Blue Raiders start three-game home stand by hosting UTEP

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee (19-7, 10-3 C-USA) returns home in first place in the Conference USA East Division to face UTEP on Monday at 6 p.m. CT. The Blue Raiders are coming off a sweep of their weekend road trip to FIU and Florida Atlantic
 
Both games will be broadcast on CUSA.tv. Fans can tune into the radio broadcast WGNS 1450AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM; The Game 2 94.9 FM/95.1 FM with Chip Walters on the call. Tickets are available here.
 
Josh Jefferson’s 26 points led the way Saturday as MT outlasted the Owls 87-79. MT shot 60 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from 3-point range, both season-high marks, to improve to 4-3 in conference road games.

PROMOTIONS 

Military Appreciation

In addition to all RCS and MCS students getting in FREE, it’s also Military Appreciation night! Bring your military ID to the box office and receive free admission to root on your Blue Raiders!

Black Out

The first 250 students in attendance will get a free t-shirt and have the chance to win MT Nike gear and a set of Air Pods! 

 

Game 27: Middle Tennessee (19-7, 10-3 C-USA) vs. UTEP (16-10, 9-5)

» Monday, Feb. 21, 2022 – 6 p.m. CT

» Murphy Center

» Murfreesboro, TN

 

All-Time vs. UTEP

» MT leads the all-time series 7-5, dating back to 2014. 

» The Blue Raiders have not beaten the Miners since March 9. 2019.

Blue Raiders Notes

»  Fifth-year Blue Raider Donovan Sims on Feb. 10 became the 34th member of MT’s 1,000-point club. The home-grown guard is fourth all-time with 99 career games started and129 games played, sixth with 140 steals, seventh with 322 assists and 3,082 minutes, and eighth with 157 3-pointers made. 

»  The Blue Raiders enter Monday having made one of the largest year-over-year turnarounds in the country, having improved upon last season’s win total by 14. Only Towson (17),  Wake Forest (15) , and Iowa State (16) have made bigger leaps.

» Middle Tennessee returns to the Murphy Center, where it holds Conference USA’s longest active home winning streak at 14 games.

» MT has guaranteed itself its first winning overall record since 2017-18 and enters Monday’s game with a two-game lead on WKU (9-3 C-USA) at the top of the East Division.

» Teafale Lenard Jr.’s 34 dunks on the season are the second-most by a Blue Raider since 2016-17, trailing only Reggie Scurry‘s 49 in 2018-19. After blocking seven shots in his last three games, Lenard is sixth in Conference USA and 87th nationally with 31 rejections on the season. 

Scouting the Miners

» The Miners are coming off their first road sweep in six tries of LA Tech and Southern Miss, including an 84-70 victory against the Golden Eagles on Feb. 19

» Souley Boum tops C-USA in free throws made (131-16th NCAA). He is 24-27 the past three tilts and has made at least five free throws in 15 different games.

» Tydus Verhoeven (1.04-12th) and Jamari Sibley (1.0-13th) are both in the top 15 of the league for blocked shots per contest.

» The Miners have won eight of 10 improve to 9-5 in C-USA after a 1-3 league start. It’s the most league victories since 2016-17 (12-6).