Missouri State Bears (19-12, 11-7 CUSA) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (16-14, 11-7 CUSA)
Huntsville, Alabama; Thursday, 3 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Middle Tennessee plays in the CUSA Tournament against Missouri State.
The Blue Raiders are 11-7 against CUSA opponents and 5-7 in non-conference play. Middle Tennessee is seventh in the CUSA with 21.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Blair Baugus averaging 5.3.
The Bears’ record in CUSA games is 11-7. Missouri State scores 66.0 points while outscoring opponents by 4.7 points per game.
Middle Tennessee is shooting 40.1% from the field this season, 1.8 percentage points higher than the 38.3% Missouri State allows to opponents. Missouri State averages 4.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 fewer made shots on average than the 6.1 per game Middle Tennessee gives up.
The teams meet for the third time this season. Middle Tennessee won 86-75 in the last matchup on March 7. Alayna Contreras led Middle Tennessee with 31 points, and Kendal Brueggen led Missouri State with 18 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Contreras is shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Raiders, while averaging 14.2 points and 1.5 steals. Macie Phifer is averaging 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals over the last 10 games.
Kaemyn Bekemeier averages 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Bears, scoring 17.4 points while shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc. Lainie Douglas is averaging 15.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Raiders: 5-5, averaging 65.4 points, 29.5 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 39.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.2 points per game.
Bears: 6-4, averaging 66.4 points, 37.1 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.7 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.