Men's Hoops Looking to Make a Run in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With leading scorer Giddy Potts (15.0 ppg) probable to return to the court Thursday, the No. 2 seeded Blue Raiders will look to make it one win further than a year ago and capture their first Conference USA Tournament title. Middle Tennessee's road to the finals will begin with either No. 7 seed Charlotte or No. 10 seed Rice on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
(Full Game Notes)

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Date: Thursday, March 10
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Teams: No. 2 Middle Tennessee (21-9, 13-5 C-USA) vs. No. 7 Charlotte (13-18, 9-9 C-USA)/No. 10 Rice (12-19, 7-11 C-USA)
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Arena: Legacy Arena (17,654)
Radio: WGNS (1450/100.5/101.9), WPRT (97.5/102.5)
Play-by-Play: Chip Walters
Analysis: Kyle Turnham
TV: ASN
TV Talent: Dave Armstrong (PxP) and Tim Scarborough (analysis)

Live Audio | Live Stats

GAME NOTES
Coming Through in the Clutch
The Blue Raiders are the best in Conference USA in close games, going 8-1 in contests decided by three points or less in 2015-16. Middle Tennessee's potential quarterfinal opponenents lack the experience and success of the Raiders in such games with Charlotte going 1-5 and Rice going 2-1. In fact, not only does Middle Tennessee have the best record in C-USA in games decided by three or less, it is the only team to play in more than seven such games, all experiences that could prove to be invaluable in the tournament.

Raiders 'Role'ing Down the Stretch
Middle Tennessee's role players have stepped it up the last few weeks of conference play, giving the Raiders some added momentum and a threegame winning streak heading into the tournament. JaQawn Raymond has filled the void at point guard with Jacob Ivory out, averaging 7.8 points with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last five games. Xavier Habersham has also pitched in 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds the last four contests while Aldonis Foote is contributing 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in the last three outings.

Downtown Raiders
MT has been deadly from long range this season, ranking 27th among D-I teams in three-point percentage (38.7%). Giddy Potts is currently second nationally in three-point percentage, converting 49.3 percent from deep, and will be a welcome addition in the tournament after missing three games due to a concussion. The Raiders have been even better lately, shooting 40.2 percent from deep and making 8.6 threes per game in conference play compared to 36.4 percent and 7.3 threes per game in non-conference play.

Protecting the Rock
Middle Tennessee's offense strives on decision-making and taking good care of the basketball. As the season has gone on the Blue Raiders have constantly decreased their amount of turnovers. MT is averaging 12.0 turnovers on the season but have dropped that number to 10.8 in conference play and just 10.3 in their last 10 contests.

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 (13.5), Giddy Potts (15.0), Darnell Harris (11.8) and Perrin Buford (11.6).

Upping His Game
Through 30 games, junior forward Reggie Upshaw leads the Blue Raiders in rebounds per game (8.7), defensive rpg (5.8), offensive rpg (2.9), assists per game (2.1) and steals per game (1.5) and ranks in the top seven in Conference USA in each of those categories except assists per game. The Chattanooga, Tenn. native is also second on the team in points per game (13.2) and field goal percentage (.510). Through 18 conference games this season, Upshaw has increased his numbers in five of those seven categories over his non-conference statistics.

Buford's Best
Through his first 19 games as a Blue Raider, Perrin Buford was averaging just 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes per game. In his last 45 games stretched over two seasons, Buford is averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 26.4 minutes per contest.

C-USA Tournament History
In two years as a member of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee boasts a 4-2 record in C-USA Tournament games. The Blue Raiders went 1-1 as the No. 3 seed in their first C-USA Tournament, getting knocked out by the No. 2 seed and eventual champions, Tulsa. MT fared better in 2015, going 3-1 and reaching the championship game as the No. 6 seed before falling to No. 4 seeded UAB.

Last Time Out
Reggie Upshaw carried the Blue Raiders offensively for most of the night in Miami, but it was a Jaqawn Raymond three-pointer that won the game for Middle Tennessee in the waning moments of a 61-58 thriller.

Upshaw wrapped up his ninth double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds while adding three blocks. Perrin Buford added 11 points and five boards while Raymond contributed 10 points.

Middle Tennessee (21-9, 13-5) locked up its 11th 21-win season with the victory with a 40.8 percent shooting effort from the field. The Raiders held FIU (13-18, 7-10) to just two made three-pointers on the night.

Middle also won the battle on the boards 37-32 as FIU lost two of its post players to foul trouble with nearly six minutes left in the game.

Conference Superlatives
Junior forward Reggie Upshaw and sophomore guard Giddy Potts were both named to the All-Conference USA Third Team for their performance on the court this season.

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Players Mentioned

Perrin Buford

Aldonis Foote

Xavier Habersham

Darnell Harris

Jacob Ivory

Giddy Potts

Jaqawn Raymond

Reggie Upshaw

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics