# 1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by third-year head coach Stan Simpson, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–8, 12–4 in OVC play to finish third in the regular season standings. In the OVC tournament, they defeated Murray State, Tennessee Tech, and Youngstown State to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the Mideast region, they upset No. 6 seed Kentucky, 50–44, in the opening round before losing to No. 3 seed, and eventual Final Four participant, Louisville, 81–56.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1981* | | vs. Chattanooga Coors Classic | L 54–62 | 0–1 | Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee |
| Nov 28, 1981* | | vs. Austin Peay Coors Classic | W 54–51 | 1–1 | Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 3, 1981* | | South Alabama | W 71–69 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 5, 1981* | | Tennessee State | L 55–60 | 2–2 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 10, 1981 | | at Morehead State | W 64–59 | 3–2 (1–0) | Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, Kentucky |
| Dec 12, 1981 | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 69–51 | 4–2 (2–0) | Alumni Coliseum Richmond, Kentucky |
| Dec 17, 1981* | | Georgia State | W 62–49 | 5–2 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1981 | | Tennessee Tech | W 88–63 | 6–2 (3–0) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 21, 1981* | | Samford | W 67–63 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 30, 1981* | | Detroit | W 64–62 $^{OT}$ | 8–2 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 4, 1982* | | at Xavier | W 69–48 | 9–2 | Schmidt Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 7, 1982 | | Akron | W 83–62 | 10–2 (4–0) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 9, 1982 | | Youngstown State | W 73–56 | 11–2 (5–0) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 14, 1982 | | at Western Kentucky | L 49–65 | 11–3 (5–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Jan 16, 1982* | | at Tennessee State | W 70–68 $^{OT}$ | 12–3 | Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1982 | | Murray State | L 58–59 | 12–4 (5–2) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 23, 1982 | | Austin Peay | W 64–52 | 13–4 (6–2) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1982* | | at Oral Roberts | L 73–83 | 13–5 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Jan 30, 1982 | | at Tennessee Tech | L 61–75 | 13–6 (6–3) | Eblen Center Cookeville, Tennessee |
| Feb 4, 1982 | | at Akron | W 65–53 | 14–6 (7–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, Ohio |
| Feb 6, 1982 | | at Youngstown State | W 73–67 | 15–6 (8–3) | Beeghly Center Youngstown, Ohio |
| Feb 13, 1982 | | Western Kentucky | L 64–75 | 15–7 (8–4) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Feb 18, 1982 | | at Murray State | W 70–53 | 16–7 (9–4) | Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky |
| Feb 20, 1982 | | at Austin Peay | W 67–56 | 17–7 (10–4) | Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee |
| Feb 25, 1982 | | Morehead State | W 63–52 | 18–7 (11–4) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Feb 27, 1982 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 62–55 | 19–7 (12–4) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| OVC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1982* | (3) | vs. (2) Murray State Semifinals | W 56–54 $^{OT}$ | 20–7 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Mar 6, 1982* | (3) | at (1) Western Kentucky Championship game | W 54–52 | 21–7 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1982* | (11 ME) | vs. (6 ME) No. 15 Kentucky First round | W 50–44 | 22–7 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 13, 1982* | (11 ME) | vs. (3 ME) No. 20 Louisville Second round | L 56–81 | 22–8 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast Source. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Jerry Beck – OVC Player of the Year (2x)