Middle Tenn. faces UAB in CUSA tourney
No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee (11-20, 8-10) vs. No. 5 seed UAB (18-13, 10-8)
Conference USA Conference Tourney First Round, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Middle Tennessee is set to face off against UAB in the first round of the CUSA tourney. Middle Tennessee swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last played on Feb. 2, when the Blue Raiders shot 50 percent from the field and went 10 for 20 from 3-point territory en route to the 79-78 victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Middle Tennessee's Antonio Green, Karl Gamble and James Hawthorne have collectively scored 49 percent of the team's points this season and have accounted for 72 percent of all Blue Raiders scoring over the last five games.
ACCURATE ANTONIO: Green has connected on 35.5 percent of the 293 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 19 of 51 over his last five games. He's also converted 87.4 percent of his free throws this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: The Blazers are 9-0 when they hold opposing teams to 63 points or fewer and 9-13 when opponents exceed 63 points. The Blue Raiders are 6-0 when they make 10 or more 3-pointers and 5-20 when the team hits fewer than 10 from long range.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Blazers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Blue Raiders. UAB has an assist on 34 of 69 field goals (49.3 percent) over its past three matchups while Middle Tennessee has assists on 33 of 69 field goals (47.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Middle Tennessee is ranked first among CUSA teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 32.6 percent. The Blue Raiders have averaged 12.1 offensive boards per game and 14.6 per game over their last five games.
