Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 14
Murfreesboro, TN
5 PM
Middle Tennessee
15-3, 5-0
91
vs
76
WKU
9-10, 3-3
1
2
F
WKU
32
44
76
Middle Tennessee
46
45
91
Team Stats
WKU
MT
FG%
.604
.621
3FG%
.429
.474
FT%
.545
.588
RB
18
34
TO
14
13
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMT downs rival WKU 91-76
1/14/2017 8:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Raiders win fifth straight
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee got its first look of the season at rival WKU Saturday at the Murphy Center and extended its winning streak to five games with a 91-76 victory.
"I give a lot of credit to WKU – I thought they fought and played well," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "The only glaring deal was they shot 60 percent against us … but 25 assists to 36 baskets made, it doesn't get much better than that."
The Blue Raiders (15-3, 5-0), Conference USA's lone unbeaten team in league play, showed their dominance over the Hilltoppers (9-10, 3-3) on both sides of the ball from the opening tip.
They opened up a 27-11 lead midway through the first half thanks to a 12-0 run over a 4.5-minute span, and ended the first half with a 46-32 advantage then held WKU at bay in the second half for the win.
The hot start was a direct result of Middle Tennessee's strong effort on the backboards. WKU entered the game with C-USA's 11th best average rebound margin at minus-.6 per contest, and the Blue Raiders took advantage by outrebounding the Hilltoppers 34-19. Junior Reggie Upshaw, who is now fifth all-time at MTSU in rebounds, led the way with 10 to go along with 19 points.
"It makes an opponent feel like they're being kind of overwhelmed whenever you can get all of those rebounds," redshirt senior JaCorey Williams said. "We have a lot of size, and early on in the season we weren't really playing to our strength – everyone wasn't really going to the boards. We've kind of found our identity."
The rebounding advantage wasn't just on the defensive side. MT, which went into the game as the conference's second-best offensive rebounding team with 12.5 per game, rebounded 15 of its 22 missed shots.
Thanks to those offensive rebounds, Middle Tennessee was granted a plethora of easy looks around the basket. That helped the Blue Raiders finish with a season-high 62.1 percent shooting percentage for the game (36-58).
"With Giddy's (Potts) foul trouble, we went to a bigger lineup and played Reggie (Upshaw) some at the three," Davis said. "That's our best offensive rebounding team, and I thought that's when we really went to the boards."
Their high shooting percentage also came at the tail end of many dazzling assists. MTSU finished with 25 team helpers, its highest output of the season.
Freshman Tyrik Dixon dished out eight, a new career high, to lead the way. He also had a career-high 17 points, including a perfect five-for-five night from 3-point range.
Through five conference games, he's averaging 7.8 points and 4.6 assists per contest and has turned the ball over just six times.
"I think I've been shooting open shots I was passing up earlier," Dixon said. "The game is coming easier, it's more of a flow now. I'm just trying to take care of the ball so it doesn't lead to easy baskets for the other team."
Williams led the Blue Raiders in scoring with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Sophomore Antwain Johnson added nine, and redshirt junior Brandon Walters, who is averaging 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in just 12 minutes in conference play, ended with six points and a career-high eight boards in 15 minutes.
"Brandon came off the bench again tonight and gave us a big lift as far as rebounding," Williams said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Saturday's contest was the first of two between the rivals. The Raiders will travel to WKU on Feb. 16 for the second basketball edition of the "100 Miles of Hate" rivalry game.
Middle Tennessee will next be in action Jan. 19 at FIU in the first of back-to-back away games that will conclude with a contest at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 21. Both are scheduled for 6 p.m. tipoffs.
"I give a lot of credit to WKU – I thought they fought and played well," MT head coach Kermit Davis said. "The only glaring deal was they shot 60 percent against us … but 25 assists to 36 baskets made, it doesn't get much better than that."
The Blue Raiders (15-3, 5-0), Conference USA's lone unbeaten team in league play, showed their dominance over the Hilltoppers (9-10, 3-3) on both sides of the ball from the opening tip.
They opened up a 27-11 lead midway through the first half thanks to a 12-0 run over a 4.5-minute span, and ended the first half with a 46-32 advantage then held WKU at bay in the second half for the win.
The hot start was a direct result of Middle Tennessee's strong effort on the backboards. WKU entered the game with C-USA's 11th best average rebound margin at minus-.6 per contest, and the Blue Raiders took advantage by outrebounding the Hilltoppers 34-19. Junior Reggie Upshaw, who is now fifth all-time at MTSU in rebounds, led the way with 10 to go along with 19 points.
"It makes an opponent feel like they're being kind of overwhelmed whenever you can get all of those rebounds," redshirt senior JaCorey Williams said. "We have a lot of size, and early on in the season we weren't really playing to our strength – everyone wasn't really going to the boards. We've kind of found our identity."
The rebounding advantage wasn't just on the defensive side. MT, which went into the game as the conference's second-best offensive rebounding team with 12.5 per game, rebounded 15 of its 22 missed shots.
Thanks to those offensive rebounds, Middle Tennessee was granted a plethora of easy looks around the basket. That helped the Blue Raiders finish with a season-high 62.1 percent shooting percentage for the game (36-58).
"With Giddy's (Potts) foul trouble, we went to a bigger lineup and played Reggie (Upshaw) some at the three," Davis said. "That's our best offensive rebounding team, and I thought that's when we really went to the boards."
Their high shooting percentage also came at the tail end of many dazzling assists. MTSU finished with 25 team helpers, its highest output of the season.
Freshman Tyrik Dixon dished out eight, a new career high, to lead the way. He also had a career-high 17 points, including a perfect five-for-five night from 3-point range.
Through five conference games, he's averaging 7.8 points and 4.6 assists per contest and has turned the ball over just six times.
"I think I've been shooting open shots I was passing up earlier," Dixon said. "The game is coming easier, it's more of a flow now. I'm just trying to take care of the ball so it doesn't lead to easy baskets for the other team."
Williams led the Blue Raiders in scoring with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Sophomore Antwain Johnson added nine, and redshirt junior Brandon Walters, who is averaging 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in just 12 minutes in conference play, ended with six points and a career-high eight boards in 15 minutes.
"Brandon came off the bench again tonight and gave us a big lift as far as rebounding," Williams said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Saturday's contest was the first of two between the rivals. The Raiders will travel to WKU on Feb. 16 for the second basketball edition of the "100 Miles of Hate" rivalry game.
Middle Tennessee will next be in action Jan. 19 at FIU in the first of back-to-back away games that will conclude with a contest at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 21. Both are scheduled for 6 p.m. tipoffs.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
