67+33 2015-16 MIDDLE TENNESSEE MEN’S BASKETBALL Eric Beovich, Primary Contact • Cell: (850) 723-8134 • Office: (615) 904-8115 • E-mail: [email protected] www.GoBlueRaiders.com • Twitter: @MTAthletics / @MT_MBB • Facebook: Facebook.com/BlueRaiderAthletics AP: NR, COACHES: NR AP: 2, COACHES: 2 MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS MICHIGAN STATE BLUE RAIDERS, 24-9, 13-5 C-USA SPARTANS, 25-9, 13-5 C-USA March 18 • St. Louis, Mo. / Scottrade Center (19,150) • WGNS (1450/100.5/101.9), WPRT (97.5/102.5), WMOT (89.5) • TV: CBS 1975 • 1977 • 1982 • 1985 • 8 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES • 1987 • 1989 • 2013 • 2016 2015-16 SCHEDULE/RESULTS OVERALL: 24-9 / C-USA: 13-5 Blue Raider History HOME: 11-3 / AWAY: 8-5 / NEUTRAL: 5-1 ncaa tournament appearances NOVEMBER 12 FAULKNER UNIVERSITY (EXH.) W, 84-63 } Middle Tennessee will be making its eighth NCAA Tournament appear- 17 AT MURRAY STATE L, 65-76 ance when it takes on No. 2 seeded Michigan State in St. Louis. Perhaps 21 AT TENNESSEE STATE W, 69-66 the biggest win in the history of Blue Raider men’s basketball history 26 AT ALASKA ANCHORAGE^ W, 75-72 came in the 1982 NCAA Tournament, when Middle Tennessee knocked 27 UNC ASHEVILLE^ W, 63-61 off the No. 15 ranked Kentucky Wildcats 50-44. MT is 2-7 all-time in the 28 TOLEDO^ W, 78-70 DECEMBER big dance with their other win coming against Florida State in 1989. 2 VCU L, 56-62 5 SOUTH ALABAMA W, 68-55 Postseason veterans 12 AUBURN % Wot, 88-81 } Middle Tennessee is no stranger to the postseason, having appeared in 17 BELMONT W, 83-62 postseason tournaments in five of the last seven years. The 2016 NCAA Tour- 22 AT GEORGIA STATE L, 62-64 nament marks Middle’s second appearnce in the NCAA Tournament in the 27 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE& L, 61-65 last four years. The Blue Raiders faced St. Mary’s in the First Four as a No. 11 30 TREVECCA UNIVERSITY W, 82-67 JANUARY seed in 2013. MT also made a run in the 2012 National Invitational Tourna- 3 AT UAB* L, 67-78 ment as a No. 4 seed, defeating No. 5 seeded Marshall at home and No. 1 7 UTEP* W, 78-72 seeded Tennessee in Knoxville to reach the quarterfinals. Coach Davis also 9 UTSA* W, 79-71 took the Raiders to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2010 and 2015. 14 at CHARLOTTE* W, 73-72 16 at OLD DOMINION* W, 64-61 conference championships 21 NORTH TEXAS* W, 86-64 } Middle Tennessee has also experienced great success in the reg- 23 RICE* W, 87-73 28 at MARSHALL* L, 66-82 ular season under Coach Davis. The Blue Raiders earned the No. 30 at WKU* W, 66-64 2 Seed in Birmingham with their 13-5 record in Conference USA, FEBRUARY but shared the regular season C-USA title in 2014 and won or 4 FLORIDA ATLANTIC* W, 85-73 shared the regular season Sun Belt title in 2010, 2012 and 2013. 6 FIU* W, 67-66 11 AT LA TECH* L, 63-73 Tournament Team 13 AT SOUTHERN MISS* W, 76-54 } Head Coach Kermit Davis has lauded Middle Tennessee as a very good 21 UAB* L, 67-77 tournament team, an opinion that is supported by their recent tourna- 25 WKU* L, 72-78 27 MARSHALL* W, 83-74 ment success. The Blue Raiders are 6-0 in tournament play in 2015-16, MARCH going 3-0 at last weekend’s Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham 3 at FLORIDA ATLANTIC* W, 76-59 and 3-0 at the Great Alaska Shootout in November. Middle also went 3-1 5 at FIU* W, 61-58 in last season’s Conference USA Championship, losing in the finals to UAB 10 vs. No. 7 Charlotte# W, 79-61 who went on to defeat No. 3 seeded Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament. 11 vs. No. 3 Marshall# W, 99-90 12 vs. No. 5 Old Dominion# W, 55-53 * - Conference USA game High-major Success ^ - CGI Great Alaska Shootout (Anchorage, Alaska } The Blue Raiders have experienced a recent run of success against high major % - Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.) opponents. This season, MT defeated Auburn in a neutral site game in Nash- & - Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, N.D.) # - Conference USA Championship (Birmingham, Ala.) ville. The Blue Raiders have edged high majors six times in the last five seasons Home games in BOLD with wins over UCLA, Ole Miss (twice), Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Auburn. PROBABLE 10 20 2 STARTERS:30 0 JAQAWN RAYMOND GIDDY POTTS PERRIN BUFORD REGGIE UPSHAW DARNELL HARRIS Guard • SR. • Statesboro, Ga. GUARD • so. • athens, ala. G/F • sR. • Decatur, Ala. FORWARD • JR. • CHATTANOOGA, TENN. FORWARD • SR. • Milwaukee, Wis. 5.0 1.8 2.0 15.0 1.3 5.5 12.0 1.9 5.9 13.8 2.2 8.7 11.6 1.2 4.0 PPG aPG RPG PPG aPG RPG PPG aPG RPG PPG aPG RPG PPG aPG RPG 2015-16 middle tennessee men’s basketball Postseason Notes Blue Raiders in the NCAA Tournament and added 11 points at FIU (Mar. 5). } The 2016 Midwest Regional marks the eighth appearance in the big dance for Middle } JaQawn Raymod has also stepped it up a notch lately, particularly since taking over at Tennessee. point guard for the injured Jacob Ivory. Raymond averaged 7.8 points per game and held a 3.0 } The Raiders are making their second NCAA appearance in the last four years after meeting assist-to-turnover ration in the last five regular season games. In the first 25 games he averaged Saint Mary’s in the No. 11 seed match-up of the First Four in 2013. 3.8 points per game and tallied 43 assists to 38 turnovers, a ratio of 1.1. } Middle is 2-7 all-time in the tournament with wins over Kentucky in 1982 and Florida State } Xavier Habersham put together more complete performances the last few games, crashing in 1989. the boards better and finding ways to score inside the arc. The junior is averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in the last four regular season contests. Scouting First Round Opponent Michigan State } Aldonis Foote has been another source of increased output on the glass and in the scoring } Michigan State enters the NCAA Tournament at 29-5 and went 13-5 in the Big Ten. department. The junior is averaging 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in the last three regular season } The Spartans won the Big Ten Tournament with wins over Ohio State (81-54), Maryland games and has knocked down four threes in six attempts after not converting any triples in just (64-61) and Purdue (66-62). three attempts through the first 27 games. } Michigan State boasts the No. 1 spot in the country in four statistical categories: assists per game (20.6), defensive rebounds per game (29.56), rebound margin (+11.7) and three-point field Tournament Success goal percentage (.434). } Middle Tennessee went 4-2 in the C-USA Tournament in its first two seasons in Conference } MSU's Bryn Forbes is the second-ranked three-point shooter in the country (.484), behind USA, including a 3-1 mark last season. only Middle Tennessee's Giddy Potts (.503). } The Blue Raiders made a run to the championship game last season as the No. 6 seed before falling to No. 4 seeded UAB in the tournament finale. Series History: Middle Tennessee vs. Michigan State } Perrin Buford was named to the 2015 Conference USA All-Tournament Team after averaging } The Blue Raiders and Spartans have met only once in the history of the programs, facing off in 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds. East Lansing in December 1977 (See Box Score on Page 40). } Middle has already proved it can excel in a tournament setting this season, winning three } Michigan State got the best of Middle Tennessee in that outing, winning by a score of 72-51. games in three days in November to win the Great Alaska Shootout. } Middle Tennessee’s Greg Joyner led all scorers with 20 points in the contest and added a } The Raiders defeated tournament host Alaska-Anchorage as well as UNC Asheville and Toledo game-high eight rebounds. on their way to the Great Alaska Shootout title. } The Spartans lineup featured a player by the name of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who the Blue Raiders held to 12 points in the outing. Tournament Experience } Middle Tennessee had seven players on the roster with experience in the Conference USA Middle Tennessee vs. The Big Ten Conference Tournament prior to this season’s championship, trailing only UAB. } Middle Tennessee is 3-6 all-time against current Big Ten Conference schools, boasting wins } Middle’s seven players with C-USA Tournament experience enterd this year’s tourney with a over Michigan (Dec. 1986), Minnesota (Nov. 1985), and Nebraska (Dec. 1973). combined 30 games of experience in the tournament, more than any other team in Conference } Minnesota is Middle Tennessee’s most frequent and most recent opponent from the Big Ten USA. with Minnesota holding a 4-1 advantage over Middle. } Of the Blue Raiders’ combined 30 C-USA Tournament appearances, 18 have been starts, six } The Blue Raiders and Gophers last met in the 2012 National Invitational Tournament, where of which came from Reggie Upshaw while Perrin Buford, JaQawn Raymond and Giddy Potts have Minnesota left the Murphy Center with a 78-72 quarterfinal win.