Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
MT, UAB to kick off New Year, C-USA play Sunday
12/31/2016 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
(Game Notes)
Hashtag: #TrueBlue, #BlueRaiders
Twitter: @MT_MBB
Instagram: MT_MBB
Facebook: MTSUMBB
Date: Sunday, January 1
Time: 5:00 p.m. CT
Teams: Middle Tennessee (10-3) vs. UAB (7-6)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: Murphy Center (11,520)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Standing atop the league with a 10-3 record outside of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee hopes to carry its non-conference success into league play as they host UAB in the conference opener Sunday.
The Blue Raiders will be hungry for a win against the Blazers after dropping their final two non-conference match-ups. UAB holds a 10-3 all-time record against MT and has won five straight in the series across the last two seasons.
"UAB has just got so many talented players returning from a team that won the regular season title last year," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "They've played a really difficult schedule and have some tough losses on the road, but they always play us extremely well."
Middle Tennessee will be led into the contest by leading scorer JaCorey Williams (18.0 ppg) and hot hand Giddy Potts, who is averaging 20.2 points over his last five outings.
Senior forward Reggie Upshaw will be facing UAB for the eighth time in his career and boasts 9.4 points and 5.1 boards per outing against the Blazers, including a 21-point performance at UAB in last year's conference opener.
The Blazers suffered a blow in their season opener, losing point guard Nick Norton for the year, but have fought to a 7-6 record against a very difficult schedule with losses against competition such as Kansas, Saint Mary's, Auburn, Memphis and Texas.
Chris Cokley leads UAB in scoring at 12.4 points per game, but is only narrowly ahead of Dirk Williams (11.7) and William Lee (11.3). Lee also leads Conference USA and is 11th in the nation in blocks with 2.9 per game.
Fill-in point guard Deion Lavender has pitched in 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per night while also dishing out 5.1 assists per contest, good for sixth in the league.
"It was a terrible thing for UAB and for Nick [Norton] when he went down," Davis expressed. "He's one of my favorite guys in the league for the way he plays the game and his toughness, but Lavender has done a great job filling in and has a very impressive assist-to-turnover ratio."
The Blue Raiders and Blazers tip off at 5:00 p.m. on New Year's Day at the Murphy Center.
(Game Notes)
Hashtag: #TrueBlue, #BlueRaiders
Twitter: @MT_MBB
Instagram: MT_MBB
Facebook: MTSUMBB
Date: Sunday, January 1
Time: 5:00 p.m. CT
Teams: Middle Tennessee (10-3) vs. UAB (7-6)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: Murphy Center (11,520)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Standing atop the league with a 10-3 record outside of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee hopes to carry its non-conference success into league play as they host UAB in the conference opener Sunday.
The Blue Raiders will be hungry for a win against the Blazers after dropping their final two non-conference match-ups. UAB holds a 10-3 all-time record against MT and has won five straight in the series across the last two seasons.
"UAB has just got so many talented players returning from a team that won the regular season title last year," Head Coach Kermit Davis said. "They've played a really difficult schedule and have some tough losses on the road, but they always play us extremely well."
Middle Tennessee will be led into the contest by leading scorer JaCorey Williams (18.0 ppg) and hot hand Giddy Potts, who is averaging 20.2 points over his last five outings.
Senior forward Reggie Upshaw will be facing UAB for the eighth time in his career and boasts 9.4 points and 5.1 boards per outing against the Blazers, including a 21-point performance at UAB in last year's conference opener.
The Blazers suffered a blow in their season opener, losing point guard Nick Norton for the year, but have fought to a 7-6 record against a very difficult schedule with losses against competition such as Kansas, Saint Mary's, Auburn, Memphis and Texas.
Chris Cokley leads UAB in scoring at 12.4 points per game, but is only narrowly ahead of Dirk Williams (11.7) and William Lee (11.3). Lee also leads Conference USA and is 11th in the nation in blocks with 2.9 per game.
Fill-in point guard Deion Lavender has pitched in 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per night while also dishing out 5.1 assists per contest, good for sixth in the league.
"It was a terrible thing for UAB and for Nick [Norton] when he went down," Davis expressed. "He's one of my favorite guys in the league for the way he plays the game and his toughness, but Lavender has done a great job filling in and has a very impressive assist-to-turnover ratio."
The Blue Raiders and Blazers tip off at 5:00 p.m. on New Year's Day at the Murphy Center.
Players Mentioned
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