Blue Raiders welcome NM State, UTEP to the Glass House

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After splitting a two-game road stand last week, the Middle Tennessee men's basketball team is set to return to the Glass House this weekend to face off against New Mexico State and UTEP. The contest against the Aggies will take place Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and tip off versus the Miners is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network.

Series History
New Mexico State leads the all-time series between the two 6-4.
Middle Tennessee won the last matchup 76-69 in Murfreesboro in February of last year.

Blue Raider Notes
• Jestin Porter sits at 976 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.
• Justin Bufford currently sits at sixth in program history with 85 career blocks.
• The Blue Raiders rank 7th in the country in three-point percentage defense, only allowing opponents to score on 28.2 percent of their three-point shots, good for the conference lead.
• Bringing in an average of 38.40 rebounds per contest, Middle Tennessee ranks 59th in the country
• With an average of 3.35 offensive rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is ranked 30th in the nation in offensive boards per game, first in the conference.
• Shooting an average field goal percentage of 59.2 percent, Mostafa ranks 20th in the nation.
• The Blue Raiders sit atop the Conference USA leaderboard, with a 5-2 record through league play, tied with UTEP and Jax State,
• Under head coach Nick McDevitt, the Blue Raiders have consistently protected the Glass House, going 46-9 since 2021-22.
• MT is 8-1 in the Glass House this season and currently owns a six-game home win streak.
• Nick McDevitt sits in fourth with 97 total wins, 209 games coached and 64 home wins.
• With an 14-6 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.
• The Blue Raiders have outscored opponents 1552-1416 in the opening 20 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

Aggie Notes
• NM State jumped out to a hot start in conference play, but has since lost three in a row, including two at home, owning an 11-9, 4-3 CUSA record.
• The team's last game on the road was a 68-60 loss in Lynchburg, Va. to Liberty two weeks ago.
• The Aggies rank 17th and 18th in the nation in three-point percentage defense (28.9%) and field goal percentage (39.2%), respectively.
• Peter Fillipovity sits second in the league with 8.4 rebounds per game, while Christian Cook leads the Aggies with 14.6 points per contest.

Series History
The Blue Raiders hold control of the all-time series, 11-7, over UTEP.
Middle Tennessee emerged victorious in the last contest, a 96-90 double overtime thriller in the Glass House that saw Jestin Porter drop 41 points and go 8-8 from behind the arc to set new program and conference records.

Miner Notes
• UTEP is set to play WKU before traveling to Murfreesboro and enters the weekend with a 15-5, 5-2 CUSA record.
• The Miners own a 3-2 away record, most recently defeating FIU in Miami 81-73.
• UTEP ranks first in the country, forcing an average of 17.95 turnovers per game.
• Shooting an average 38.2 percent from deep, the Miners rank 23rd in the nation.
• Forward Otis Frazier III leads the conference with 2.42 steals per game, good for 14th in the country. The senior also leads the team with 14.6 points per game.

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Players Mentioned

Justin Bufford

Essam Mostafa

Jestin Porter

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics