Men's Basketball wraps up home slate with UTEP, NM State

Thursday, February 26

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

UTEP

2/25/2026 5:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team will close out its slate of regular season home games this weekend, hosting UTEP Thursday and New Mexico State Saturday. The Blue Raiders and Miners will face off at 6:30 p.m. and the Aggies will come to town at 12 p.m., with both games streaming on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network.

Blue Raider Notes

Chris Loofe and Torey Alston each tallied double-doubles of their own Saturday against Delaware. It marks the first time since December 4, 2024 that two players have notched a double-double in the same game.
Loofe brought down a career-best 13 rebounds with 11 points for his second of the season.
Alston tallied his sixth of the year with 15 points and 12 rebounds, each player grabbing five offensive boards of their own
Over the past two games, the Blue Raiders have dished out 31 assists and turned the ball over just 11 times - a 2.82 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team.
The 2.82 ratio is the best of any Conference USA team over the past two games played.
MTSU's two point guards lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, with Sean Smith at 2.50 and Jahvin Carter at 2.46
With only 11 turnovers in the two-game span, it marks the first two-game stretch of 11 or fewer combined turnovers since 2016, when the Blue Raiders had six against Vanderbilt on December 8th and five at Belmont on December 14th.
Against Delaware, Middle Tennessee had just five turnovers, the fewest for the team since December 15, 2022.
Torey Alston ranks third in the conference in total rebounds, bringing in 206 this season.

Series History
Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series 13-8 over UTEP, including an 8-2 mark in home games. Last time out, UTEP won in overtime in El Paso, Texas in a tightly-contested 83-80 result.

Miner Notes

The Miners will be vying to snap a two-game skid when they arrive to the Murphy Center 10-17 overall and 6-10 in league play.
Elijah Jones leads UTEP in points per game, averaging 14.0 each game.
Jamal West Jr. led the team last game at New Mexico State with 22 points, while Caleb Blackwell dropped in 18 points, but the team was unable to overcome the Aggies.
The Miners committed only six turnovers at NM State, tying for their second-fewest giveaways in a game this season.

Series History
New Mexico State holds the edge in the all-time series, 7-6, and the series in Murfreesboro, 4-1. In the last contest, the Blue Raiders downed the Aggies 59-55 in January.

Aggie Notes

NM State is 13-13 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA games, while currently riding a two-game winning streak entering the week.
Julius Mims leads the conference in rebounds per game, bringing in 8.9 each contest, a mark that is good for 40^th in the nation.
With a 40.7 field goal percentage defense, the Aggies are 32^nd in the country.
Mims has tallied four double-doubles in the past six games,