MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDER BASKETBALL GAME 28 2016-17 SCHEDULE THE MATCHUP Overall: 23-4 w C-USA: 13-1 (RV) MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS (23-4, 13-1) STATISTICAL LEADERS H: 11-2 w A: 9-2 w N: 3-0 Head Coach: Kermit Davis (Mississippi State ‘82) Points: Williams (17.2) Record at MT: 299-179 (15th Season) Rebounds: Williams (7.6) NOVEMBER Overall Record: 436-254 (22nd Season) Assists: Dixon (3.0) 3 North Alabama (Exh.) W, 96-65 VS 11 Milligan W, 102-64 MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD (15-11, 8-5) STATISTICAL LEADERS 15 Murray State (Campus Insiders) W, 87-81 19 Tennessee State L, 63-74 Head Coach: Dan D'Antoni (Marshall ‘70) Points: Elmore (20.2) 22 Toledo W, 80-70 Record at Marshall: 43-48 (3rd Season) Rebounds: Taylor (8.3) 25 vs. UNC Wilmington! W, 68-63 Overall Record: Same Assists: Elmore (6.2) 26 vs. Toledo! W, 73-70 (OT) 27 vs. Evansville! W, 66-55 MEDIA INFORMATION 30 at Ole Miss (SEC Network +) W, 77-62 Date: Saturday, February 18, 2017 TV: American Sports Network DECEMBER Time: 5:00 PM CT Talent: Mike Gleason (PxP), Mack McCarthy (analyst) 3 at South Alabama W, 67-55 8 Vanderbilt (CBSSN) W, 71-48 Location: Huntington, W. Va. Radio: Blue Raider Network (Game2/WGNS/WMOT) 14 at Belmont (ASN) W, 79-66 Arena: Cam Henderson Center (9,043) Talent: Chip Walters (PxP) 17 at VCU (ASN) L, 77-80 Series Record: MT leads 9-3 Twitter: @MT_MBB, #BlueRaiders 21 Georgia State L, 56-64 BLUE RAIDER BREAKDOWN JANUARY 1 UAB (Campus Insiders)* W, 60-49 w Middle Tennessee debuted in the first NCAA RPI of the season at eighth in the country before rising as high as third 5 at Rice (beIN)* W, 80-77 and enters the game against Marshall with the 34th-rated RPI in Division I basketball 7 at North Texas* W, 79-68 w The Blue Raiders received three votes worth seven points in the week six (Dec. 12) AP poll, marking the first time 12 Marshall (beIN)* W, 69-57 they have been represented in the poll since March 4, 2013, and currently have three AP points and six Coaches points 14 WKU (ASN)* W, 91-76 w MT stands atop the Conference USA standings at 13-1 after its having the best start in league play (10-0) in school history this season 19 at FIU* W, 65-52 w Senior F JaCorey Williams is currently 13th in the nation in field goals made (198) 21 at Florida Atlantic* W, 86-57 w Through 27 games JaCorey Williams (17.2 ppg), Giddy Potts (15.1 ppg) and Reggie Upshaw (14.3 ppg) all 26 Southern Miss (ESPN3)* W, 72-56 stand in the Top 15 in Conference USA in scoring 28 LA Tech (ESPN3)* W, 71-61 w Among active D-I players, Giddy Potts is 24th in the nation in career 3-point percentage (.424) while Reggie Upshaw is 15th in career rebounds (845) FEBRUARY w MT has protected the ball at an exceptional rate in 2016-17, currently standing 17th in the nation in turnovers per game (10.7), 28th in turnover margin (+3.0) and 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45) 2 at UTSA* W, 69-59 w The Blue Raiders also rank 22nd nationally in field goal percentage (.485) and 11th in scoring defense (62.2) 4 at UTEP (ASN)* L, 57-54 w With double-doubles against Vanderbilt (13 points, 10 rebounds), at Belmont (18 points, 11 rebounds) and at VCU 9 Old Dominion (beIN)* W, 64-51 (17 points, 14 rebounds), Williams became the first Blue Raider since Aylton Tesch in January 1996 to record three 11 Charlotte (Campus Insiders)* W, 70-55 consecutive double-double outings and did so again against LA Tech (19 points, 11 rebounds), at UTSA (17 points, 11 16 at WKU (CBSSN)* W, 78-52 rebounds) and at UTEP (24 points, 10 rebounds) 18 at Marshall (ASN)* 5 PM w Middle Tennessee swept the Challenge in Music City where senior F JaCorey Williams was named Tournament 26 at UAB (CBSSN)* NOON MVP after averaging 24.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while junior G Giddy Potts joined him on the all-tour- nament team with his 17.7 points, 5.7 boards and 4.0 assists per outing MARCH PROJECTED BLUE RAIDER STARTING FIVE 2 FIU (ESPN3)* 6:30 PM 4 Florida Atlantic (ESPN3)* 5 PM 8-11 at Conference USA Tournament^ Tyrik Dixon Ed Simpson Giddy Potts 5.9 PPG 3.6 PPG 15.1 PPG All times Central and subject to change 2.6 RPG 2.0 RPG 5.4 RPG ! - Challenge in Music City (Nashville, Tenn.) 3.0 APG 2.4 APG 1.9 APG * - Conference USA game ^ - Legacy Arena (Birmingham, Ala.) 45.7 FG% 3.6 A-to-TO 1.4 SPG 44.0 3FG% 36.7 FG% 48.2 FG% ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS #0 | FR | G | 6-1 | 183 #11 | JR | G | 6-2 | 195 #20 | JR | G | 6-2 | 217 Eric Beovich, Primary Contact JaCorey Williams Reggie Upshaw 615.904.8115 (O) w 850.723.8134 (C) 17.2 PPG 14.3PPG [email protected] w @EricB424 7.6 RPG 6.7 RPG 1.8 APG 2.6 APG Zach Rhodes, Secondary Contact 0.9 SPG 1.2 SPG 615.904.2378 (O) w 919.247.7585 (C) 52.9 FG% 52.3 FG% [email protected] #22 | SR | F | 6-8 | 220 #30 | SR | F | 6-8 | 228 /MTSUMBB @MT_MBB @MT_MBB @MT_ATHLETICS QUICK FACTS TENNESSEE’S FINEST > TOP-RANKED DEFENSE > w Of the 12 NCAA Division I teams in the state of Ten- w Middle had one of the top two scoring defenses in Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. nessee, Middle Tennessee has had more success than any Conference USA in each of its first three seasons in the Founded: 1911 other since 2011-12 with 146 total wins in the last five- league, holding opponents to 68.9 points per game in Enrollment: 22,050 plus seasons 2015-16, 62.4 in 2014-15 and 62.6 in 2013-14 President: Dr. Sidney McPhee Director of Athletics: Chris Massaro 1. Middle Tennessee - 146 w With that strong of a defense, the Blue Raiders have Nickname: Blue Raiders 2. Belmont - 139 been nearly unstoppable when scoring 70 points, boast- Colors: Royal Blue & White 3. Memphis - 137 ing a 54-5 record (.915) since 2013-14 when topping the Affiliation: Division I 4. Chattanooga - 111 70-point mark Conference: C-USA 5. Vanderbilt - 109 w Defense has long been a staple for Head Coach Ker- Arena: Murphy Center 6. Tennessee - 108 mit Davis as he is 181-32 (.850) at the helm of the Blue Capacity: 11,520 7. ETSU - 106 Raider basketball program when his teams top 70 points Head Coach: Kermit Davis 8. Tennessee Tech - 89 Alma Mater: Mississippi State, 1982 9. Tennessee State - 84 GOING STREAKING > Record at MT (years): 299-179/.626 (15th) 10. Lipscomb - 83 w Middle Tennessee has made a 3-pointer in 695 consec- Career Record - Div. I (years): 370-229/.618 (19th) 11. UT Martin - 78 utive games, a streak that spans over 19 seasons, with Career Record - All levels (years): 436-254/.632 (22nd) the last time it failed to convert a trey coming on Jan. 14, Assistant Coach: Win Case (Univ. of Science & Arts/ 12. Austin Peay - 65 *through 2/16/17 1995 against Murray State Oklahoma, 1986) MURPHY MADNESS > Assistant Coach: Greg Grensing (Southwest Texas > State, 1979) w Middle Tennessee has been one of the best home THE BIG THREE Assistant Coach: Ronnie Hamilton (Duke, 2002) teams in the country in recent years, holding a 78-13 re- w Middle Tennessee's big three - senior F JaCorey Wil- Director of Operations: Jarrod Lazarus (FSU, 2009) cord in the Murphy Center since 2011-12, which includes liams (17.2 ppg), junior G Giddy Potts (15.1 ppg) and Athletic Trainer: Reese Shivers (Southern Miss, 2015) a perfect 16-0 record in 2012-13 senior F Reggie Upshaw (14.3 ppg) - are one of the Strength Coach: Zach Willis (Middle Tennessee, 2012) 2011-12: 15-2 elite scoring trios in the nation, combining for nearly 50 2015-16 Overall Record: 25-10 2012-13: 16-0 points per outing C-USA Record/Finish: 13-5/second 2013-14: 14-2 w If the high-scoring trio can all finish the season at or C-USA Tournament: No. 2 seed 2014-15: 12-4 above 15 points per game, they would be the first to do Quarterfinal: (7) Charlotte 61, (2) MT 79 2015-16: 10-3 so at MT under Head Coach Kermit Davis Semifinal: (3) Marshall 90, (2) MT 99 2016-17: 11-2 w The most recent occurrence at MT is the trio of Randy Championship: (5) Old Dominion 53, (2) MT 55 Henry (19.5), Chris Rainey (18.7) and Kerry Hammonds Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3 EEPING ACE > (17.2) in 1988-89, who led the Blue Raiders to a 97-83 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/5 K P Newcomers: 5 w MT has 90 total wins since joining Conference USA NCAA Tournament win against Florida State Season of basketball: 94th in 2013-14, trailing only LA Tech among current C-USA w MT's big three have each logged 10 or more points First season: 1913-14 members in the same game 15 times this season, tied with Mar- All-time record: 1,199-1,035 1.