5. Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee are coming off of an impressive 2016-2017 campaign where they went 31-5 and upset Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament before narrowly losing to Butler in the second round. This was a year after the Blue Raiders defeated Michigan State in the first round at a No. 15 seed, so Kermit Davis’ team knows what it takes to reach the NCAA tournament and win.
Although Middle Tennessee may not have some of the big name guys this year that they had last year such as JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw, they have still gotten off to a solid 6-1 start. The Blue Raiders are once again the favorites to win the Conference USA this season and look to make some more noise in the tournament this year.
The lone loss the Blue Raiders suffered came at the hands of the Belmont Bruins. Since then, MTSU has picked up a few quality wins, including on the road against Florida Gulf Coast and Vanderbilt. They currently hold the #15 rank in the latest RPI rankings.
This year, the Blue Raiders are led by Nick King, who is currently averaging 24.1 points per game on 56% shooting while adding 6.7 rebounds per game as well. Veterans Giddy Potts (11.1 ppg) and Brandon Walters (12.2 ppg) have been steady as well. The exceptional play by King is a big reason why the Blue Raiders have been so successful thus far. Expect them to make some noise this year.
Upcoming Schedule:
- Ole Miss (4-3) at Middle Tennessee on Dec. 9
- Middle Tennessee vs. Auburn (7-1) in Birmingham, AL on Dec. 16