Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, January 24
Murfreesboro, TN
1:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-39,15 CUSA
52
vs
68
WKU
-134,62 CUSA
1
2
F
Western Ky.
31
37
68
Middle Tennessee
20
32
52
Tops take game two in low-scoring affair
1/24/2021 3:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Despite showing a lot of fight, a poor shooting day was too much to overcome for Middle Tennessee Sunday.
The Blue Raiders (3-9, 1-5) dropped their second in a row against rival WKU (13-4, 6-2), the preseason favorite in Conference USA and current leader of the East Division, 68-52 in the Murphy Center.
"We fought, scratched and clawed and gave ourselves a chance to win against a really good basketball team, … but credit them, they made some plays down the stretch," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said.
It looked like WKU was going to have a cakewalk to the weekend sweep early in the second half, but the Raiders wouldn't let them escape so easily.
The Hilltoppers went into the halftime locker room up 31-20 and upped the lead to 13 early in the second half. That's when MT finally got things going offensively, thanks in large part to their concerted effort to get to the free-throw line.
After not making a single trip to the charity stripe in the first half, the Blue Raiders got there eight times in the first seven minutes of the second, making seven. That helped them go on a 12-2 run, cutting WKU's lead to 39-36 with more than 13 minutes to play.
"We had a lot of improvement, and that's why we kept it close late, but you have to make some shots to beat a great team like that," McDevitt said.
The Hilltoppers never surrendered the lead and eventually pushed their advantage back to double digits, but the Blue Raiders refused to go away.
They trimmed the lead again, this time down to 55-51 with just under five minutes to play, but their struggles to put the ball in the hole with consistency kept them from getting over the hump. WKU capitalized and finished on a 13-1 run to the finish line.
Middle Tennessee finished shooting just 29% (18-63), including 22% (5-23) from 3-point range.
"I thought we had some really quality looks that just didn't go down," McDevitt said. "When you're going against an elite shot blocker at the bucket, you know scoring easily at the rim are going to be few and far between. You have to make shots, and we just didn't make enough to get that done."
As has been the case for most of the season, Middle Tennessee came out of the gates determined to both take care of the ball and defend well enough to give them a chance. They did both of those things, only turning it over 11 times and limiting WKU to 48% shooting, 20% from distance, and 13 turnovers. The problem was MT's shooting touch didn't follow suit.
When WKU found its footing in the first half, sinking six of its last eight shots, the Raiders went the opposite way, going scoreless over a little more than 5.5 minutes of game time and seeing their deficit grow from two points to 11. They then went scoreless over the game's last 2:27.
"I really liked our team's resiliency … but we just couldn't get enough to fall down the stretch, and they made some plays. Credit them," McDevitt said.
Johnson led the way for MT, scoring 10 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting, including one made trey, and adding a team-high seven rebounds.
He's one of several Blue Raiders who were back in action this weekend after several weeks off due to COVID-19. Before Saturday, he hadn't played since the home game against Covenant Christian on Dec. 12.
"Just getting back into the groove with my teammates and getting back on the floor has been a lot of fun," Johnson said. "I've just tried to stay as ready as I can. You never know what can happen … so you just have to be ready."
Middle Tennessee will try to right the ship with a home-and-home series against UAB on Thursday and Sunday.
The Blue Raiders (3-9, 1-5) dropped their second in a row against rival WKU (13-4, 6-2), the preseason favorite in Conference USA and current leader of the East Division, 68-52 in the Murphy Center.
"We fought, scratched and clawed and gave ourselves a chance to win against a really good basketball team, … but credit them, they made some plays down the stretch," MT head coach Nick McDevitt said.
It looked like WKU was going to have a cakewalk to the weekend sweep early in the second half, but the Raiders wouldn't let them escape so easily.
The Hilltoppers went into the halftime locker room up 31-20 and upped the lead to 13 early in the second half. That's when MT finally got things going offensively, thanks in large part to their concerted effort to get to the free-throw line.
After not making a single trip to the charity stripe in the first half, the Blue Raiders got there eight times in the first seven minutes of the second, making seven. That helped them go on a 12-2 run, cutting WKU's lead to 39-36 with more than 13 minutes to play.
"We had a lot of improvement, and that's why we kept it close late, but you have to make some shots to beat a great team like that," McDevitt said.
The Hilltoppers never surrendered the lead and eventually pushed their advantage back to double digits, but the Blue Raiders refused to go away.
They trimmed the lead again, this time down to 55-51 with just under five minutes to play, but their struggles to put the ball in the hole with consistency kept them from getting over the hump. WKU capitalized and finished on a 13-1 run to the finish line.
Middle Tennessee finished shooting just 29% (18-63), including 22% (5-23) from 3-point range.
"I thought we had some really quality looks that just didn't go down," McDevitt said. "When you're going against an elite shot blocker at the bucket, you know scoring easily at the rim are going to be few and far between. You have to make shots, and we just didn't make enough to get that done."
As has been the case for most of the season, Middle Tennessee came out of the gates determined to both take care of the ball and defend well enough to give them a chance. They did both of those things, only turning it over 11 times and limiting WKU to 48% shooting, 20% from distance, and 13 turnovers. The problem was MT's shooting touch didn't follow suit.
When WKU found its footing in the first half, sinking six of its last eight shots, the Raiders went the opposite way, going scoreless over a little more than 5.5 minutes of game time and seeing their deficit grow from two points to 11. They then went scoreless over the game's last 2:27.
"I really liked our team's resiliency … but we just couldn't get enough to fall down the stretch, and they made some plays. Credit them," McDevitt said.
Johnson led the way for MT, scoring 10 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting, including one made trey, and adding a team-high seven rebounds.
He's one of several Blue Raiders who were back in action this weekend after several weeks off due to COVID-19. Before Saturday, he hadn't played since the home game against Covenant Christian on Dec. 12.
"Just getting back into the groove with my teammates and getting back on the floor has been a lot of fun," Johnson said. "I've just tried to stay as ready as I can. You never know what can happen … so you just have to be ready."
Middle Tennessee will try to right the ship with a home-and-home series against UAB on Thursday and Sunday.
Team Stats
WESTKY
MT
FG%
.480
.286
3FG%
.200
.217
FT%
.773
.786
RB
39
36
TO
13
11
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
