Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders face two road tests at Marshall and WKU
1/26/2022 10:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee men's basketball (12-6, 3-2) hits the road for two Conference USA matchups at Marshall (7-12, 0-6) at 6 p.m. Thursday and Western Kentucky (10-9, 2-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday
The Blue Raiders are coming off a three-game conference home stand that saw them pick up three double-digit wins to improve to 3-2 in C-USA play at 9-0 at the Murphy Center on the season. MT also extended its home winning streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the league and the seventh-longest in the history of the Glass House.
Both games this week can be viewed on ESPN+. Fans can tune into the radio broadcast WGNS 1450AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM; The Game 2 94.9 FM/95.1 FM with Chip Walters on the call. Tickets for Thursday's game are available here. For those making the drive to Bowling Green, tickets for Saturday's game can be found here.
Four Blue Raiders scored in double digits in Saturday's 74-60 win over Southern Miss. Murfreesboro native Donovan Sims led the team with 16 points, while Josh Jefferson and Freshman Teafale Lenard Jr. added 12 points. Camryn Weston put up 10 points, three assists and two steals off the bench as MT erased an early 12-point deficit, its largest margin overcome in a victory since February 2, 2019 at UAB.
Game 19: Middle Tennessee (12-6, 3-2 C-USA) at Marshall (7-12, 0-6 C-USA)
» Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 – 6 p.m. CT
» Cam Henderson Center
» Huntington, W.Va.
Game 20: Middle Tennessee (12-6, 3-2 C-USA) at Western Kentucky (10-9, 2-4 C-USA)
» Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 – 2 p.m. CT
» E.A. Diddle Arena
» Bowling Green, Ky.
All-Time vs. Marshall
» Saturday's game is the 21st all-time between Middle Tennessee and Marshall, MT leads the all-time series 11-9.
» MT has dropped the last six contests against the Herd, with four of those games played in Huntington.
All-Time vs. Western Kentucky
» Saturday's game is the 141st all-time between the Blue Raiders and Hilltoppers dating back to 1914, with WKU leading 97-43. MT vs WKU C-USA's most-played rivalry.
» The two teams have split the last eight matchups at four games apiece. Saturday's game will be MT's first trip to Diddle Arena since February 14, 2019.
Blue Raiders Notes
» Fifth-year Blue Raider Donovan Sims has made a mark on the MT record book and is closing in on making his presence felt even more. The home-grown guard is sixth all-time with 91 games started, eighth with 142 3-pointers made, tied for eighth with 121 games played, ninth with 131 career steals and 294 assists and 10th with 2,852 minutes. He is also 72 points from becoming the 34th member of MT's 1,000-point club.
» Middle Tennessee is 23rd in the country and second in the conference in turnovers forced per game at 16.7.
» The Blue Raiders are second in C-USA in turnovers forced per game and third in turnover margin (+3.39), steals per game (8.78), 3-point defense (.307), free throw percentage (.725), and scoring defense (64.50).
» Josh Jefferson leads the Blue Raiders in scoring at 13.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in seven straight games, tying the longest such streak of his career.
» All six healthy Blue Raiders who returned from 2020-21 are averaging more points per game than last year, led by Eli Lawrence's 5.0 ppg increase (5.1 to 10.1).
» DeAndre Dishman leads MT in rebounding at 4.7 rpg and has started every game of his Blue Raider career.
» Teafale Lenard Jr. leads the team with 25 dunks this season, tied for the second-most by a Blue Raider since the 2016-17 season. The freshman from Snyder, Texas, is behind only Reggie Scurry's 2018-19 total of 49 during that span.
Scouting the Thundering Herd
» Marshall is currently on a nine-game losing streak, with six of those coming to C-USA opponents. The Thundering Herd last won December 11 in an 80-69 decision at Eastern Kentucky.
» Junior Taevion Kinsey is leading the league and 13th nationally in scoring averaging at 20.8 points per game. His 340 field goal attempts are the most in Division I.
» Freshman Obinna Anochili-Killen is second in C-USA and third nationally with 3.84 blocked shots per game. His 6.3 rebounds per game lead Marshall.
» Anochili-Killen (12.6 ppg) and Andrew Taylor (12.2 ppg) also are averaging double-figure points on the season. Those two combined with Kinsey account for more than 60 percent of the Thundering Herd's total offense.
» Marshall has gone cold from long range lately, shooting just .202 (19-94) from distance over its last three games, dropping its season percentage to .265.
Scouting the Hilltoppers
» Western Kentucky returns home this week having lost three straight games, including road contests at Florida Atlantic and FIU. WKU hosts West Division first-place UAB on Thursday before the Blue Raiders come to town.
» WKU leads C-USA and is eighth nationally with 6.0 blocked shots per game, led by 7'5" Jamarion Sharp's 4.37 blocks per game.
» The tallest player in the country, Sharp leads WKU and is fifth in the league in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game.
» Dayvion McKnight leads the Hilltopppers in scoring at 15.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in six straight games.
» WKU has allowed opponents to shoot at a .406 clip (37-91) from long distance during its three-game losing streak.
» The Hilltoppers have been the country's most-disciplined team this season, having been whistled for a nationwide-low 12.4 personal fouls per game.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a three-game conference home stand that saw them pick up three double-digit wins to improve to 3-2 in C-USA play at 9-0 at the Murphy Center on the season. MT also extended its home winning streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the league and the seventh-longest in the history of the Glass House.
Both games this week can be viewed on ESPN+. Fans can tune into the radio broadcast WGNS 1450AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM; The Game 2 94.9 FM/95.1 FM with Chip Walters on the call. Tickets for Thursday's game are available here. For those making the drive to Bowling Green, tickets for Saturday's game can be found here.
Four Blue Raiders scored in double digits in Saturday's 74-60 win over Southern Miss. Murfreesboro native Donovan Sims led the team with 16 points, while Josh Jefferson and Freshman Teafale Lenard Jr. added 12 points. Camryn Weston put up 10 points, three assists and two steals off the bench as MT erased an early 12-point deficit, its largest margin overcome in a victory since February 2, 2019 at UAB.
Game 19: Middle Tennessee (12-6, 3-2 C-USA) at Marshall (7-12, 0-6 C-USA)
» Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 – 6 p.m. CT
» Cam Henderson Center
» Huntington, W.Va.
Game 20: Middle Tennessee (12-6, 3-2 C-USA) at Western Kentucky (10-9, 2-4 C-USA)
» Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 – 2 p.m. CT
» E.A. Diddle Arena
» Bowling Green, Ky.
All-Time vs. Marshall
» Saturday's game is the 21st all-time between Middle Tennessee and Marshall, MT leads the all-time series 11-9.
» MT has dropped the last six contests against the Herd, with four of those games played in Huntington.
All-Time vs. Western Kentucky
» Saturday's game is the 141st all-time between the Blue Raiders and Hilltoppers dating back to 1914, with WKU leading 97-43. MT vs WKU C-USA's most-played rivalry.
» The two teams have split the last eight matchups at four games apiece. Saturday's game will be MT's first trip to Diddle Arena since February 14, 2019.
Blue Raiders Notes
» Fifth-year Blue Raider Donovan Sims has made a mark on the MT record book and is closing in on making his presence felt even more. The home-grown guard is sixth all-time with 91 games started, eighth with 142 3-pointers made, tied for eighth with 121 games played, ninth with 131 career steals and 294 assists and 10th with 2,852 minutes. He is also 72 points from becoming the 34th member of MT's 1,000-point club.
» Middle Tennessee is 23rd in the country and second in the conference in turnovers forced per game at 16.7.
» The Blue Raiders are second in C-USA in turnovers forced per game and third in turnover margin (+3.39), steals per game (8.78), 3-point defense (.307), free throw percentage (.725), and scoring defense (64.50).
» Josh Jefferson leads the Blue Raiders in scoring at 13.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in seven straight games, tying the longest such streak of his career.
» All six healthy Blue Raiders who returned from 2020-21 are averaging more points per game than last year, led by Eli Lawrence's 5.0 ppg increase (5.1 to 10.1).
» DeAndre Dishman leads MT in rebounding at 4.7 rpg and has started every game of his Blue Raider career.
» Teafale Lenard Jr. leads the team with 25 dunks this season, tied for the second-most by a Blue Raider since the 2016-17 season. The freshman from Snyder, Texas, is behind only Reggie Scurry's 2018-19 total of 49 during that span.
Scouting the Thundering Herd
» Marshall is currently on a nine-game losing streak, with six of those coming to C-USA opponents. The Thundering Herd last won December 11 in an 80-69 decision at Eastern Kentucky.
» Junior Taevion Kinsey is leading the league and 13th nationally in scoring averaging at 20.8 points per game. His 340 field goal attempts are the most in Division I.
» Freshman Obinna Anochili-Killen is second in C-USA and third nationally with 3.84 blocked shots per game. His 6.3 rebounds per game lead Marshall.
» Anochili-Killen (12.6 ppg) and Andrew Taylor (12.2 ppg) also are averaging double-figure points on the season. Those two combined with Kinsey account for more than 60 percent of the Thundering Herd's total offense.
» Marshall has gone cold from long range lately, shooting just .202 (19-94) from distance over its last three games, dropping its season percentage to .265.
Scouting the Hilltoppers
» Western Kentucky returns home this week having lost three straight games, including road contests at Florida Atlantic and FIU. WKU hosts West Division first-place UAB on Thursday before the Blue Raiders come to town.
» WKU leads C-USA and is eighth nationally with 6.0 blocked shots per game, led by 7'5" Jamarion Sharp's 4.37 blocks per game.
» The tallest player in the country, Sharp leads WKU and is fifth in the league in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game.
» Dayvion McKnight leads the Hilltopppers in scoring at 15.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in six straight games.
» WKU has allowed opponents to shoot at a .406 clip (37-91) from long distance during its three-game losing streak.
» The Hilltoppers have been the country's most-disciplined team this season, having been whistled for a nationwide-low 12.4 personal fouls per game.
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