Featured photo by Preston Todd
Story by Calvin White
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MURFREESBORO, Tenn- Middle Tennessee men’s basketball (13-17, 7-8 CUSA) sits alone in fourth place in Conference USA with one game remaining after a 69-61 win over Liberty (17-13, 6-9 CUSA) in which the Blue Raiders suffocated Liberty defensively and received timely shots from Jalen Jordan and Elias King.
After an 0-4 start to conference play and multiple weeks spent in last place, MTSU has won seven of its last 11 games. The Blue Raiders were picked to win CUSA in the preseason, then lost preseason All-Conference guard Camryn Weston and backup center Josh Ogundele for the season to knee injuries. For a large portion of the season, all hope looked lost for head coach Nick McDevitt’s squad.
The Blue Raiders digging themselves out of the hole they were in is almost at the level of impossibility of Christian Bale’s Batman climbing out of The Pit in the 2012 box office hit “The Dark Knight Rises.” MTSU isn’t a dominant force in CUSA by any means, but it has shown that at its best, it can compete and beat the league’s best teams.
“We started off 0-4 man. We took a toll mentally but we brought it every day,” Elias King said after the win over Liberty. “We brought it every day in practice. The second unit was pushing us and our coaches, they stayed at it and we stayed at it. And now, we’re in a position to finish tied for third or fourth place so going into the conference tournament with momentum is huge for us.”
Over the last couple of seasons, McDevitt’s teams have made a habit out of overperforming in the CUSA Tournament relative to prior expectations. In 2022, MTSU took eventual CUSA champion UAB to triple-overtime without leading scorer Josh Jefferson in the semifinals. In 2023, the Blue Raiders defeated Charlotte in the quarterfinals without Eli Lawrence, then fell a Deandre Dishman blocked layup shy of advancing past the Florida Atlantic team that won the CUSA regular season and tournament before making a run to the Final Four.
MTSU is clicking at the right time. Despite only five points from star point guard Jestin Porter, the Blue Raiders got 19 from Elias King, 17 from Jalen Jordan, 15 from Jared Coleman-Jones and 11 from Justin Bufford. Porter has carried the offensive load for most of the season, including a 41-point explosion against UTEP on Feb. 17. At this time of the year, getting contributions from multiple players can make or break a team’s season. On a night where Porter didn’t play well, he didn’t need to.
“You have to have it,” McDevitt said of having multiple contributors. “If they’re (opponents) able to load up on one or two guys, every team in the league has one or two guys that are really good defenders. If they shut the water off right there, you’re in big trouble. You’ve got to have multiple guys who can score the ball.”
During a stretch in the first half, Liberty made 11 shots in a row and took a 36-26 lead over MTSU. MTSU then held Liberty to four points in the final 9:39 of the first half to take a 33-30 halftime lead. Liberty finished the game with 61 points, 13 below its season average. It’s been the same theme with the Blue Raiders all season, if they’re not going to fill up the basket offensively, they have to lock down on the defensive end. Despite only shooting just under 40 percent as a team, MTSU made enough timely 3-pointers to separate itself from the Flames.
Jestin Porter is in the conversation for CUSA Player of the Year. 17 points is Jalen Jordan’s third-highest scoring output of the season off the bench. Jared Coleman-Jones has looked like one of the best centers in CUSA that he is. Elias King got his confidence back. Justin Bufford has started to reassert himself offensively while returning to his old lockdown defender form.
The calendar turned to March and MTSU is clicking at the right time. The Blue Raiders aren’t the most dominant team in CUSA, but after the last month, they have proven that at their best, they can make a run in the conference tournament and salvage their season.
Calvin White is the sports editor for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, and follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on X and Instagram at @mtsusidelines. Also, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
