MURFREESBORO – There is still plenty of basketball left to be played at Murphy Center.
Just as Kermit Davis’ squad accepted a postseason bid to the CIT on Sunday, Rick Insell’s team quickly followed suit Monday, accepting a bid to the WNIT.
Middle Tennessee (21-9) will play host to Ball State (17-13) at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday. It will mark the first time the two programs have ever played one another. The winner will face either Western Michigan or Arkansas State.
Should MTSU make it to the third round, the Blue Raiders may have the opportunity to once again play Matt Insell’s Ole Miss Rebels.
The Blue Raiders fell to Southern Miss last week in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship, ultimately eliminating their NCAA Tournament chances.
Middle Tennessee will be one of three C-USA teams to make the tournament. Southern Miss and Old Dominion also received bids and both will host home games on Thursday.
It will be MTSU’s 12th-consecutive appearance in the postseason. This will mark Rick Insell’s tenth postseason tournament bid in as many years. The Blue Raiders have played in eight NCAA Tournaments under him and ten in program history.. This marks their second WNIT bid since Insell became head coach. It will be their fourth time playing in the WNIT overall. MTSU had previously made it to six-straight NCAA Tournaments.
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