Men's Basketball to wrap up regular season at FIU, Missouri State

Thursday, March 5

Miami, FL

6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

FIU

3/4/2026 6:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Logan Hasselbach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team will set out to close the regular season on the road this weekend, traveling to Miami to take on FIU Thursday before the season finale against Missouri State Saturday. Tip off against the Panthers is set for 6 p.m., while the matchup in Springfield, Mo. Will begin at 2 p.m.

Blue Raider Notes

For the first time since opening league play, the Blue Raiders have notched three consecutive conference wins, downing Delaware, UTEP and New Mexico State in the Murphy Center.
In the win over UTEP, MTSU led by as many as 24 in the second half to pull out the win in the penultimate game at home.
Torey Alston tallied his third double-double in as many games with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Aggies, the first time since Nick King in 2018 that a Blue Raider has notched a double-double in three-straight contests.
Kamari Lands scored 22 points against UTEP, the senior's eighth 20+ point performance of the season, which leads the team.
Jahvin Carter had a career day against New Mexico State, scoring 27 points, the most of any Blue Raider this season. He dished out seven assists to surpass the 100 mark on Saturday as well.
MTSU's two point guards are the first conference duo to both record 100+ assists this season, with Jahvin Carter dishing out 105 and Sean Smith 102 so far.
Similar to the initial contest in Las Cruces, the Blue Raiders were down double-figures to the Aggies but found a way to fight back with clutch plays and stops to secure the win in overtime.
Chris Loofe and Torey Alston tallied double-doubles each, the second time this season there have been multiple double-doubles in the same outing.

Series History
The Blue Raiders lead the all-time series over the Panthers 38-13 and 18-6 on the road in Miami. The Panthers took the last contest in Murfreesboro, 88-84, in a tightly contested overtime game.

Panther Notes

FIU is 14-15 on the season and 7-11 in league play after splitting the last road trip of the campaign.
Freshman Eric Dibami tallied his seventh double-double of the season at LA Tech with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He ranks third among FIU freshmen in a single season.
The Panthers knocked down a season-best 13 threes and went 56.5 percentage from three was their highest against a Division I opponent since 1/16/20 against UAB.
FIU is forcing a league-high 15.31 turnovers per game, a mark that also ranks eighth in the nation.

Series History
Middle Tennessee is 3-2 all-time against Missouri State and are riding a two-game win streak in the overall series. The Blue Raiders most recently downed the Bears in double overtime in the Murphy Center in January, 90-87.

Bear Notes

MSU owns a 13-16 record this season, sitting 7-11 in league play. The team will host WKU Thursday before welcoming the Blue Raiders Saturday.
Keith Palek III leads the program with 18.1 points, sitting third in Conference USA.
The Bears have boasted two 20-point scorers in the same game seven times this season, including five times in conference play.