Who’s Playing
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders @ Belmont Bruins
Current Records: Middle Tennessee 7-2, Belmont 7-2
How To Watch
What to Know
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are taking a road trip to face off against the Belmont Bruins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Curb Event Center. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Middle Tennessee is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They steamrolled past Rhodes 103-55 on Wednesday. The Blue Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 23 points or more this season.
Middle Tennessee smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Belmont ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They skirted by Illinois State 99-97 thanks to a clutch jump shot from Carter Whitt with but a second left in the third quarter. The victory was nothing new for the Bruins as they’re now sitting on three straight.
Isaiah Walker was the offensive standout of the matchup as he went 10 for 12 en route to 24 points plus two steals. What’s more, he also posted a 75% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in January. Jonathan Pierre was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds.
Middle Tennessee has been performing well recently as they’ve won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Belmont, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Middle Tennessee has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 40.2 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Belmont struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 36.3. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
Middle Tennessee came up short against Belmont in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 75-65. Can Middle Tennessee avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Belmont has won 4 out of their last 7 games against Middle Tennessee.
- Dec 09, 2023 – Belmont 75 vs. Middle Tennessee 65
- Dec 10, 2022 – Middle Tennessee 85 vs. Belmont 75
- Nov 30, 2019 – Belmont 71 vs. Middle Tennessee 59
- Nov 12, 2018 – Belmont 92 vs. Middle Tennessee 73
- Nov 16, 2017 – Belmont 69 vs. Middle Tennessee 63
- Dec 14, 2016 – Middle Tennessee 79 vs. Belmont 66
- Dec 17, 2015 – Middle Tennessee 83 vs. Belmont 62
