Men's Basketball prepped for CUSA Championship Quarterfinals against LA Tech

Thursday, March 13

Huntsville, Ala.

8 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

LA Tech

3/12/2025 6:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Postseason basketball has officially arrived for the Middle Tennessee men's basketball team, as the squad prepares for the CUSA Championship Quarterfinals. The Blue Raiders are set to face off against LA Tech Thursday in Huntsville, Ala. The contest in the Propst Arena will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Series History
LA Tech leads the all-time series 17-8 over Middle Tennessee.
The Bulldogs swept the regular season series this year, most recently winning in the Glass House 85-74 February 20.
The two have only met once in postseason play, a contest that MTSU prevailed in last season by a score of 70-67.

Blue Raider Notes
• Coach McDevitt has fared well in the opening round of the CUSA Championships over the past few years, winning the quarterfinals matchup in each of the last three seasons.
• McDevitt ranks third all-time in games coached with 220 to date.
• Four Blue Raiders earned CUSA All-Conference awards this season: Essam Mostafa was named Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-CUSA, Jestin Porter was named Second Team All-CUSA, Camryn Weston was voted Honorable Mention All-CUSA and Torey Alston was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
• Mostafa is the first Blue Raiders since 2019 to win a conference superlative, when Antonio Green earned the same award.
• The Blue Raiders have scored at least 70 points in eight straight games, their longest such streak since scoring 70+ in eight consecutive games in February/March 2005.
• Middle Tennessee is 12-4 this season in games decided by single digits, one of just 21 Division I teams with a .750 win percentage or better.
• After missing most of conference season due to injury, Kamari Lands has returned and been on a tear in the past three games, scoring in double digits in the past three. This is just the second time this season he has done so.
• Middle Tennessee is averaging 76.1 points per game this season after averaging a league low 65.7 last season. The 10.4 point increase is the largest of any CUSA and the 10^th largest in DI.
• The Blue Raiders rank 43^rd in the country in rebounds per game, pulling in an average of 38.29 per game.
• With an average of 3.43 offensive rebounds per game, Essam Mostafa is ranked 15^th in the nation, first in the conference.
• Shooting an average field goal percentage of 59.9 percent, Mostafa ranks 15^th in the nation.

Bulldog Notes
• LA Tech enters the tournament having won the regular season finale over UTEP, marking win No. 20 for the Bulldogs, the 30^th 20-win season in program history.
• The Bulldogs shot 70.6 percent from three against UTEP, making 12 of their 17 shots from deep. It was the fourth-best shooting performance from downtown by any DI team this season and was the second-best three-point percentage in LA Tech history.
• Daniel Batcho was named First Team All-CUSA, becoming the first Bulldogs to earn the honor twice. He was also voted the Defensive Player of the Year and earned a nod to the All-Defensive Team.
• Batcho is the fourth Bulldog in program history to record back-to-back season of 60+ blocks.
• Sean Newman Jr. earned Third Team All-CUSA honors and he ranks in the top-five in the country in assists (238) and assists per game (7.9)
• Amaree Abram earned an Honorable Mention All-CUSA finish this season. He has made a team-high 66 threes, four shy of cracking the top 10 in team history.