MURFREESBORO, Tennessee. — Middle Tennessee men’s basketball heads north of the border for a trio of matchups in Montreal’s Northern Classic this weekend.
Maybe we need a translator this week…#BlueRaider | #BleuRaider pic.twitter.com/LPW51tTjQo
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) November 23, 2022
The Blue Raiders open the event on Friday night at 18:00 with a CT matchup against Hofstra. They will return to court a day later at 3:30 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin before closing out the classic Sunday vs. Montana State at 12:30 p.m
All three matchups will originate from Place Bell in Laval, Quebec and will be streamed on BeTheBeast Event Live+.
This showcase marks the first time in program history that the Blue Raiders will play in Canada.
Game 6: Middle Tennessee (2-2, 1-0 C-USA) vs. Hofstra (4-1, 0-0 CAA)
» Saturday, November 19, 2022 – 2pm CT
» Place bell
» Laval, Quebec, Canada
» BeTheBeast Event Live +
» 94.9 The Fan/95.1 in Murfreesboro – The Varsity Network App
Game 7: Middle Tennessee vs. Stephen F. Austin (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
» Saturday, November 19, 2022 – 2pm CT
» Place bell
» Laval, Quebec, Canada
» BeTheBeast Event Live +
» The Game 102.5/106.3/97.5 – The Varsity Network App
Game 8: Middle Tennessee vs. Montana State (3-2, 0-0 Big Sky)
» Saturday, November 19, 2022 – 2pm CT
» Place bell
» Laval, Quebec, Canada
» BeTheBeast Event Live +
» Murfreesboro – WGNS 101.9 FM / 1450 AM, Smyrna – WGNS 100.5 FM – 94.9 The Fan/95.1 in Murfreesboro – The Varsity Network App
Blue Raiders Notes
» Middle Tennessee fell to 2-2 last Saturday with a 75-51 loss at Missouri State. junior guard Elijah King led by 16 points and six rebounds.
» MT has a lead in the C-USA game. They drew 1-0 in the league on November 15 in Murfreesboro with an 81-46 win over Rice. The Blue Raiders were 13-26 from a 3-point range in the win.
» Middle Tennessee extended Conference USA’s longest active home winning streak to 19 games against Rive, the fourth-longest such winning streak in program history. The Blue Raiders set their fifth unbeaten record at home last year when they went 15-0 at the Murphy Center.
The Blue Raiders are an all-time combined 0-1 against teams in the Northern Classic, with the only contest as part of last fall’s Cancun Challenge losing at Stephen F. Austin 87-74.
» Middle Tennessee on Tuesday extended Conference USA’s longest active home winning streak to 19 games, the fourth-longest such streak in program history. The Blue Raiders are two wins short of ending their third-longest winning streak at home.
» Through the games on Monday, DeAndre Dishman is second in C-USA with 2.75 offensive rebounds per game and fifth in the league with five blocked shots.
» In three games, MTSU has had four different players leading the team in scoring, three different players in rebounds, and five different assists leaders.
» Middle Tennessee was 6-2 on neutral hardwood in 2021-22 after going 1-15 for the past four seasons.
» At 45.5019 degrees north, Montreal is the third greatest north where MTSU has ever played a game. Only regular-season tournaments in Fairbanks (N68.8401) and Anchorage (N61.2176) have brought the Blue Raiders closer to the North Pole.
» Dishman is one of only six players in his seventh year in Division I men’s basketball this season. His 14 points and 10 rebounds at Winthrop on 12/11. marked his second double-double as a Blue Raider and fourth of his collegiate career.
All-Time vs. Northern Classic opponents
» MTSU meets Stephen F. Austin for the second time ever. The Raiders dropped an 87-74 decision against the Lumberjacks in the Cancun Challenge in Nacogdoches, Texas last season
» Middle Tennessee meets Hofstra and Montana State for the first time.
Explore the pride
» Hofstra earlier boasts victories over Princeton, Iona, George Washington and San Jose State. The Pride suffered their only loss against Saint Mary’s last Saturday.
» Three players average double digits for Hofstra. Aaron Estrada’s 22.6 points per game leads the team and currently sits at 12th in the country. Tyler Thomas (14.0) and Darlinstone Dubar (10.8) follow Estrada.
Exploration of the lumberjacks
» Stephen F. Austin earned victories over LeTourneau (Division III), Gardner-Webb and South Dakota State en route to a 3-1 start. A setback on Nov. 15 against Alcorn State is the Lumberjacks’ only blemish at the start of the season.
» The WAC roster consists of four players averaging over 10 points per game, with sophomore forward Sadaidriene Hall leading the way with an average of 15.5 points per game.
Scouting the Bobcats
» Montana State starts 2022-23 3-2. However, two of those early wins came against Division II Montana State-Billings and NAIA Warner Pacific. The Bobcats’ only victory in Division I came on November 13 at Long Beach State, a 70-57 decision. MSU carries losses to Grand Canyon and Oregon on its résumé.
» Junior guard RaeQuan Battle leads the Bobcats with 18.2 points per game, followed by senior forward Jubrile Belo with 10.8 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game.
looking ahead
The Blue Raiders road trip continues after the weekend, with a CT tip at 6:00 p.m. on November 30 in St. Bonaventure. MT is back against Maryville College on December 3 at Murphy Center.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men’s Basketball on social media on Facebook //MTMensBasketball, Twitter (@MT_MBB) and Instagram (@mt_mbb).