 points per game. Reggie Upshaw was close at 9.9, but this season MT has four players in double-figures in Upshaw (13.2), Giddy Potts (15.6), Darnell Harris (13.3) and Perrin Buford (10.4).

And Your Point Is…?
With Jacob Ivory's start against Trevecca, MT has now started all three PGs this season. The Blue Raiders are 4-2 in Copeland's starts, 3-3 in Raymond's and 6-0 in Ivory's. MT is averaging over seven points more per game when Ivory starts in the small sample size.

Series History
On Saturday, the Middle Tennessee men's basketball team hosts Rice for just the third time looking to extend its five-game winning streak. MT leads the series 3-2 and is 2-0 in Murfreesboro. In two meetings as members of Conference USA the series is tied 1-1. The Owls pulled out a 71-68 double overtime victory when the teams met last season in Houston.

Last Time Out
Perrin Buford (16 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his first double-double as a Blue Raider, helping lead Middle Tennessee to an 86-64 win against North Texas.

Reggie Upshaw (15 points, 10 rebounds) added his 11th career double-double and sixth this season. This marks the first time since Dec. 4, 2011 that two Raiders have had double-doubles in the same game. That occurrence was against Akron when LaRon Dendy had 19 and 11 while JT Sulton added 16 and 11.

Middle Tennessee (13-5, 5-1) shot 52.1 percent from the field and an impressive 64.7 percent in the second half while holding North Texas (7-12, 2-4) to just 64 points, their third-lowest offensive output of the season.

The Blue Raiders also recorded a season-high 19 assists with Quavius Copeland providing six of them off the bench to go along with his 11 points.

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Players Mentioned

Perrin Buford

Quavius Copeland

Darnell Harris

Jacob Ivory

Giddy Potts

Edward Simpson

Reggie Upshaw

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics