Men's Basketball to Host South Alabama, Saturday

Saturday, December 5

Murfreesboro, TN

5:00 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

South Alabama

12/4/2015 12:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Tip-off time is scheduled for 5 p.m.

By: @MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team will host its former Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Murphy Center.

GAME INFORMATION
(FULL GAME NOTES)

Hashtag: #TrueFamily, #BlueRaiders
Twitter: MT_MBB
Instagram: @MT_MBB
Facebook: Blue Raider Athletics

Date: Saturday, Dec. 5
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Teams: South Alabama (3-4) at Middle Tennessee (4-2)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: The Murphy Center (11,520)
TV: None
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/Live Streaming | Live Stats

GAME NOTES:
A Rare Occurrence
Wednesday night's home loss to VCU was rare in and of itself, but a loss against South Alabama would be even rarer. The Blue Raiders are 11-1 in their last 12 home games following a loss in the Murphy Center, a span that dates back to 2009-10. The last time Middle Tennessee lost back-to-back home games in the same season was in 2010-11 when MT fell to Furman (Dec. 12) and Vanderbilt (Dec. 21).

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.

Sunbelt, Funbelt
Middle Tennessee was a member of the Sun Belt Conference for 13 seasons from 2000-2013. Over that span, MT accrued a 227-176 record and nine winning seasons. MT was 17-9 against USA while the two were both in the SBC and Kermit Davis is still the league's most-winningest coach with 117.

Check the Frequency
Despite being in different conferences and in different states, Middle Tennessee and South Alabama have quite a history. In fact, Saturday's meeting with the Jaguars will be 32nd between the teams all-time, and the two schools have met every year since 2001. USA is MT's fifth-most frequent opponent outside of the state of Tennessee and the top four all reside in the state of Kentucky.

Triple-Doubles
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 three players in double-figures in Giddy Potts (13.8), Upshaw (12) and Darnell Harris (10.8). Perrin Buford is also close at 9.2 ppg.

Series History
The Blue Raiders will square off against the Jaguars from South Alabama for the 32nd time on Saturday. MT is 19-12 all-time in the series and has won the last seven in a row dating back to 2011. The sides first met in 1979, a, 55-49, win by USA as the Jaguars won five of the first seven games in the rivalry.

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 20 games stretched over two seasons, Buford is averaging 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2347 minutes per contest.

A Record-Setting Pace
Since 2011-12, MT's three-point attempts have risen every year. MT is on pace to break the school record of 682 if the team plays three or more postseason games.

Last Time Out
MT played a close game throughout, but the upset bid fell just short against VCU, 62-56, on Wednesday night in front of 8,882 fans in the Murphy Center.MT senior forward Darnell Harris finished with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Harris added three rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Reggie Upshaw posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough down the stretch. Defensively, the Blue Raiders held the Rams to 31.7 (20-of-63) percent from the field, while forcing 13 VCU turnovers. On the offensive side of the ball, MT shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor, including a 19 percent mark (4-of-21) from 3-point range.