Blue Raiders geared up for season opener vs. Brescia

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The long wait for the 2021-22 Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball season is finally over, as the Blue Raiders host NAIA member Brescia at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Murphy Center.

Tuesday night's game can be seen on CUSA.tv, and fans are encouraged to tune into the radio broadcast on WGNS 1450 AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM; The Game 2 94.9 FM/95.1 FM.

Game 1: Middle Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Brescia (0-0, 0-0 River States Conference)
» Tuesday, November 9, 2021 – 5:00 p.m. CT
» Murphy Center – Murfreesboro, Tenn.

About the Blue Raiders
» MT looks to improve to 3-1 in season openers and 4-0 in home openers under Nick McDevitt
» DeAndre Dishman started all 23 games in 2021-22 after missing the 2019-20 season with a knee injury.
» Donovan Sims is 10th all-time in career steals at MT with 113. The Murfreesboro native needs 26 assists, 13 3-pointers made, 16 games played and 373 minutes from the top 10 in those respective categories. He is also 254 points from joining the 1,000-point club. An average of 8.2 points per game in all 31 games would get him to that mark in the regular season.
» The Blue Raiders welcome six newcomers to the roster for 2021-22 season: graduate transfer Josh Jefferson, JuCo transfers Justin Bufford, Isaiah Turner and Camryn Weston, true freshman Teafale Lenard Jr. and walk-on Jaellan White.

All-Time vs. Brescia
» Tuesday's game is the first-ever matchup between MT and Brescia

Scouting the Bearcats
» Brescia head coach Sarah Gayler is in her first season as both head men's basketball coach and director of athletics with the Bearcats. She brings a diverse basketball resume, most recently having served as a scout for the NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks.
» Returning forward Ricky Shuford ranked No. 34 in NAIA Division I in defensive rebounds per game last season at 6.6. He led Brescia in points (14.4), rebounds (8.5) and steals (1.4) per game.
» Brescia was No. 45 in the 212-team NAIA Division I in 3-point percentage defense at 0.319 in 2020-21.
» The Bearcats are coming off a 3-12 performance in the 2020-21 season.

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

Justin Bufford

DeAndre Dishman

Josh Jefferson

Teafale Lenard Jr.

Donovan Sims

Isaiah Turner

Camryn Weston

Jaellan White

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics