Blue Raiders back in Murphy Center this week

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Last week's road swing to Florida came up empty, but Middle
Tennessee men's basketball is back in Murfreesboro and preparing for games against Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss this week.

Game 20: Middle Tennessee (4-15, 0-6 C-USA) vs. Louisiana Tech (13-5, 4-2 C-USA)
» Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 – 6:30 p.m. CST
» Murphy Center (11,520) – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
» Green Out in honor of mental health awareness
» Fraternity and Sorority Life Game

Game 21: Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Miss (5-14, 1-5 C-USA)
» Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 – 5:00 p.m. CST
» Murphy Center (11,520) – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
» Coaches vs. Cancer
» Space Jam theme night

About the Blue Raiders
» Middle Tennessee's losing streak stretched to 10 games after a pair of road losses last week.
» MT is worst in C-USA in first half point differential (-168) but is second in the league in second half point differential (76).
» C.J. Jones and Donovan Sims have started all 19 games of the 2019-20 season.
» MT is fourth in Conference USA in total block (68) and 3-point field goal percentage (34.4%).
» Jones leads the charge from beyond the arc, as he's second in C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage (41.0%), fourth in minutes per game (34:08), and fifth in points per game (16.4).
» Senior forward Reggie Scurry leads his team in rebounds per game (5.4) and field goal percentage (58.5%).
» MT's average home attendance number of 3,695 is fifth best in C-USA.

All-Time vs. Louisiana Tech
» Thursday's game against the Bulldogs will be the 18th meeting between the two programs.
» Louisiana Tech owns a 12-5 advantage over the Blue Raiders, but MT is 4-3 in Murphy Center.

Scouting the Bulldogs
» Louisiana Tech boasts one of Conference USA's best offenses.
» C-USA play started out with a pair of wins over Southern Miss, along with wins over Rice and UTEP. The Bulldogs most recently lost to North Texas on a buzzer beater, 51-50.
» The Bulldogs very rarely turn the ball over. They're the best in C-USA in turnovers per game, turnover margin, and assist to turnover ratio.
» Individually, 6-foot-7 senior forward Mubarek Muhammed is first in C-USA in offensive rebounds per game and second in total rebounds per game (9.1). Muhammed also averages 8.0 points per game.
» In the backcourt, DaQuan Bracey, Kalob Ledoux, and Amorie Archibald have each made more than 30 3-point baskets this season.
» The guard-heavy roster has seen scoring leader Bracey and assists leader Derric Jean become the only two Bulldogs to start all 18 games this season.

All-Time vs. Southern Miss
» Saturday's game against Southern Miss will be the 12th meeting between the two programs.
» MT has an 8-3 lead in the series and has not lost to the Golden Eagles at home.

Scouting the Golden Eagles
» Southern Miss is one spot above MT in the C-USA standings, with its only league win coming against Rice on Saturday.
» The Golden Eagles and Blue Raiders have just one common opponent so far. Both teams lost to Tulane in the non-conference portion of the season.
» Southern Miss shares the ball well on offense, as the Golden Eagles are second in total assists and third in assists per game.
» 6-foot-5 forward Leonard Harper-Baker leads his team in rebounds (7.3 per game) while averaging 8.4 points per game.
» Guard LaDarvius Draine is the main 3-point shooter for Southern Miss, as he's made 39 3-pointers this season and averages 10.3 points per game.
» Gabe Watson (12.9) and Tyler Stevenson (11.8) are the only other Golden Eagles to average double digit points.

Last Time Out
» The Blue Raiders fell twice on the Florida road swing, first in overtime at Florida Atlantic and then at FIU.
» Sims, Johnson and Green all scored more than 20 points in the overtime loss at Florida Atlantic in which the Blue Raiders surrendered an 11-point lead with three minutes left in the second half.
» Against the Panthers, Jones led the way with 24, but it wasn't enough, as MT dropped an 83-69 decision.

Next Time Out
» MT will hit the road and head for Texas for two games next week.
» The Blue Raiders will first visit UTEP, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30.
» MT will head take on UTSA two days later to start the second month of the new year.
» Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.

For all the latest information on Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball, follow the #BlueRaiders on Facebook (@MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (MT_MBB).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

C.J. Jones

Reggie Scurry

Donovan Sims

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics