Who’s Playing
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders @ Tennessee Volunteers
Current Records: Middle Tennessee 9-3, Tennessee 11-0
How To Watch
What to Know
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Tennessee Volunteers will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Blue Raiders are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 80.8 points per game this season.
Middle Tennessee’s season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 67-65 win over Lipscomb on Thursday. Kudos to the oddsmakers for accurately forecasting both the winner and the close margin.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Middle Tennessee to victory, but perhaps none more so than Essam Mostafa, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Middle Tennessee smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Tennessee put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They simply couldn’t be stopped as they easily beat Western Carolina 84-36. The Volunteers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Tennessee relied on the efforts of Jordan Gainey, who went 6 for 8 en route to 17 points plus five steals and two blocks, and Chaz Lanier, who had 19 points plus seven rebounds and four steals. Lanier’s performance made up for a slower contest against Illinois on Saturday. Another player making a difference was Felix Okpara, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds.
Middle Tennessee pushed their record up to 9-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Tennessee, their win bumped their record up to 11-0.
Monday’s game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Middle Tennessee just can’t miss this season, having nailed 46.7% of their field goals per game. However, it’s not like Tennessee struggles in that department as they’ve drained 49.5% of their field goals this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
