Photo by Kevin Martin / Contributing Photographer
What a time to be a Blue Raider fan. With their 83-72 win over Marshall University on Saturday night, Middle Tennessee won their second consecutive Conference-USA title and punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
President Sydney McPhee is proud of how far this university has come: From being a little known team from the Sun-Belt Conference, to becoming a force to be reckoned with and a potential dark horse in the tournament.
Middle Tennessee isn’t a stranger to the big stage that is the NCAA Tournament. Just ask Michigan State. The Blue Raiders entered the tournament last year slotted as a number 15 seed. Most people felt as though Middle Tennessee’s resume called for a higher seed. Nonetheless, the Blue Raiders broke millions of brackets as they upset the Spartans 90-81. This marked the biggest win in program history and gave Middle Tennessee the respect nationally that they already had locally.
This year, the Blue Raiders are not sneaking up on anyone. They won 30 games this year and went 17-1 in Conference-USA. Early predictions have them as an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will find out their actual seeding tomorrow on Selection Sunday. There isn’t a team in the country that wants to face this team in the first round. The entire region will be on their toes to see where the Blue Raiders will continue this incredible run.
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To contact Sports Editor Tyler Lamb (@Tlamb35), email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
