Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders to open Conference USA Tournament Thursday
3/8/2023 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
No. 4-seed MTSU set for quarterfinal matchup against Charlotte
FRISCO, Texas – The regular season has concluded, March has commenced, and Middle Tennessee men's basketball is set to open its run at the 2023 C-USA Basketball Championships TotalCare on Thursday against No. 5 seed Charlotte.
The Blue Raiders received a first-round bye in the C-USA Tournament on the strength of an 11-9 conference record. The 49ers went 9-11 in league play, as MTSU and Charlotte split the regular-season series with the home team winning each time.
Tipoff against Charlotte from the Ford Center at the Star is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, with the game available on ESPN+. The tournament semifinals and championship game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. All games in Frisco will also be carried on WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), 94.9 The Fan, 95.1 in Murfreesboro, GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App.
C-USA Tournament Quarterfinals: #4 Middle Tennessee (18-13, 11-9 C-USA) vs. #5 Charlotte (18-13, 9-11 C-USA)
» Thursday, March 9 – 6:00 p.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» ESPN+
C-USA Tournament Semifinals: #4 Middle Tennessee or #5 Charlotte vs. #1 Florida Atlantic, #8 WKU or #9 UTEP
» Friday, March 10 – 11:30 a.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» CBS Sports Network
C-USA Tournament Championship
» Saturday, March 11 – 7:30 p.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» CBS Sports Network
All-Time Against Charlotte
» The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series, 13-4
» MTSU was 1-1 against the 49ers this season, avenging its 82-67 road loss on Dec. 29 with a 62-58 win at the Murphy Center on Jan. 19.
Blue Raider Notes
» The Blue Raiders are 11-6 all-time in Conference USA Tournament games.
» MTSU over its last 31 home games limits opponents to 59.6 points per game in regulation, having gone 29-2 in that stretch. Over the last two years, the Blue Raiders allow 59.7 regulation ppg in neutral site games and 76.2 on the road.
» Eli Lawrence is 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 28th on the all-time scoring list with 1,067 points, three behind Chris Harris for 27th.
» MTSU's win over #25 FAU was its first home win over a ranked opponent in the 50-year history of the Murphy Center and their first overall since defeating Michigan State in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
» 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.
» Teafale Lenard, Jr., enters the week 26th in the country in blocked shots with 60 and 29th in blocks per game with 1.94. He has 11 games with at least two blocks and two steals, three more than anyone else in the nation.
» In his sophomore season, Lenard is fourth in career blocks at MTSU with 118. His 60 rejections in 2022-23 are fourth-most in a season. The Blue Raiders entered the weekend 16th in the nation with 4.9 blocks per game.
» 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.
Scouting the 49ers
» Charlotte is coming off a pair of close losses to close the regular season, including a 93-91 overtime decision to UAB and a 78-73 setback at UTSA.
» Before that pair of losses, the 49ers had won four consecutive games dating back to Feb. 16.
» Second Team All-C-USA selection Brice Williams leads the 49ers with 13.5 points per game. The Huntersville, N.C. native had a season-high 31 points against the Blue Raiders on Dec. 29, but MTSU was able to hold him to six at the Murphy Center in January.
» Redshirt sophomore post player Aly Khalifa follows with 11.8 points per game and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per contest. The 6-11 Alexandria, Egypt native had a season-high 27 points in the 49ers' loss at UTSA and is seventh in C-USA in rebounds.
» Lu'Cye Patterson is 10th in C-USA in assists with 2.9 per game and scored in double figures in both games against MTSU.
» Charlotte is second in the league in shooting from the field (46.8%) and from three-point range (37.5%). The 49ers are also second in team defense, allowing just 62.6 points per game.
Bracket Watching
» The Blue Raiders are on the same side of the C-USA Tournament bracket as league regular season champion Florida Atlantic. MTSU handed the Owls one of their two conference losses on Feb. 16 in Murfreesboro.
» No. 2-seed North Texas and No. 3-seed UAB occupy the opposite side of the bracket.
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 received a first-round bye in the C-USA Tournament on the strength of an 11-9 conference record. The 49ers went 9-11 in league play, as MTSU and Charlotte split the regular-season series with the home team winning each time.
Tipoff against Charlotte from the Ford Center at the Star is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, with the game available on ESPN+. The tournament semifinals and championship game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. All games in Frisco will also be carried on WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM (Murfreesboro), WGNS 100.5 FM (Smyrna), 94.9 The Fan, 95.1 in Murfreesboro, GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App.
C-USA Tournament Quarterfinals: #4 Middle Tennessee (18-13, 11-9 C-USA) vs. #5 Charlotte (18-13, 9-11 C-USA)
» Thursday, March 9 – 6:00 p.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» ESPN+
C-USA Tournament Semifinals: #4 Middle Tennessee or #5 Charlotte vs. #1 Florida Atlantic, #8 WKU or #9 UTEP
» Friday, March 10 – 11:30 a.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» CBS Sports Network
C-USA Tournament Championship
» Saturday, March 11 – 7:30 p.m.
» Ford Center at the Star
» Frisco, Texas
» CBS Sports Network
All-Time Against Charlotte
» The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series, 13-4
» MTSU was 1-1 against the 49ers this season, avenging its 82-67 road loss on Dec. 29 with a 62-58 win at the Murphy Center on Jan. 19.
Blue Raider Notes
» The Blue Raiders are 11-6 all-time in Conference USA Tournament games.
» MTSU over its last 31 home games limits opponents to 59.6 points per game in regulation, having gone 29-2 in that stretch. Over the last two years, the Blue Raiders allow 59.7 regulation ppg in neutral site games and 76.2 on the road.
» Eli Lawrence is 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 28th on the all-time scoring list with 1,067 points, three behind Chris Harris for 27th.
» MTSU's win over #25 FAU was its first home win over a ranked opponent in the 50-year history of the Murphy Center and their first overall since defeating Michigan State in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
» 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.
» Teafale Lenard, Jr., enters the week 26th in the country in blocked shots with 60 and 29th in blocks per game with 1.94. He has 11 games with at least two blocks and two steals, three more than anyone else in the nation.
» In his sophomore season, Lenard is fourth in career blocks at MTSU with 118. His 60 rejections in 2022-23 are fourth-most in a season. The Blue Raiders entered the weekend 16th in the nation with 4.9 blocks per game.
» 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.
Scouting the 49ers
» Charlotte is coming off a pair of close losses to close the regular season, including a 93-91 overtime decision to UAB and a 78-73 setback at UTSA.
» Before that pair of losses, the 49ers had won four consecutive games dating back to Feb. 16.
» Second Team All-C-USA selection Brice Williams leads the 49ers with 13.5 points per game. The Huntersville, N.C. native had a season-high 31 points against the Blue Raiders on Dec. 29, but MTSU was able to hold him to six at the Murphy Center in January.
» Redshirt sophomore post player Aly Khalifa follows with 11.8 points per game and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per contest. The 6-11 Alexandria, Egypt native had a season-high 27 points in the 49ers' loss at UTSA and is seventh in C-USA in rebounds.
» Lu'Cye Patterson is 10th in C-USA in assists with 2.9 per game and scored in double figures in both games against MTSU.
» Charlotte is second in the league in shooting from the field (46.8%) and from three-point range (37.5%). The 49ers are also second in team defense, allowing just 62.6 points per game.
Bracket Watching
» The Blue Raiders are on the same side of the C-USA Tournament bracket as league regular season champion Florida Atlantic. MTSU handed the Owls one of their two conference losses on Feb. 16 in Murfreesboro.
» No. 2-seed North Texas and No. 3-seed UAB occupy the opposite side of the bracket.
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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