Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, March 15
Huntsville, Ala.
2 PM
Middle Tennessee
14-19,7-9CUSA
54
vs
85
WKU
21-11,8-8CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
27
27
54
Western Ky.
46
39
85
Blue Raiders fall in CUSA Tournament semifinals
3/15/2024 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MTSU finishes the 2023-24 season 14-19 on the year.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball failed to grab momentum in the opening minutes and fell behind early on Friday afternoon, falling to rival Western Kentucky 85-54 in the Conference USA Tournament semifinals at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center.
The Blue Raiders (14-19) fell behind early, trailing 46-27 at halftime. MTSU turned the ball over 12 times on offense in the first half, resulting in 13 points for the Hilltoppers (21-11), who started the game on fire from three, finishing the half 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc. The second half saw a better effort defensively while outside shooting went cold for the Blue Raiders. MTSU shot just 2-for-13 beyond the arc in the second half.
Jestin Porter led all scorers for MTSU with 14 points. Chris Loofe tied his career-high in blocks with three. He finished the afternoon with seven points, including a 2-for-2 effort beyond the arc. Jared Coleman-Jones led MTSU on the boards with seven rebounds.
By the Numbers
22: Points off turnovers for WKU. MTSU turned the ball over 18 times on Friday. MTSU only scored ZZ points off WKU turnovers.
+5: Chris Loofe's plus/minus on Friday. The Blue Raiders were five points better than WKU in Loofe's 15:09 on the court.
Blue Raider Notes
Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"I was telling the team I was really proud of what they've done as a collective of the last 10 or 12 weeks. We've been a much different team over the last couple of months than what we were in December and really early January. We found a way to really stick together, to believe in each other and believe in themselves and become a good basketball team.
"And today we didn't show it. We picked a bad day to have a bad day. We played a really talented Western team that played well. And we didn't play well. We had 18 turnovers and got out rebounded. They started off shooing the ball well. We looked flustered. Any time you do that against good players and good teams, they're going to make you pay. We looked very different today than what we did on Wednesday. Wednesday, we looked the part of a team that could play tomorrow. Today, we just weren't very good."
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 (14-19) fell behind early, trailing 46-27 at halftime. MTSU turned the ball over 12 times on offense in the first half, resulting in 13 points for the Hilltoppers (21-11), who started the game on fire from three, finishing the half 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc. The second half saw a better effort defensively while outside shooting went cold for the Blue Raiders. MTSU shot just 2-for-13 beyond the arc in the second half.
Jestin Porter led all scorers for MTSU with 14 points. Chris Loofe tied his career-high in blocks with three. He finished the afternoon with seven points, including a 2-for-2 effort beyond the arc. Jared Coleman-Jones led MTSU on the boards with seven rebounds.
By the Numbers
22: Points off turnovers for WKU. MTSU turned the ball over 18 times on Friday. MTSU only scored ZZ points off WKU turnovers.
+5: Chris Loofe's plus/minus on Friday. The Blue Raiders were five points better than WKU in Loofe's 15:09 on the court.
Blue Raider Notes
- The Blue Raiders' three charges drawn were a season high.
- Loofe's seven points were his most since Jan. 13.
- Loofe tied his career high with three blocks.
Thoughts from Head Coach Nick McDevitt
"I was telling the team I was really proud of what they've done as a collective of the last 10 or 12 weeks. We've been a much different team over the last couple of months than what we were in December and really early January. We found a way to really stick together, to believe in each other and believe in themselves and become a good basketball team.
"And today we didn't show it. We picked a bad day to have a bad day. We played a really talented Western team that played well. And we didn't play well. We had 18 turnovers and got out rebounded. They started off shooing the ball well. We looked flustered. Any time you do that against good players and good teams, they're going to make you pay. We looked very different today than what we did on Wednesday. Wednesday, we looked the part of a team that could play tomorrow. Today, we just weren't very good."
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
MTSU
WestKy
FG%
.310
.484
3FG%
.259
.500
FT%
.611
.923
RB
35
44
TO
18
15
STL
3
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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F
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