Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Monday, November 6
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
1-0,0-0CUSA
74
vs
57
Northern Kentucky
0-1,0-0Horizon
1
2
F
Northern Ky.
21
36
57
Middle Tenn.
45
29
74
First-half brilliance pushes Blue Raiders to win over Norse to start 2023-24 season
11/6/2023 11:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MTSU led Northern Kentucky by as many as 27 points on Monday night
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball dominated from the opening tip against Northern Kentucky on Monday night, peaking with a 13-points run while rushing out to a 24-point halftime lead before triumphing 74-57 in the Murphy Center in MTSU's first game of the 2023-24 season.
The Blue Raiders (1-0) made over 50 percent of their shots from the field in the first half (16-for-31), while holding the Norse (0-1) to just 6-for-20 shooting in the game's first 20 minutes, including a 0-for-7 half beyond the arc. Northern Kentucky fought back in the second half, at one point pulling the game within 11 points, but Middle Tennessee controlled the flow of the game until the final horn to ease to a comfortable 17-point win.
Four Blue Raiders finished the night in double figures in the scoring column, led by 14 points from Elias King and Camryn Weston. King made four of his seven attempts for three-points on the night, while Weston went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Justin Bufford trailed close behind with 13 points, followed by 10 points off the bench from Jacob Johnson.
By the Numbers
9: of the 11 Blue Raiders who played on Monday scored at least two points. Nick McDevitt played nearly his entire bench against the Norse, with only one of those 11 players playing fewer than three minutes and only two players playing fewer than seven minutes.
5-to-1: Assist to turnover ratio for Camryn Weston, picking up right where he left off a season ago when he dished out six assists with no turnovers against Florida Atlantic in the 2023 Conference USA Tournament semifinals.
971: Days between Jalen Jordan's last appearance for the Blue Raiders on March 10, 2021 against North Texas in the 2021 Conference USA Tournament and tonight, when he checked into the game at the 16:35 mark in the first half. The redshirt senior is in his fifth season in Murfreesboro and seventh overall in college basketball and has missed the last two seasons due to knee injuries. Jordan finished the night with two points and two rebounds to go with one assist.
Blue Raider Notes
- The Blue Raiders picked up the 700th nonconference win in program history.
- King tied a career high with four 3-pointers.
- Jacob Johnson, Chris Loofe, Ty Mosley and Josh Ogundele each made their Blue Raider debuts Monday. Loofe's was his career debut.
- MTSU has now won seven of its last eight season openers.
Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"Really proud of our team. Northern Kentucky has got a really good group. Their two guards, Warrick and Vinson, are all-conference guards and they've played in a lot of big games. Won the tournament last year in the Horizon, played in the NCAA Tournament. They're good.
"I thought there in the first half, we played with an edge, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. We just had a couple of breakdowns. And outside of that, we defended it about as hard and well as you can. It allowed us to get out in transition in the first half because we were getting stops."
Player's Perspective – Jalen Jordan
On playing in front of fans in the Murphy Center for the first time
"I can't even describe that feeling. It was long overdue. It's just indescribable. The feeling of nervousness, happy that I'm finally back on the court (and) get to play with my brothers. As soon as I touched the basketball. I dribbled the basketball a couple of times and my nervousness calmed down and just let the game come to me."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will host Stephen F. Austin in the first game of their time in WAC/CUSA Scheduling Initiative.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (//MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb
The Blue Raiders (1-0) made over 50 percent of their shots from the field in the first half (16-for-31), while holding the Norse (0-1) to just 6-for-20 shooting in the game's first 20 minutes, including a 0-for-7 half beyond the arc. Northern Kentucky fought back in the second half, at one point pulling the game within 11 points, but Middle Tennessee controlled the flow of the game until the final horn to ease to a comfortable 17-point win.
Four Blue Raiders finished the night in double figures in the scoring column, led by 14 points from Elias King and Camryn Weston. King made four of his seven attempts for three-points on the night, while Weston went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Justin Bufford trailed close behind with 13 points, followed by 10 points off the bench from Jacob Johnson.
By the Numbers
9: of the 11 Blue Raiders who played on Monday scored at least two points. Nick McDevitt played nearly his entire bench against the Norse, with only one of those 11 players playing fewer than three minutes and only two players playing fewer than seven minutes.
5-to-1: Assist to turnover ratio for Camryn Weston, picking up right where he left off a season ago when he dished out six assists with no turnovers against Florida Atlantic in the 2023 Conference USA Tournament semifinals.
971: Days between Jalen Jordan's last appearance for the Blue Raiders on March 10, 2021 against North Texas in the 2021 Conference USA Tournament and tonight, when he checked into the game at the 16:35 mark in the first half. The redshirt senior is in his fifth season in Murfreesboro and seventh overall in college basketball and has missed the last two seasons due to knee injuries. Jordan finished the night with two points and two rebounds to go with one assist.
Blue Raider Notes
- The Blue Raiders picked up the 700th nonconference win in program history.
- King tied a career high with four 3-pointers.
- Jacob Johnson, Chris Loofe, Ty Mosley and Josh Ogundele each made their Blue Raider debuts Monday. Loofe's was his career debut.
- MTSU has now won seven of its last eight season openers.
Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"Really proud of our team. Northern Kentucky has got a really good group. Their two guards, Warrick and Vinson, are all-conference guards and they've played in a lot of big games. Won the tournament last year in the Horizon, played in the NCAA Tournament. They're good.
"I thought there in the first half, we played with an edge, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. We just had a couple of breakdowns. And outside of that, we defended it about as hard and well as you can. It allowed us to get out in transition in the first half because we were getting stops."
Player's Perspective – Jalen Jordan
On playing in front of fans in the Murphy Center for the first time
"I can't even describe that feeling. It was long overdue. It's just indescribable. The feeling of nervousness, happy that I'm finally back on the court (and) get to play with my brothers. As soon as I touched the basketball. I dribbled the basketball a couple of times and my nervousness calmed down and just let the game come to me."
Up Next
The Blue Raiders will host Stephen F. Austin in the first game of their time in WAC/CUSA Scheduling Initiative.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook (//MTMensBasketball), Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb
Team Stats
NKU
MTSU
FG%
.431
.424
3FG%
.214
.370
FT%
.588
.824
RB
37
30
TO
18
12
STL
7
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's BasketballG
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