# 2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 16th-year head coach Kermit Davis, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as members of Conference USA. They finished the 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.
Head coach Kermit Davis left the school on March 19, 2018 to accept the head coaching job at Ole Miss. 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.

## Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2016–17 season 27–4, 17–1 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. In the C-USA tournament, they defeated UTSA, UTEP, and Marshall to win the 2017 C-USA Tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 12 seed in the South region, they defeated 5-seeded Minnesota in the first round before losing in the second round to 4-seeded Butler. The team also had several winning streaks during the season winning 8 games in a row in non-conference schedule, 10 games in a row to start conference play and a new school record, then 11 games in a row from mid-conference play all the way through winning the conference tournament and into the NCAA tournament before losing to Butler. The team finished the season with a 31–5, 17–1 record setting new school and conference records for wins in a season and in conference play and had another NCAA tournament upset for the second straight year.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Xavier Habersham | 4 | F | 6'6" | 208 | RS Senior | Dublin, GA | Graduated |
| JaCorey Williams | 22 | F | 6'8" | 220 | RS Senior | Birmingham, AL | Graduated |
| Quavius Copeland | 24 | G | 6'1" | 178 | Junior | Greenville, SC | Transferred to North Carolina A&T |
| Reggie Upshaw Jr. | 30 | F | 6'8" | 228 | Senior | Chattanooga, TN | Graduated |
| Stephen Strachan | 31 | G | 6'2" | 200 | RS Junior | Nassau, Bahamas | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Aldonis Foote | 45 | G/F | 6'5" | 213 | Senior | Peoria, IL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| James Hawthorne | 4 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Prentiss, MS | Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi Community College. |
| David Simmons | 21 | G | 6'3" | 209 | Junior | Henderson, KY | Junior college transferred from Tallahassee Community College. |
| Antonio Green | | G | 6'2" | 165 | Junior | Tupelo, MS | Transferred from Texas–Rio Grande Valley. Under NCAA transfer rules, Green will have to sit out in the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of eligibility left. |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| T.J. Massenburg PF | Snellville, GA | Shiloh High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A | Oct 2, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Therren Shelton-Szmidt SG | Mississauga, ON | Shiloh High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 9, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Junior Farquhar PG | Orangeville, ON | Orangeville Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 18, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Anthony Crump PG | Canton, MI | Plymouth High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | May 8, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Jayce Johnson SG | Buffalo, NY | Canisius High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jul 27, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Arkansas Fort Smith | W 85–55 | | 25 – Potts | 6 – King | 5 – Johnson | Murphy Center (2,634) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 11:00 am | | Trevecca Nazarene | W 104–52 | 1–0 | 17 – King | 6 – King | 3 – 3 tied | Murphy Center (8,227) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Murray State | W 72–67 | 2–0 | 31 – King | 8 – Potts | 3 – Tied | CFSB Center (3,854) Murray, KY |
| Nov 16, 2017* 6:30 pm, Stadium | | Belmont | L 63–69 | 2–1 | 21 – King | 8 – Walters | 6 – Potts | Murphy Center (5,366) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Nov 18, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Tennessee State | W 75–65 | 3–1 | 20 – King | 7 – Walters | 5 – Dixon | Gentry Complex (1,850) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 21, 2017* 6:30 pm, Stadium | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 85–72 | 4–1 | 25 – King | 10 – Dixon | 6 – Dixon | Murphy Center (5,017) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Dec 2, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 81–76 | 5–1 | 32 – King | 11 – King | 4 – King | Alico Arena (4,633) Fort Myers, FL |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Vanderbilt | W 66–63 | 6–1 | 23 – King | 6 – Tied | 5 – Potts | Memorial Gymnasium (8,739) Nashville, TN |
| Dec 9, 2017* 5:00 pm, Stadium | | Ole Miss | W 77–58 | 7–1 | 25 – King | 6 – King | 9 – Dixon | Murphy Center (8,806) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Dec 16, 2017* 5:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Auburn BHM JAM | L 70–76 | 7–2 | 19 – Potts | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Legacy Arena (7,209) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 22, 2017* 4:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Princeton Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 69–67 | 8–2 | 18 – King | 5 – 3 tied | 4 – Tied | Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 23, 2017* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. USC Diamond Head Classic semifinals | L 84–89 | 8–3 | 28 – King | 11 – King | 4 – Dixon | Stan Sheriff Center (5,811) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 25, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 15 Miami (FL) Diamond Head Classic 3rd place game | L 81–84 | 8–4 | 28 – King | 8 – King | 4 – Johnson | Stan Sheriff Center (6,062) Honolulu, HI |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 4:00 pm, Stadium | | at UAB | W 63–60 | 9–4 (1–0) | 30 – King | 8 – King | 6 – Simmons | Bartow Arena (4,143) Birmingham, AL |
| Jan 4, 2018 6:00 pm | | at FIU | W 71–66 $^{OT}$ | 10–4 (2–0) | 25 – Potts | 10 – King | 3 – Simpson | FIU Arena (468) Miami, FL |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Florida Atlantic | W 61–57 | 11–4 (3–0) | 16 – King | 11 – King | 2 – Dixon | FAU Arena Boca Raton, FL |
| Jan 11, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Louisiana Tech | W 72–57 | 12–4 (4–0) | 22 – King | 10 – King | 5 – Dixon | Murphy Center (4,418) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Jan 13, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Miss | W 69–49 | 13–4 (5–0) | 19 – Walters | 10 – King | 4 – Simmons | Murphy Center (4,871) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm, beIN | | at Marshall | L 63–73 | 13–5 (5–1) | 15 – Tied | 9 – King | 3 – Simmons | Cam Henderson Center (5,320) Huntington, WV |
| Jan 20, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | | at Western Kentucky | W 66–62 | 14–5 (6–1) | 28 – King | 9 – King | 3 – King | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,759) Bowling Green, KY |
| Jan 25, 2018 6:30 pm, Stadium | | UTSA | W 75–51 | 15–5 (7–1) | 22 – King | 14 – Walters | 3 – Tied | Murphy Center (5,010) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Jan 27, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | | UTEP | W 81–50 | 16–5 (8–1) | 17 – Walters | 12 – Walters | 5 – Dixon | Murphy Center (5,227) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium | | at Old Dominion | W 66–59 | 17–5 (9–1) | 18 – Johnson | 11 – King | 4 – Johnson | Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,297) Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 3, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Charlotte | W 78–73 | 18–5 (10–1) | 24 – King | 12 – King | 3 – King | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,078) Charlotte, NC |
| Feb 8, 2018 6:30 pm, Stadium | | Rice | W 94–75 | 19–5 (11–1) | 22 – Potts | 7 – Potts | 8 – Dixon | Murphy Center (5,602) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm | | North Texas | W 79–73 | 20–5 (12–1) | 32 – King | 11 – King | 7 – Johnson | Murphy Center (6,209) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 72–63 | 21–5 (13–1) | 20 – King | 11 – King | 4 – Tied | Reed Green Coliseum (2,062) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Feb 17, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | | at Louisiana Tech | W 87–70 | 22–5 (14–1) | 25 – King | 11 – Walters | 4 – Sims | Thomas Assembly Center (4,847) Ruston, LA |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | No. 24 | UAB | W 79–54 | 23–5 (15–1) | 22 – King | 6 – Tied | 4 – Sims | Murphy Center (9,717) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 24 | Western Kentucky | W 82–64 | 24–5 (16–1) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Walters | 6 – Sims | Murphy Center (11,307) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | No. 24 | Marshall | L 67–76 | 24–6 (16–2) | 20 – Walters | 9 – King | 4 – Dixon | Murphy Center (10,050) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | (1) | vs. (9) Southern Miss Quarterfinals | L 68–71 $^{OT}$ | 24–7 | 17 – King | 9 – King | 4 – Potts | The Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| NIT |||||||||
| Mar 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | (6) Vermont First Round – Baylor Bracket | W 91–64 | 25–7 | 25 – Potts | 12 – King | 4 – King | Murphy Center (5,010) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Mar 18, 2018* 5:30 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | at (2) Louisville Second Round – Baylor Bracket | L 68–84 | 25–8 | 24 – King | 6 – King | 3 – Potts | KFC Yum! Center (13,050) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source