Busting Brackets
Fansided

Conference USA Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

By Andrew Dieckhoff

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Head coach Rick Stansbury of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes during their 2018 National Invitation Tournament Championship semifinals game at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Head coach Rick Stansbury of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes during their 2018 National Invitation Tournament Championship semifinals game at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 18: Head coach Nick McDevitt of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs yells to his team in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 18: Head coach Nick McDevitt of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs yells to his team in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

#7 — MIDDLE TENNESSEE

2018-19 IN REVIEW

  • Record: 11-21 (8-10, T-9th in C-USA)
  • Rankings: #248 in NET, #246 in KenPom
  • Postseason: none

2019-20 AT A GLANCE

HEAD COACH

  • Nick McDevitt (2nd year)
  • School W-L: 11-21 (.344)
  • Career W-L: 109-87 (.556)

PROJECTED STARTERS

  • Donovan Sims, G, Jr. — 32.7 MPG (29 starts), 11.9 PPG, 3.0 APG
  • Antonio Green, G, Sr. — 35.3 MPG (32 starts), 17.9 PPG, 105 3PM
  • Jayce Johnson, G, So. — 27.9 MPG (24 starts), 6.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG
  • Reggie Scurry, F, Sr. — 26.4 MPG (32 starts), 11.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG
  • Tyson Jackson, C, Fr. — Ranked #321 nationally in 247Sports Composite

NON-CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 11/21 vs Villanova (Myrtle Beach Invitational – Myrtle Beach, SC)
  • 11/30 vs Belmont
  • 12/07 @ Murray State
  • 12/14 @ Ole Miss
  • 12/21 vs St. Bonaventure
  • 12/29 vs Rhode Island
  • Full schedule still not released (matchups from Bart Torvik’s site)

https://twitter.com/MT_MBB/status/1172624729448095745?s=20

2019-20 SEASON OUTLOOK

Last season was not what the Blue Raiders had in mind when they hired McDevitt away from once-perennial Big South contenders UNC Asheville. Meanwhile, former Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis found unmitigated success in Year One as the Ole Miss chieftain. In his sixteenth and final campaign in Murfreesboro, Davis guided the Raiders to a 25-win season and a C-USA title in 2017-18. It was the school’s third time winning Conference USA under Davis, in addition to three Sun Belt championships from before Middle Tennessee joined the league. The program’s precipitous fall to an 11-win season was surprising, though their ninth-place finish was right on par with the C-USA coaches’ preseason poll.

It’s not all on McDevitt, though. He came into a rough situation, with exactly zero of MTSU’s top five players coming back to the team after Davis’ departure was announced. The Blue Raiders have seemingly found a new trio of top scorers, led by now-seniors Green and Scurry. Hometown product Sims also took a big leap forward as a sophomore. Johnson will look to improve upon a promising freshman year in which he started 24 games.

The biggest addition — both literally and figuratively — is Class of 2019 signee Tyson Jackson. The 6’8″ Georgia product had SEC offers on the table but chose to bring his three-star talents to Middle Tennessee. Jackson will likely be called upon immediately to shore up a post-game that had difficulty in the paint on both ends of the floor. The offense particularly struggled last year, ranking 343rd in turnover rate and 325th in effective field goal percentage, per KenPom. That needs to improve immediately.

McDevitt needs to start building a positive legacy in Murfreesboro after taking over for such an iconic coach at this program. For that to happen, he will need his four returning starters to turn in much stronger seasons than they did in 2018-19. If they do, the Blue Raiders could quickly climb back into C-USA respectability.