Men's Basketball ventures west to play UTEP, New Mexico State

Thursday, January 8

El Paso, TX

8 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

UTEP

1/7/2026 6:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MTSU Game Notes

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team is set to face its first Conference USA road challenges this weekend, traveling west to take on UTEP and New Mexico State. The Blue Raiders take on the Miners Thursday in El Paso, Texas at 8 p.m. on CBSSN before going head-to-head with the Aggies Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M. at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

Blue Raider Notes

Friday's contest against LA Tech saw the Blue Raiders return to their shooting ways, knocking down 22 triples en route to the 88-51 victory in the Glass House. The mark topped the previous record for single game made threes set earlier this season against Milligan (17).
The 22 threes is third all-time in Conference USA history and is tied for the most in the nation against a Division I opponent this season.
Alec Oglesby knocked down eight shots from deep against the Bulldogs, scoring a career-best 25 points. His total tied for the second most in single game MTSU history, earning him CUSA Player of the Week honors.
Oglesby's award marked the first weekly honor in his collegiate career and is the third weekly superlative for the Blue Raiders this season, with Torey Alston previously being voted to the award twice in the 2025-26 campaign.
MTSU moved to 3-0 in CUSA play with the 68-67 win over Sam Houston for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Holding the Bearkats to just 67 points, it marks the lowest total that the team has scored all season, over 21 points lower than their season average.
The Blue Raiders shot 90 percent from the free throw line, their highest total of the season, and tallied 11 steals, just one short of their season high.
MTSU's three-point percentage defense continues to thrive, ranking 11^th in the nation at just 27.9 percent.
Alec Oglesby ranks eighth in Division I, shooting 47.9% from behind the arc, a mark that is good for second in the conference.
The Blue Raiders rank 41st in the country, averaging 4.8 blocks per game.

Series History
Middle Tennessee owns a 13-7 record in the all-time series over UTEP, though it shifts to 2-5 in contests in the Don Haskins Center. The Blue Raiders are currently on a three-game winning streak over the Miners, winning the last contest in overtime in El Paso, 76-75.

Miner Notes

UTEP sits 4-10 overall on the season, dropping all three league games played thus far.
Elijah Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game, and has scored 10+ points in all but one game this year.
Jones is second in CUSA with a 51.7 field goal percentage.
Jamal West Jr. averages a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game with two double-doubles on the season. His last came against Norfolk State, bringing in 13 rebounds while tallying 16 points.

Series History
New Mexico State leads the all-time series over Middle Tennessee 7-5. In Las Cruces, Middle Tennessee holds the advantage at 3-2, winning the last matchup, 71-66.

Aggie Notes

NMSU is 8-5 on the season and 1-2 in league play. The team will play WKU Thursday before facing off against the Blue Raiders Saturday.
Jemel Jones leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field.
The Aggies rank 29^th in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 39 percent shooting, and 49^th in three point percentage defense at 30%.
New Mexico State lost more than 94 percent of its scoring and 87 percent of its rebounding from last season, though its transfers have picked up where last season's team left off.