2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team explained

Year:2018–19
Team:Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Sport:Basketball
Conference:Conference USA
Short Conf:C-USA
Record:11–21
Conf Record:8–10
Hc Year:1st
Asst Coach1:Sean Dixon
Asst Coach2:Wes Long
Asst Coach3:Andre Morgan

The 2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 1st-year head coach Nick McDevitt, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2017–18 season 25–8 overall, 16–2 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. In the C-USA tournament, they were defeated in the quarterfinals by Southern Miss in overtime. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, the Blue Raiders received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Vermont in the first round before losing to Louisville in the second round.

The season marked the first time in the program's history that the Blue Raiders were ranked in the AP Top 25 during the season, coming in at No. 24 on the week of February 19.[1]

Head coach Kermit Davis left the school on March 19, 2018 to accept the head coaching job at Ole Miss.[2] [3] He finished at Middle Tennessee with a 16-year record of 332–188. On March 24, the Blue Raiders named UNC Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt as the team's new head coach.[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Tyrik Dixon 0 G 6'1" 184 Sophomore Transferred to Missouri State
Brandon Walters 1 F 6'10" 250 RS Senior Graduated
Antwain Johnson 2 G 6'2" 197 Junior Dismissed from the team; transferred to Buffalo
5 F 6'7" 225 Senior Graduated
Will Slatten 10 G 6'4" 166 RS Freshman Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Edward Simpson Jr. 11 G 6'2" 195 Senior Graduated
Therren Shelton-Szmidt 12 G 6'5" 190 Freshman Left the team due to his religion
Giddy Potts 20 G 6'2" 217 Senior Graduated
David Simmons 21 G 6'3" 195 Junior Graduate transferred to Southern Indiana
Davion Thomas 35 F 6'9" 215 RS Freshman Dismissed from the team

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
DeAndre Dishman 2 F 6'6" 215 Junior Transferred from Eastern Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dishman will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of eligibility left.
Reggie Scurry 22 F 6'5" 213 Senior Transferred from Missouri State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Scurry will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have one year of eligibility left.
C. J. Jones 23 G 6'5" 180 Junior Transferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Jones will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of eligibility left.

2019 recruiting class

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| Conference USA regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| Conference USA tournamentSource[5]

Notes and References

  1. News: AP Poll: Middle Tennessee earns first-ever Top 25 ranking. midmajormadness.com. Russell. Steinberg. February 19, 2018. March 20, 2018.
  2. News: Ole Miss announces Kermit Davis as Rebels' next coach. ESPN.com. March 15, 2018. March 20, 2018.
  3. News: Ole Miss formally introduced Kermit Davis as its new men’s basketball coach late Monday evening.. 2018-03-21.
  4. News: Nick McDevitt joins Middle Tennessee St. after lengthy run at UNC Asheville. ESPN.com. Jeff. Goodman. March 24, 2018. March 24, 2018.
  5. Web site: 2018–19 Men's Basketball Schedule. Middle Tennessee State University.