Men's Basketball set to open season with Milligan Wednesday

Wednesday, November 5

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

10:30 a.m.

Middle Tennessee

Milligan

11/4/2025 2:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MTSU Game Notes Live Stats Watch Listen

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team is gearing up to open the 2025-26 season with the annual Education Day game. The home opener for the Blue Raiders will feature the Milligan Buffaloes on November 5 at 10:30 a.m. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can tune in to Blue Raider Network for additional coverage as well.

Series History
The Blue Raiders and the Buffaloes have met 13 times in the past, with MTSU owning an 11-2 lead in the all-time record. The last time the programs went head-to-head was in 2023, a contest that Middle Tennessee won 88-62 in Murfreesboro.

Blue Raider Notes

Kamari Lands earned a nod to the 2025 Preseason All-Conference USA Team this offseason. Despite missing over half of conference season a year ago, the league's coaches acknowledged the offensive threat that Lands poses in his selection to the team
Head coach Nick McDevitt added nine players to his roster this offseason with two freshmen, three Division I transfers and four transfers from DII/JUCO programs.
The Blue Raiders were tabbed to finish fourth in the conference, as voted on by the league's coaches in the preseason team poll.
The 2025-26 Blue Raider basketball roster boasts 10 upperclassmen, including four graduate students, two seniors and four juniors.
The 2024-25 Blue Raider squad averaged 76.7 points per game, the highest mark since the 1996-97 season. The 11-point increase year-over-year was the highest of any Conference USA Program and the 11^th-highest in Division I.
The program is set to return 26% of its scoring from last season but added five players who averaged double-digit scoring at their last stop, including Marcus Whitlock Jr., who averaged 16.0 points per game.
Five members of the 2025-26 roster call the state of Tennessee "home", including three who come from the city of or the cities surrounding Murfreesboro. The five Tennessee natives are the most of any McDevitt-era roster and the most since the 2014-15 season, which also boasted five.
Graduate student transfers Sean Smith and James Dent Jr. played together before joining MTSU at John A. Logan and were even roommates. The two won the 2023 NJCAA Division I National Championship with John A. Logan.
Under Coach McDevitt, the Blue Raiders have consistently protected the Glass House with 68 wins in the Murphy Center throughout his tenure. MTSU are scheduled to play 15 games at home this season.

Buffalo Notes

The Milligan Buffaloes are returning just five players from last season's Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion roster in Lincoln Thomae, Jazper Johnson, Bo Koebbe, Elijah Bredwood and Grant Hansley.
Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick, a junior transfer from Fayetteville Tech, is currently averaging 15.3 rebounds per contest, which is third in the NAIA among players who have played at least three games this season.
Alijah Bredwood is the team's top scorer, notching 21.7 points per game, which is the top mark among AAC scorers to this point in the season.
Head Coach Bill Robinson is entering his 17^th season at the helm in Elizabethton, owning a 246-220 record throughout his tenure. He brought home his first AAC Tournament title with the Buffaloes in 2024-25.