Men's Basketball to Play Three Games in Great Alaska Shootout

Thursday, November 26

Anchorage, AK

8:30 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

Alaska Anchorage (CBSSN)

Photo by: Sam Jordan

11/24/2015 10:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball

MT will take on UAA on Thursday at 8:30 pm

By: @MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team will spend its Thanksgiving holiday by playing three games in the CGI Great Alaska Shootout Nov. 26-28. The Blue Raiders will take on the host school University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. The team will close the week by squaring off against either Drexel or UNC Ashville on Friday and San Diego, San Jose State, Loyola Chicago or Toledo on Saturday.

GAME INFORMATION
(FULL GAME NOTES)

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Date: Nov. 26
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Teams: Middle Tennessee (1-1) at University of Alaska Anchorage (6-6)
Date: Nov. 27
Time: TBA
Teams: Middle Tennessee (1-1) vs Drexel (0-3) OR UNC Asheville (1-3)
Date: Nov. 28
Time: TBA
Teams: Middle Tennessee (1-1) vs San Diego (0-3), San Jose State (1-2), Loyola Chicago (3-1) OR Toledo (2-1)

Location: Anchorage, Ala.
Stadium: Alaska Airlines Center (5,000)
TV: CBS Sports Network
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: Jeff Hem

Live Audio/Live Streaming | Live Stats

NOTES:
All Around the World
This week's Shootout will be quite a journey for MT. The team already racked up some airline miles this summer by travelling to the Bahamas for three exhibition games against professional teams. This week, the Blue Raiders will make the 4,075 mile trek which will be the team's third-longest trip in school history only behind a visit to Hawai'i (1985) and Fairbanks (1996). The tournament will also wrap up the five-game road trip to begin the season.

Championship Pedigree
Since 2010, Middle Tennessee has been one of the best teams in their respective conference. In fact, the Blue Raiders have won four league championships in six years. MT went 13-5 in conference games during the 2009-10 season and were crowned champion of the Sun Belt. The Blue Raiders followed that feat with a 14-2 mark in 2011-12 and a 19-1 record in 2012-13 – their last in the SBC. MT transferred its success over to C-USA and won the league in its first year as a member.

Lights, Camera, Action!
MT has been a hot commodity in the past few seasons are now reaping the benefits. This week's game against UAA is one of an astounding 14 games to be nationally televised this season. That number could climb if MT wins its first or second game in the Shootout. The Blue Raiders will have at least two games on CBSSN, eight on ASN, one on FCS and three on FSN.

Sophomore Stud
Sophomore Giddy Potts is currently leading the team at 18 points per game and hit three threes in the first half in MT's last game at Tennessee State. Potts is shooting 66.7 percent from the field while the rest of the Blue Raiders have shot 35.2 percent.

Less Than Bare
Despite losing four players from last year's squad, MT brings back most of its production from last year. The departure of seniors Marcus Tarrance and Jacquez Rozier definitely hurt, but the Blue Raiders welcome back 70 percent of its points from a year ago. MT will also have 66 percent of its rebounds back, 65 percent of its assists and 68 percent of its total minutes.

Tournament History
MT has participated in a regular season tournament in 13 of the last 14 seasons and the Blue Raiders are 18-18 in regular season tournament games under Coach Davis.

MT Vs the Field
The Blue Raiders will begin the CGI Great Alaska Shootout by facing off against UAA for the first time in school history. In the second round, MT will take on either Drexel for the first time or UNC Asheville (3-0) for the fourth meeting. The finale will see MT square off against San Jose State (0-1), Toledo (1-1), San Diego (0-0) or Loyola Chicago (0-1). MT's record against foes in parenthesis.

Buford's Best
Through his first 22 games as a Blue Raider, Perrin Buford was averaging just 5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 13.6 minutes per game. In his last 16 games stretched over two seasons, Buford is averaging 10.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 23.7 minutes per contest.

Davis Named One of Nation's Top X's and O's Coaches
This offseason, coachstat.net ranked the top 25 X's and O's Head Coaches from around the NCAA. Middle Tennessee's Kermit Davis was placed 13th on the list ahead of big-names Chris Mooney (Richmond), Fran McCaffrey (Iowa) and Ben Howland (Mississippi State). From the publication: "Who says you can't teach rebounding? Kermit does it like no-other, along with every other defensive scheme."