After an 81-65 loss to Liberty University, Middle Tennessee men’s basketball finds itself at a crossroads.
A team that once sat atop the Conference USA leaderboard with a 3-0 start has plunged down into the thick of the race, tied for fourth place in the league with Louisiana Tech at 5-4.
Being tied with the Bulldogs explains a lot of how the Blue Raiders’ season has gone in CUSA play. In one of the first games of the new year, Middle Tennessee set the program’s single-game record for made three pointers as a team.
Twelve days after the 88-51 win, the Blue Raiders traveled to Louisiana Tech and ultimately fell 59-58.
“Our team has to learn how to win on the road,” McDevitt said after the loss on WGNS Radio. “Credit to LA Tech, they didn’t fold. They came out hard in the second half, and we didn’t match it.”
MTSU’s inconsistency on the road spilled into its home on the floor of the Murphy Center in the loss to Liberty. The Blue Raiders struggled early on against the Flames, shooting 27.2% as a team from the floor going into the under-eight minute media timeout in the first half.
This stunted the Blue Raiders’ offensive performance, along with a 29-point night from Liberty’s Kaden Matheny.
“When you’re playing [Liberty], to think you can score 65 and win and beat them, is not going to happen,” McDevitt said.
With its first loss at home in CUSA play in the rearview, McDevitt and his crew now turn to get back on track while facing one of Middle Tennessee’s biggest rivals, Western Kentucky University.
“Oh, we talked about it,” McDevitt said of the upcoming rivalry matchup after the loss to Liberty. “… You don’t want to over celebrate wins and get too high. You don’t want to duck your head and pout for too long because now a tough loss becomes another tough loss becomes another one. Not because of what the other team was doing, but you got your tail between your legs and not getting better.”
The preparation for WKU will be a quick one for MTSU, as the 100 Miles of Hate rivals are slated to square up on Jan. 31.
MTSU’s loss to Liberty will sting until midnight but be flushed after that to focus on Western, McDevitt said.
“We’ve got a doubleheader here for the first time since I’ve been here with the men and the women versus the same team,” McDevitt said. “We’ve got WKU coming to town. The women’s game is going to be a fun one with bobblehead night.”
The Lady Raiders, coming fresh off head coach Rick Insell’s 500th win, will be doing a giveaway of Insell’s likeness. For more information on the 100 Miles of Hate, women’s basketball edition click here.
For the Blue Raiders, the matchup against the ‘Tops won’t be just about getting back on track. It will be about the tradition between the two foes.
“We’ll be in our road blues like we always are when we play them,” McDevitt said. “There’s some uniqueness to it, two very good teams that are separated by 100 miles. I know a lot of people around here have a saying they’ve got for that, and [the team] knows it.”
Looking at WKU’s season to this point, the Hilltoppers have gone 11-10 with a 4-6 start to CUSA play. Teagen Moore has been the bright spot for Western Kentucky, averaging 17.2 points per game to this point in the season.
“It’ll be a fun environment, it always is,” McDevitt said. “Home games mean something. We’ve got 10 of them in league play… We’ve got to protect home if you want to be towards the top.”
Middle Tennessee’s doubleheader against WKU will begin with the Lady Raiders and Lady Toppers tipping off at 12 p.m. CDT. The Blue Raiders and Hilltoppers will follow at 3 p.m. CDT.
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