Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders host No. 25 Florida Atlantic, FIU
2/15/2023 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee men's basketball welcomes the first ranked opponent to visit the Murphy Center since 2008 this week, as No. 25 Florida Atlantic comes to the Glass House on Thursday. MTSU is 9-2 at home this season and will look to improve that mark with Conference USA games against the Owls and FIU this weekend.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast and stream Thursday night's matchup, while Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN+. Both games can be heard on 94.9 The Fan, 95.1 in Murfreesboro, as well as GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna) will also carry Saturday's contest.
Game 26: Middle Tennessee (15-11, 8-7 C-USA) vs. No. 25 Florida Atlantic (24-2, 14-1 C-USA)
» Thursday, February 16 – 6 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Game 27: Middle Tennessee (15-11, 8-7 C-USA) vs. FIU (13-13, 7-8 C-USA)
» Saturday, February 18 – 5 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Promotions
» Thursday: Ladies' Night
» Saturday: Blue Raider Kids Club/One Goal Sports
All-Time Against Florida Atlantic and FIU
» The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series with Florida Atlantic 21-9. MTSU swept the season series over the Owls in 2021-22 but fell 85-67 in Boca Raton last time they met.
» Middle Tennessee also leads the all-time series over FIU, 33-12. MTSU saw a three-game win streak over FIU snapped by the Panthers when the teams met on Jan. 28.
Blue Raider Notes
» Eli Lawrence on Saturday became the 35th player to score 1,000 points in a Blue Raider uniform and the eighth to amass 1,000 points and 100 steals. He is currently 34th on the all-time scoring list with 1,015 points, one behind Roni Bailey for 33rd.
» MTSU joins 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.
» The Blue Raiders have scored 192 points in the second halves of their last four games. The team has shot .611 (69-113) from the floor and .610 (25-41) from 3-point range after halftime during that span.
» Teafale Lenard, Jr., is 30th in the country in blocked shots with 48, 36th in blocks per game with 1.85 and 92nd in steals with 44.
» In his sophomore season, Lenard is fifth in career blocks at MTSU with 106, four behind Reggie Upshaw for fourth. His 48 rejections in 2022-23 are tied for seventh-most in a season with LaRon Dendy's 2011-12 total.
» Lenard 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.
» DeAndre Dishman is one of just seven seventh-year players in Division I men's basketball.
» After a three-game stretch in which he shot .333 (7-21) from the floor, Dishman has converted 14 of 19 field goal attempts (.737) over his last five appearances.
» Thursday's game features the top two scoring reserve units in Conference USA. Florida Atlantic leads the nation in bench scoring at 37.5, while the Blue Raiders are second in the league with 25.4 bench points per game.
» Florida Atlantic is the first ranked opponent to come to the Murphy Center since No. 13 Tennessee in 2008.
» Jestin Porter has responded to being inserted into the starting lineup by shooting .769 (10-13) from the field and .714 (5-7) from 3-point range with an average of 13.5 points per game.
Scouting the Owls
» Since dropping its lone C-USA matchup at UAB on Feb. 2, Florida Atlantic has won three straight games, including a 90-85 overtime thriller against LA Tech at home.
» FAU leads in the C-USA standings by two full games over second-place North Texas, as well as the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series over the Mean Green. The Owls enter the weekend with a magic number of three to clinch the regular season conference title.
» Florida Atlantic leads the nation in bench scoring at 37.54 points per game. Leading scorer Johnell Davis (13.5 points per game) has come off the bench in 20 of his 24 appearances.
» Sophomore center Vladislav Goldin is the Owls' leading rebounder with 6.3 boards per game while also scoring 10.8 points per game.
Scouting the Panthers
» FIU is 2-2 since defeating MTSU 82-74 in Miami, with wins over Charlotte and LA Tech.
» Denver Jones' 19.9 points per game leads the Panthers and is second in C-USA. The sophomore guard has had five straight games with at least 20 points, a run that commenced with 21 points against the Blue Raiders.
» Freshman guard Arturo Dean has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week four out of the last six weeks.
» FIU shoots at a 46.8% clip from the field, second-best in C-USA behind Rice.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook //MTMensBasketball, Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
CBS Sports Network will broadcast and stream Thursday night's matchup, while Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN+. Both games can be heard on 94.9 The Fan, 95.1 in Murfreesboro, as well as GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App. WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna) will also carry Saturday's contest.
Game 26: Middle Tennessee (15-11, 8-7 C-USA) vs. No. 25 Florida Atlantic (24-2, 14-1 C-USA)
» Thursday, February 16 – 6 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Game 27: Middle Tennessee (15-11, 8-7 C-USA) vs. FIU (13-13, 7-8 C-USA)
» Saturday, February 18 – 5 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Promotions
» Thursday: Ladies' Night
» Saturday: Blue Raider Kids Club/One Goal Sports
All-Time Against Florida Atlantic and FIU
» The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series with Florida Atlantic 21-9. MTSU swept the season series over the Owls in 2021-22 but fell 85-67 in Boca Raton last time they met.
» Middle Tennessee also leads the all-time series over FIU, 33-12. MTSU saw a three-game win streak over FIU snapped by the Panthers when the teams met on Jan. 28.
Blue Raider Notes
» Eli Lawrence on Saturday became the 35th player to score 1,000 points in a Blue Raider uniform and the eighth to amass 1,000 points and 100 steals. He is currently 34th on the all-time scoring list with 1,015 points, one behind Roni Bailey for 33rd.
» MTSU joins 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.
» The Blue Raiders have scored 192 points in the second halves of their last four games. The team has shot .611 (69-113) from the floor and .610 (25-41) from 3-point range after halftime during that span.
» Teafale Lenard, Jr., is 30th in the country in blocked shots with 48, 36th in blocks per game with 1.85 and 92nd in steals with 44.
» In his sophomore season, Lenard is fifth in career blocks at MTSU with 106, four behind Reggie Upshaw for fourth. His 48 rejections in 2022-23 are tied for seventh-most in a season with LaRon Dendy's 2011-12 total.
» Lenard 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.
» DeAndre Dishman is one of just seven seventh-year players in Division I men's basketball.
» After a three-game stretch in which he shot .333 (7-21) from the floor, Dishman has converted 14 of 19 field goal attempts (.737) over his last five appearances.
» Thursday's game features the top two scoring reserve units in Conference USA. Florida Atlantic leads the nation in bench scoring at 37.5, while the Blue Raiders are second in the league with 25.4 bench points per game.
» Florida Atlantic is the first ranked opponent to come to the Murphy Center since No. 13 Tennessee in 2008.
» Jestin Porter has responded to being inserted into the starting lineup by shooting .769 (10-13) from the field and .714 (5-7) from 3-point range with an average of 13.5 points per game.
Scouting the Owls
» Since dropping its lone C-USA matchup at UAB on Feb. 2, Florida Atlantic has won three straight games, including a 90-85 overtime thriller against LA Tech at home.
» FAU leads in the C-USA standings by two full games over second-place North Texas, as well as the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series over the Mean Green. The Owls enter the weekend with a magic number of three to clinch the regular season conference title.
» Florida Atlantic leads the nation in bench scoring at 37.54 points per game. Leading scorer Johnell Davis (13.5 points per game) has come off the bench in 20 of his 24 appearances.
» Sophomore center Vladislav Goldin is the Owls' leading rebounder with 6.3 boards per game while also scoring 10.8 points per game.
Scouting the Panthers
» FIU is 2-2 since defeating MTSU 82-74 in Miami, with wins over Charlotte and LA Tech.
» Denver Jones' 19.9 points per game leads the Panthers and is second in C-USA. The sophomore guard has had five straight games with at least 20 points, a run that commenced with 21 points against the Blue Raiders.
» Freshman guard Arturo Dean has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week four out of the last six weeks.
» FIU shoots at a 46.8% clip from the field, second-best in C-USA behind Rice.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball on social media on Facebook //MTMensBasketball, Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).
Players Mentioned
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