Men's Basketball

Close Video

photo courtesy of Rick Yeatts

NT, Blue Raiders Battling On ESPNU Monday

Courtesy: University of North Texas

Release: 12/30/2012

Share |

North Texas (5-8, 0-2 SBC) vs.Middle Tennessee (10-3, 2-0 SBC)
Dec. 31, 2012 • 7:00 p.m.
Murfreesboro, Tenn. • Murphy Center (11,520)
Radio: MGRN - 88.1 KNTU-FM, 95.3 KHYI-FM
TV: ESPNU • Webcast: Watch ESPN app
Series: MTSU leads 9-6 (MTSU 6-1 in the Murphy Center)
Last Meeting: MTSU won 68-66 on Feb. 2, 2012 in Denton

GAME NOTES

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Sun Belt’s toughest road swing – Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee – continues for the Mean Green basketball team with a New Year’s Eve nationally televised matchup with the Blue Raiders.

The game can be seen on ESPNU starting at 7 p.m., and is also available on the Watch ESPN app on your smartphone. The Mean Green Radio Network will have all the action on 88.1 KNTU and 95.3 KFYI.

MTSU is led by a four-pack of Preseason All-Sun Belt players - the most of any team in the league. First-team selection Marcos Knight leads MTSU with 12.2 points, while JT Sulton and Bruce Massey earned second-team honors. Raymond Cintron was named to the third-team.

The Blue Raiders were tabbed to win the SBC East once again, and feature one of the league’s most potent defenses. The Blue Raiders are holding their opponents to an SBC low 59.2 points per game, and teams are shooting 27.9 percent from 3-point - the best in the league.

Last year the Blue Raiders came into Denton having won 12 of their last 13 games, and escaped with a 68-66 victory over the Mean Green. Alzee Williams poured in a career-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but it wasn’t enough to hold off an MTSU squad that shot 50 percent on the day. MTSU led by as much as 15 in the second half, but NT cut that to a bucket with 2:26 on the clock. Tony Mitchell and LaRon Dendy both notched a pair of blocks each in the last 1:03, but a pair of Kerry Hammonds free throws with seven seconds left iced the game.

Despite starting 0-2 in league play for the first time since 1998-99, NT is just two games behind SBC West Division leaders UALR and Arkansas State.The Mean Green hasn’t gotten off to an 0-3 league start since the 1989-90 squad lost its first four Southland Conference games. After the MTSU outing, NT will return home to face Troy (5-9, 0-3) and ULM (2-7, 1-2).