Blue Raiders kick off 2023 at UTSA, return home for North Texas

Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee men's basketball closed out 2022 with a home win over rival WKU and will look to start the New Year on the right foot with a pair of Conference USA matchups this weekend. The Blue Raiders travel to San Antonio to take on UTSA on Thursday before returning home for North Texas in a matchup between the 2022 C-USA East and West Division champions Saturday.

MTSU is 2-1 in the league after its 65-60 come-from-behind victory against the Hilltoppers. The Blue Raiders will seek to make it 3-1 in San Antonio before returning home to face the Mean Green this Saturday.

Both games will be available to watch on ESPN+ and can be heard on 94.9 The Fan, 95.1 in Murfreesboro. GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App will also carry the audio.

Game 15: Middle Tennessee (9-5, 2-1 C-USA) at UTSA (6-8, 0-3 C-USA)
» Thursday, January 5, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. CT
» Convocation Center
» San Antonio, Texas

Game 16: Middle Tennessee (9-5, 2-1 C-USA) vs. North Texas (11-3, 2-1 C-USA)
» Saturday, January 5, 2022 – 2:00 p.m. CT
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Promotions
» All first responders and their families can receive an $8 ticket at the Box Office on game day (must show their work ID).
» Campus School Night/School Saturday

All-Time Against the UTSA and North Texas
» The Blue Raiders are 8-1 all-time against the Roadrunners and have won seven in a row in the series. MTSU took the last meeting between the teams, 84-75 at home, with Deandre Dishman leading the way with 18 points.
» Middle Tennessee currently holds a 15-11 all-time edge against the Mean Green. However, North Texas has had the advantage in the last four matchups.
» MTSU is 9-2 against the Mean Green at the Murphy Center.

Blue Raider Notes
» Middle Tennessee has won the turnover battle in nine of its first 14 games and been tied in the turnover column in two others. The Blue Raiders are 2-1 when committing more turnovers than their opponents.
» The Blue Raiders have won seven straight games against UTSA, with their lone loss to the Roadrunners coming in 2015.
» MTSU joins Miami (FL) and Navy as the only teams in the country to neither lose a player to the transfer portal nor add a player from it during the 2022 offseason.
» Teafale Lenard, Jr. had a career game at Belmont in which he set personal bests in points (20), rebounds (8) and blocks (6) while adding three assists and three steals. His six blocks are tied for the fourth most in a game in program history, and MTSU's 13 blocks in the game established a new program record.
» Lenard is 37th in the country in blocked shots with 26, while the team is 41st nationally with 4.8 blocks per game. He is fifth in career blocks at MTSU with 84.
» Lenard is on pace to surpass his program record of 50 dunks by the end of the regular season.
» Dishman is one of just seven seventh-year players in Division I men's basketball this season.
» Through Sunday's action, Dishman is 62nd in the nation in field goal percentage at .552. He has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 13 of 14 games on the season.
» Eli Lawrence enters Thursday's game with 842 career points. If he averages 9.3 points per game the rest of the way, he will reach the 1,000-point mark by the end of the regular season.
» Jared Coleman-Jones went 704 days without making a 3-pointer before hitting threes in back-to-back games.

Scouting the Roadrunners
» UTSA is off to an 0-3 start in C-USA play, dropping games to North Texas and at LA Tech and UAB.
» The Roadrunners have allowed at least 90 points in each of their past two losses.
» Through Tuesday's games, the Roadrunners are No. 318 in the NET rankings.
» Japhet Medor leads UTSA in scoring at 12.6 points per game, one of four Roadrunners averaging double figures.
» Jacob Germany is third in C-USA in rebounding at 7.4 per game.
» John Buggs III is third in the league and 35^th nationally in 3-point percentage at .429.

Scouting the Mean Green
» North Texas is second in the country in scoring defense at 52.1 points allowed per game.
» Defending C-USA Sixth Man of the Year Tylor Perry leads the Mean Green with 17.6 points per game.
» Also averaging double figures are junior forward Abou Ousmane (12.3 PPG) and senior guard Kai Huntsberry (11.6 PPG).
» Ousmane is 23^rd in the nation in offensive rebounding, averaging 3.5 per game.
» Last season's league regular season champion was pegged to finish third in the conference this year.

Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook //MTMensBasketball, Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jared Coleman-Jones

Eli Lawrence

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics