Raiders hoping to extend league winning streak

Saturday, January 13

Murfreesboro, TN

5 PM

Middle Tennessee

Southern Miss

1/12/2018 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MT host Southern Miss Saturday at 5 p.m.

By: @MTAthletics

GAME INFORMATION
[Game Notes]

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Date: Saturday, January 13th
Time: 5:00 PM. CT
Match-up: Middle Tennessee (12-4, 4-0) vs. Southern Miss (9-9, 2-3)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. | Murphy Center

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – On the heels of their decisive victory over the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech, Kermit Davis and the Middle Tennessee men's basketball team must shift gears in preparation for Saturday's contest against Southern Miss.

In a series that has been one-sided in favor of the Blue Raiders (12-4, 4-0), who lead 6-1 all-time in the head-to-head, MT still knows the importance of not overlooking the next opponent and staying focused on the task at hand.

"We always just try to take things one game at a time and not look ahead at any other opponent," senior forward Nick King said. "We treat every opponent the same and try to come out with the same intensity and focus every game."

For Southern Miss, they've seen their share of struggles away from Hattiesburg, posting a 2-9 record outside of Reed-Green Coliseum compared to a spotless 9-0 record at home, but still possess enough firepower on offense to take out anybody.

The Golden Eagles are one of only four teams in Conference USA – joining Marshall, Old Dominion and WKU – that have four players averaging double digit scoring.
Southern Miss's leading scorer, junior guard Cortez Edwards (16.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is second in Conference USA is field goals made and is also shooting almost 51 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line.

However, the high-octane frontcourt of Middle Tennessee should continue their dominance in the paint. Southern Miss is currently ranked last in scoring defense in C-USA contests, allowing their opponents 82.2 points per game in conference play.

Comparatively, Middle Tennessee leads C-USA in scoring defense in league games, only allowing 60 points per contest.

"We've made a lot of improvement since Hawaii," Davis said. "Our defensive field goal percentage is right around 40 so it's getting better and we're starting to rebound the ball a little bit better. A lot of the toughness things that are kind of a staple of our program are starting to show up and it's needed to."

Middle Tennessee currently sits atop the conference standings, tied with WKU for first place. Tip-off against the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Saturday night. The game can be streamed on ESPN3.