Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders hit the road to face Sam Houston, LA Tech
1/22/2025 6:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team is set to hit the road this weekend, traveling out west to face Sam Houston Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to Louisiana to take on LA Tech in Ruston Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The matchup against the Bearkats in Huntsville, Texas, will be streamed on ESPN+, while the contest against the Bulldogs will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Series History
The two teams have only met twice before, with the Bearkats winning both contests.
Most recently, the programs squared off in Huntsville where the Kats won 81-64 in March 2024.
Blue Raider Notes
• Jestin Porter sits at 933 career points, all in a Blue Raider jersey. He will look to become the 35th Blue Raider to tally 1,000 points and just the 12th to do it in three years or less.
• Head Coach Nick McDevitt ranks fourth in conference wins with 50, surpassing Coach Randy Wiel.
• The Blue Raiders rank 2nd in the country in three-point percentage defense, only allowing opponents to score on 27.2 percent of their three-point shots, good for the conference lead.
• Bringing in an average of 39.61 rebounds per contest, Middle Tennessee ranks 34th in the country
• With an average of 3.61 offensive rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is ranked 10th in the nation in offensive boards per game, first in the conference.
• The Blue Raiders have outscored opponents 1406-1266 in the opening 18 games of the 2024-25 campaign.
• With an 13-5 record thus far, the Blue Raiders are off to their best start in the Nick McDevitt era, one game better than the 2021-22 season.
• In the latest NCAA NET rankings, Middle Tennessee rose a couple of spots, currently sitting at 96, the highest ranking for the team this season.
• With 9.3 rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is first in the conference in boards per contest.
• Mostafa sits second in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 59.9 percent from the field.
• Middle Tennessee has scored at least 40 of its points in the paint in nine of the 18 games played thus far, earning 50 in three contests.
• Jestin Porter ranks seventh in the league in total points, with 280 through 18 games.
Bearkat Notes
• Sam Houston dropped another close game on the road in a 70-62 loss to Jax State on the road Saturday. The Bearkats fell to 8-11 on the season and 1-5 in CUSA play with a road heavy schedule to begin league play. Josiah Hammons scored a team-high 20 points, while Cameron Huefner added 13 and Lamar Wilkerson chipped in 12.
• Senior Lamar Wilkerson has 1,043 career points which has him ranked 26th on the Bearkats' all-time scoring list
• Sam Houston also likes to shoot from behind the arc in the halfcourt, currently ranking 12th in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 39.1 percent per game which also ranks No. 1 in CUSA.
• Wilkerson currently averages 19.3 points per game through 18 contests.
• The Bearkats are 5-1 at Johnson Coliseum this season.
• The Bearkats are the fourth-winningest program among the 23 Division I teams in Texas since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
Series History
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series, 15-8.
The Blue Raiders upset the Bulldogs in the last meeting between the two: the opening round of the CUSA Championship in 2024. MTSU downed the second-seeded Bulldogs 70-67.
Bulldog Notes
• The Bulldogs, who own a 7-1 home record, will have five of their next seven games played in Ruston.
• LA Tech was unable to get a road win this past week, narrowly falling to Kennesaw State by a score of 78-76.
• The Bulldogs own a 128-72 record (64.0) in league con- tests, which is the fourth-best winning percentage in conference history behind only Cincinnati, Memphis, and Old Dominion.
• Daniel Batcho is currently the only player in college basketball to be averaging at least 18 points, six rebounds, and two blocks per game.
• Sean Newman Jr. is nearly averaging a double-double at 9.9 points and 9.3 assists per game, which ranks second in the country along with his total of 177 assists behind only Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga.
• LA Tech was picked to finish first in the Conference USA pre- season poll, as voted on by the league head coaches.
Series History
The two teams have only met twice before, with the Bearkats winning both contests.
Most recently, the programs squared off in Huntsville where the Kats won 81-64 in March 2024.
Blue Raider Notes
• Jestin Porter sits at 933 career points, all in a Blue Raider jersey. He will look to become the 35th Blue Raider to tally 1,000 points and just the 12th to do it in three years or less.
• Head Coach Nick McDevitt ranks fourth in conference wins with 50, surpassing Coach Randy Wiel.
• The Blue Raiders rank 2nd in the country in three-point percentage defense, only allowing opponents to score on 27.2 percent of their three-point shots, good for the conference lead.
• Bringing in an average of 39.61 rebounds per contest, Middle Tennessee ranks 34th in the country
• With an average of 3.61 offensive rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is ranked 10th in the nation in offensive boards per game, first in the conference.
• The Blue Raiders have outscored opponents 1406-1266 in the opening 18 games of the 2024-25 campaign.
• With an 13-5 record thus far, the Blue Raiders are off to their best start in the Nick McDevitt era, one game better than the 2021-22 season.
• In the latest NCAA NET rankings, Middle Tennessee rose a couple of spots, currently sitting at 96, the highest ranking for the team this season.
• With 9.3 rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is first in the conference in boards per contest.
• Mostafa sits second in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 59.9 percent from the field.
• Middle Tennessee has scored at least 40 of its points in the paint in nine of the 18 games played thus far, earning 50 in three contests.
• Jestin Porter ranks seventh in the league in total points, with 280 through 18 games.
Bearkat Notes
• Sam Houston dropped another close game on the road in a 70-62 loss to Jax State on the road Saturday. The Bearkats fell to 8-11 on the season and 1-5 in CUSA play with a road heavy schedule to begin league play. Josiah Hammons scored a team-high 20 points, while Cameron Huefner added 13 and Lamar Wilkerson chipped in 12.
• Senior Lamar Wilkerson has 1,043 career points which has him ranked 26th on the Bearkats' all-time scoring list
• Sam Houston also likes to shoot from behind the arc in the halfcourt, currently ranking 12th in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 39.1 percent per game which also ranks No. 1 in CUSA.
• Wilkerson currently averages 19.3 points per game through 18 contests.
• The Bearkats are 5-1 at Johnson Coliseum this season.
• The Bearkats are the fourth-winningest program among the 23 Division I teams in Texas since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
Series History
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series, 15-8.
The Blue Raiders upset the Bulldogs in the last meeting between the two: the opening round of the CUSA Championship in 2024. MTSU downed the second-seeded Bulldogs 70-67.
Bulldog Notes
• The Bulldogs, who own a 7-1 home record, will have five of their next seven games played in Ruston.
• LA Tech was unable to get a road win this past week, narrowly falling to Kennesaw State by a score of 78-76.
• The Bulldogs own a 128-72 record (64.0) in league con- tests, which is the fourth-best winning percentage in conference history behind only Cincinnati, Memphis, and Old Dominion.
• Daniel Batcho is currently the only player in college basketball to be averaging at least 18 points, six rebounds, and two blocks per game.
• Sean Newman Jr. is nearly averaging a double-double at 9.9 points and 9.3 assists per game, which ranks second in the country along with his total of 177 assists behind only Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga.
• LA Tech was picked to finish first in the Conference USA pre- season poll, as voted on by the league head coaches.
Players Mentioned
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