Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
7/23/2019 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball, BRAA
Lady Raiders Set to Face Kentucky, Furman, VCU, and TCU in Murfreesboro
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Hall of Fame Coach Rick Insell has put together another daunting schedule for the 2019-20 version of the Lady Raiders but it is a slate fans should find inviting.
The Lady Raiders, who will welcome nine newcomers to the roster, will play three of the first five and eight of the first 14 games inside the friendly confines of Murphy Center.
The season will begin on the road against American Athletic Conference member East Carolina, Nov. 6, before the Lady Raiders play their home opener against Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky, Nov. 10, at Murphy Center. Beginning with Kentucky, Middle Tennessee will play three of four games at home before heading to Florida to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
"We always put our schedule together with our fans in mind," Insell said. "We are blessed to have one of the best fan bases in the country, and they want to see their Lady Raiders play tough competition. It is even better when those games can be played at Murphy Center. Kentucky is a top contender in the SEC and we have been fortunate to have an ongoing series with them for several years."
After the Kentucky game, Middle Tennessee will play another American Athletic contender when it travels to New Orleans to face Tulane, Nov. 14. Following the Tulane contest, Middle Tennessee faces its oldest rival, Tennessee Tech, as well as Furman, at Murphy Center prior to the Thanksgiving break.
"The American Athletic Conference is a very strong league, particularly in women's basketball, so we were really pleased to be able to schedule East Carolina and Tulane for a home-and-home series," Insell said. "Tennessee Tech will once again be one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. It is our longest-running series and our oldest rival so this is always a game fans look forward to."
Middle Tennessee will face its second SEC opponent when it plays Auburn in the first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, Nov. 29. The Lady Raiders will play either Gonzaga or Dayton in the second round with a third game guaranteed Dec. 1. Middle Tennessee won the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase when it disposed of previously undefeated Mississippi State in the 2013 event.
Next up is the annual Murfreesboro City Schools Education Day game against Lipscomb, Dec. 4. The Education Day game is the largest of its kind in the nation. Another midstate foe awaits when Belmont plays host to Middle Tennessee, Dec. 14.
Back-to-back home games against VCU (Dec. 18) and TCU (Dec. 29) close out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
"We have not played VCU or TCU so these are two quality opponents that our fans will have a chance to see for the first time," Insell said. "These are two new teams to our schedule that we felt fortunate to get home-and-home dates with, and they will provide us with good challenges prior to the start of Conference USA play."
Insell believes Conference USA will be as strong as it has been since Middle Tennessee joined the conference in 2013-14 during the upcoming season.
"This conference has so many outstanding teams, coaches, players," Insell said. "Many of the top teams last year have a great deal of their top players returning so you can count on a very competitive league race."
Middle Tennessee reached the Conference USA championship game before falling to Rice last season.
One new aspect to the conference schedule will be that the final five conference games will be announced at a later date.
Following the two games against UAB in late February, Conference USA will announce the remaining portion of the league schedule: Feb. 22, Feb. 26, Feb. 29, March 5 and 7.
The league's top 12 teams will then compete in the C-USA Championship (March 11-14). For the third consecutive year, Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, will host the C-USA Basketball Championships.
Conference USA play will begin with two home games against tradition-rich Old Dominion, Jan. 2, and Charlotte, Jan. 4. The Lady Raiders face rival WKU, Jan. 11, in Bowling Green. It is the only scheduled regular-season meeting between the teams, who could potentially meet a second time once the final five games are announced.
Middle Tennessee will play home conference games against Old Dominion, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, FIU, UTEP, UTSA and UAB, while facing Marshall, WKU, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, North Texas, Rice and UAB on the road.
2019-20 Lady Raider Schedule
DAY DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Wednesday N. 6 East Carolina Greenville, N.C. TBA
Sunday N. 10 Kentucky Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday N. 14 Tulane New Orleans, La. TBA
Thursday N. 21 Tennessee Tech Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Sunday N. 24 Furman Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Friday N. 29 Auburn^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Saturday N. 30 TBA^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Sunday D. 1 TBA^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Wednesday D. 4 Lipscomb! Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday D. 14 at Belmont Nashville, Tenn. TBA
Wednesday D. 18 VCU Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Sunday D. 29 TCU Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 2 Old Dominion* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday J. 4 Charlotte* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 9 Marshall* Huntington, W. Va. TBA
Saturday J. 11 WKU* Bowling Green, Ky. TBA
Thursday J. 16 Florida Atlantic* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday J. 18 FIU* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 23 Louisiana Tech* Ruston, La. TBA
Saturday J. 25 Southern Miss* Hattiesburg, Miss. TBA
Thursday J. 30 UTEP* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday F. 1 UTSA* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday F. 6 at North Texas* Denton, Texas TBA
Saturday F. 8 at Rice* Houston, Texas TBA
Saturday F. 15 at UAB* Birmingham, Ala. TBA
Thursday F. 20 UAB* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday F. 22 TBD* TBA TBA
Wednesday F. 26 TBD* TBA TBA
Saturday F. 29 TBD* TBA TBA
Thursday M. 5 TBD* TBA TBA
Saturday M. 7 TBD* TBA TBA
^ - Gulf Coast Showcase
! – Murfreesboro City Schools Education Day Game
* - Conference USA game
The Lady Raiders, who will welcome nine newcomers to the roster, will play three of the first five and eight of the first 14 games inside the friendly confines of Murphy Center.
The season will begin on the road against American Athletic Conference member East Carolina, Nov. 6, before the Lady Raiders play their home opener against Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky, Nov. 10, at Murphy Center. Beginning with Kentucky, Middle Tennessee will play three of four games at home before heading to Florida to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
"We always put our schedule together with our fans in mind," Insell said. "We are blessed to have one of the best fan bases in the country, and they want to see their Lady Raiders play tough competition. It is even better when those games can be played at Murphy Center. Kentucky is a top contender in the SEC and we have been fortunate to have an ongoing series with them for several years."
After the Kentucky game, Middle Tennessee will play another American Athletic contender when it travels to New Orleans to face Tulane, Nov. 14. Following the Tulane contest, Middle Tennessee faces its oldest rival, Tennessee Tech, as well as Furman, at Murphy Center prior to the Thanksgiving break.
"The American Athletic Conference is a very strong league, particularly in women's basketball, so we were really pleased to be able to schedule East Carolina and Tulane for a home-and-home series," Insell said. "Tennessee Tech will once again be one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. It is our longest-running series and our oldest rival so this is always a game fans look forward to."
Middle Tennessee will face its second SEC opponent when it plays Auburn in the first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, Nov. 29. The Lady Raiders will play either Gonzaga or Dayton in the second round with a third game guaranteed Dec. 1. Middle Tennessee won the inaugural Gulf Coast Showcase when it disposed of previously undefeated Mississippi State in the 2013 event.
Next up is the annual Murfreesboro City Schools Education Day game against Lipscomb, Dec. 4. The Education Day game is the largest of its kind in the nation. Another midstate foe awaits when Belmont plays host to Middle Tennessee, Dec. 14.
Back-to-back home games against VCU (Dec. 18) and TCU (Dec. 29) close out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
"We have not played VCU or TCU so these are two quality opponents that our fans will have a chance to see for the first time," Insell said. "These are two new teams to our schedule that we felt fortunate to get home-and-home dates with, and they will provide us with good challenges prior to the start of Conference USA play."
Insell believes Conference USA will be as strong as it has been since Middle Tennessee joined the conference in 2013-14 during the upcoming season.
"This conference has so many outstanding teams, coaches, players," Insell said. "Many of the top teams last year have a great deal of their top players returning so you can count on a very competitive league race."
Middle Tennessee reached the Conference USA championship game before falling to Rice last season.
One new aspect to the conference schedule will be that the final five conference games will be announced at a later date.
Following the two games against UAB in late February, Conference USA will announce the remaining portion of the league schedule: Feb. 22, Feb. 26, Feb. 29, March 5 and 7.
The league's top 12 teams will then compete in the C-USA Championship (March 11-14). For the third consecutive year, Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, will host the C-USA Basketball Championships.
Conference USA play will begin with two home games against tradition-rich Old Dominion, Jan. 2, and Charlotte, Jan. 4. The Lady Raiders face rival WKU, Jan. 11, in Bowling Green. It is the only scheduled regular-season meeting between the teams, who could potentially meet a second time once the final five games are announced.
Middle Tennessee will play home conference games against Old Dominion, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, FIU, UTEP, UTSA and UAB, while facing Marshall, WKU, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, North Texas, Rice and UAB on the road.
2019-20 Lady Raider Schedule
DAY DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Wednesday N. 6 East Carolina Greenville, N.C. TBA
Sunday N. 10 Kentucky Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday N. 14 Tulane New Orleans, La. TBA
Thursday N. 21 Tennessee Tech Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Sunday N. 24 Furman Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Friday N. 29 Auburn^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Saturday N. 30 TBA^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Sunday D. 1 TBA^ Estero, Fla. TBA
Wednesday D. 4 Lipscomb! Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday D. 14 at Belmont Nashville, Tenn. TBA
Wednesday D. 18 VCU Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Sunday D. 29 TCU Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 2 Old Dominion* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday J. 4 Charlotte* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 9 Marshall* Huntington, W. Va. TBA
Saturday J. 11 WKU* Bowling Green, Ky. TBA
Thursday J. 16 Florida Atlantic* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday J. 18 FIU* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday J. 23 Louisiana Tech* Ruston, La. TBA
Saturday J. 25 Southern Miss* Hattiesburg, Miss. TBA
Thursday J. 30 UTEP* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday F. 1 UTSA* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Thursday F. 6 at North Texas* Denton, Texas TBA
Saturday F. 8 at Rice* Houston, Texas TBA
Saturday F. 15 at UAB* Birmingham, Ala. TBA
Thursday F. 20 UAB* Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA
Saturday F. 22 TBD* TBA TBA
Wednesday F. 26 TBD* TBA TBA
Saturday F. 29 TBD* TBA TBA
Thursday M. 5 TBD* TBA TBA
Saturday M. 7 TBD* TBA TBA
^ - Gulf Coast Showcase
! – Murfreesboro City Schools Education Day Game
* - Conference USA game
Monday, October 26
Thursday, October 15
Wednesday, April 01
Thursday, March 26
