No. 5-seeded Middle Tennessee men’s basketball (17-14, 11-9 CUSA) faces off against No. 4-seeded Louisiana Tech University (18-13, 11-9 CUSA) in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament.
Keys for MTSU
MTSU closed out the regular season with a five-game winning streak, including an overtime battle against New Mexico State University, 86-85, in the Murphy Center.
Led by head coach Nick McDevitt, the Blue Raiders averaged 75.6 points per game, with senior guard Kamari Lands contributing with 13.6 per contest. Cleaning the glass proved to be a strong suit for Middle Tennessee, averaging 36.4 per game, led by redshirt sophomore Torey Alston. Alston was third among league leaders for rebounds.
MTSU and LA Tech split the regular season, as the Blue Raiders took game one at home, 88-51, with a huge offensive performance by senior guard Alec Oglesby, with 25 points. The Blue Raiders set a new program record of 22 three-pointers in the matchup. In their second contest, the Bulldogs edged out a slim win at the Thomas Assembly Center on Jan 14.
The Blue Raiders and Bulldogs competed in the 2025 CUSA tournament quarter finals, MTSU won in double overtime, 77-75.
Middle Tennessee last won the CUSA tournament in the 2016-2017 season against a current Big Ten team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 81-72.
Before the tournament, Conference USA named Alston to the All-CUSA third team and Lands as an honorable mention.
Key for LA Tech
Led by Talvin Hester, LA Tech won its last two regular-season games heading into the CUSA tournament.
The Bulldogs averaged 69.9 points per game with junior guard DJ Dudley leading the team with 14.1 per game in 30.6 minutes. LA Tech averaged more rebounds than MTSU, with 38.6 per contest. Bulldog sophomore guard AJ Bates ranked third in the conference in assists with 5.9.
On the defensive end, Bulldog junior guard Kaden Cooper ranked fifth among rebounders and third in steals with 1.6 in CUSA, while junior center Melian Martinez led the league in blocks with 1.8 per game.
Unlike the Lady Techsters, the Bulldogs have never won a national championship, despite appearing in several NCAA tournaments.
CUSA named Dudley to the all-conference third team, Martinez to the all-defensive team and Bates as an honorable mention.
The winner of the matchup will compete against either No. 6-seeded Florida International University, No. 3-seeded Western Kentucky University or No. 7-seeded Jacksonville State University.
Matchups
The first-round matchups include No. 8-seeded FIU against No. 9-seeded Missouri State, and Jacksonville State and New Mexico State University.
In the quarterfinals, top-seeded Liberty will face either the Panthers or the Bears. The winner of the Blue Raiders and the Bulldogs will face Liberty in the semifinals.
No. 2-seeded Sam Houston State University awaits Jax State or NMSU, while No. 3 WKU will take on No. 6 Kennesaw State, with the winners meeting in the semifinals.
The conference winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
MTSU and LA Tech will tip off in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CDT at the Propst Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
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