Blue Raiders prepped to host Evansville at home

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – To kick off a two-game homestand at the Murphy Center, Middle Tennessee men's basketball is set to welcome Evansville Tuesday night. Tipoff in the Glass House is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+. Clear bags and team posters will be given away for the Home Opener.

Series History
Middle Tennessee leads the series, 2-1.
The teams last met in 2016 at the Challenge in Music City regular season tournament. The Blue Raiders won the matchup, 66-55.

Blue Raider Notes
• In their first road game of the season, the Blue Raiders dominated over Abilene Christian, defeating the Wildcats 79-56. The 23-point victory margin is the largest road win margin since January 21, 2017.
• Jestin Porter continues to show why he was selected to the Preseason All-CUSA team, averaging 22.0 points through the opening two games. He dropped 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting against ACU with two assists and tying his career high with four steals. Porter is third in the league with his 22.0 points per game.
• Essam Mostafa earned another 14-point night in Abilene and grabbed seven boards to go along with it. Currently averaging 4.0 offensive rebounds per game, he leads the conference and sits 35th in the nation. He also ranks fifth in the conference with 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Jlynn Counter saw his best game as a Blue Raider against the Wildcats, racking up 15 points on 67 percent shooting. He also grabbed three defensive boards in his 20 minutes of game action.
• The contest against Abilene Christian was the second-consecutive game where four or more Blue Raiders scored in double digits. Jestin Porter (24 pts), Jlynn Counter (15 pts), Essam Mostafa (14 pts) and Camryn Weston (14 pts) reached the double-digit mark en route to the victory.
• With the victory over the Wildcats, head coach Nick McDevitt moved into sole possession of fourth place with 85 total wins as a coach at Middle Tennessee. His 58 home wins also place him in fourth place for most home wins at MTSU.

Purple Aces Notes
• Evansville's home opener saw the Purple Aces earn a 96-49 victory over Brescia, where UE shot 56.3 percent from the field.
• Gabriel Pozzato averaged 23.0 points per game in the opening week for Evansville and was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week thanks to his performance. Pozzato's performance was the top freshman/newcomer debut in • Evansville's DI history and was the highest total by a freshman in the MVC in at least the past 20 seasons.
• Tanner Cuff ranks third in the NCAA with a 12.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 12 assists and no turnovers through two games. Cuff is also second in the MVC with an average of 9.5 rebounds per game and is tied for the league lead with 6.00 assists per game.
• Tayshawn Comer scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in the win over Brescia, falling just two points shy of his career high. He is averaging 15.0 points per game, good for tying for 12th in the MVC.
• The Purple Aces have a relatively new look entering the 2024-25 season, losing all five starters from last season and seven letterwinners, while adding six newcomers to the squad.
• Evansville fell in its season opener at North Texas by a score of 80-63. The team averaged 46.8 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from deep but gave up 13 turnovers and 32 points in the paint in the loss.

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Players Mentioned

Jlynn Counter

Essam Mostafa

Jestin Porter

Camryn Weston

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics