Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders host Bearkats for first matchup with new CUSA opponent
1/12/2024 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee men's basketball is back in action Saturday as it takes on Sam Houston State in a Conference USA clash. The Bearkats and Blue Raiders will meet on the hardwood for the first time ever at 5 p.m. at the Murphy Center.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a 60-52 loss to LA Tech on Thursday. Jestin Porter led MTSU with 24 points, while Jared Coleman-Jones picked up his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The game will air on CBS Sports Network. WGNS, Classic Hits 93.3 and 95.1 FM will carry the radio broadcast, along with GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App.
Game 17: Middle Tennessee (6-10, 0-1 CUSA) vs. Sam Houston (9-8, 2-0 CUSA)
» Saturday, January 13, 5:00 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, TN
All-Time Against Sam Houston
» This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Blue Raider Notes
» MTSU over its last 41 home games has limited opponents to 59.9 points per game in regulation, having gone 34-7 in that stretch. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, the Blue Raiders allow 62.7 regulation ppg in neutral site games and 75.4 on the road.
» Coleman-Jones tied a career high with 17 points in his double-double against LA Tech.
» Elias King leads the Blue Raiders in scoring with 11.9 points per game, earning Conference USA Player of the Week honors for December 11 after back-to-back 20-plus-point games.
» Chris Loofe has been named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week four times after earning the honor again on January 1. He is eighth in the conference with 1.0 blocked shots per game.
» Justin Bufford is 10th in program history with 61 career blocked shots.
» The Blue Raiders tied with Liberty for the top spot in the CUSA Preseason Poll. Camryn Weston and Elias King were selected to the Preseason All-CUSA team.
» MTSU added six newcomers to the roster to replace its six departing players. The average newcomer is 1.7 inches taller than the player he is replacing (6'8.0" vs. 6'6.3").
» Weston tore his ACL against Stephen F. Austin. He will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
» At 1,344 active square feet, the Murphy Center's new scoreboards are the largest in Conference USA.
Scouting the Bearkats
» Sam Houston comes to the Glass House in first place in Conference USA at 2-0.
» Lamar Wilkerson leads SHSU in scoring with 14.2 points per game and has scored over 20 points in each of his first two CUSA games.
» The Bearkats have scored 1236 points on the season while allowing 1234.
» Kian Scroggins leads Sam Houston in rebounding with 5.6 boards per game, having mostly played in a reserve role this season.
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 are coming off a 60-52 loss to LA Tech on Thursday. Jestin Porter led MTSU with 24 points, while Jared Coleman-Jones picked up his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
😤😤#BlueRaiders | @JaredJones1_ pic.twitter.com/4v1dtfFWDL
— Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball (@MT_MBB) January 12, 2024
The game will air on CBS Sports Network. WGNS, Classic Hits 93.3 and 95.1 FM will carry the radio broadcast, along with GoBlueRaiders.com and the Varsity Network App.
Game 17: Middle Tennessee (6-10, 0-1 CUSA) vs. Sam Houston (9-8, 2-0 CUSA)
» Saturday, January 13, 5:00 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, TN
All-Time Against Sam Houston
» This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Blue Raider Notes
» MTSU over its last 41 home games has limited opponents to 59.9 points per game in regulation, having gone 34-7 in that stretch. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, the Blue Raiders allow 62.7 regulation ppg in neutral site games and 75.4 on the road.
» Coleman-Jones tied a career high with 17 points in his double-double against LA Tech.
» Elias King leads the Blue Raiders in scoring with 11.9 points per game, earning Conference USA Player of the Week honors for December 11 after back-to-back 20-plus-point games.
» Chris Loofe has been named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week four times after earning the honor again on January 1. He is eighth in the conference with 1.0 blocked shots per game.
» Justin Bufford is 10th in program history with 61 career blocked shots.
» The Blue Raiders tied with Liberty for the top spot in the CUSA Preseason Poll. Camryn Weston and Elias King were selected to the Preseason All-CUSA team.
» MTSU added six newcomers to the roster to replace its six departing players. The average newcomer is 1.7 inches taller than the player he is replacing (6'8.0" vs. 6'6.3").
» Weston tore his ACL against Stephen F. Austin. He will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
» At 1,344 active square feet, the Murphy Center's new scoreboards are the largest in Conference USA.
Scouting the Bearkats
» Sam Houston comes to the Glass House in first place in Conference USA at 2-0.
» Lamar Wilkerson leads SHSU in scoring with 14.2 points per game and has scored over 20 points in each of his first two CUSA games.
» The Bearkats have scored 1236 points on the season while allowing 1234.
» Kian Scroggins leads Sam Houston in rebounding with 5.6 boards per game, having mostly played in a reserve role this season.
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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