2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 1st-year head coach Nick McDevitt, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as members of Conference USA.

2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	11–21 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Nick McDevitt (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Sean Dixon Wes Long Andre Morgan
Home arena	Murphy Center
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Old Dominion †	13	–	5		.722			26	–	9		.743
Western Kentucky	11	–	7		.611			20	–	14		.588
Southern Miss	11	–	7		.611			20	–	13		.606
UTSA	11	–	7		.611			17	–	15		.531
UAB	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Marshall	11	–	7		.611			23	–	14		.622
FIU	10	–	8		.556			20	–	13		.606
Louisiana Tech	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Florida Atlantic	8	–	10		.444			17	–	16		.515
North Texas	8	–	10		.444			21	–	12		.636
Rice	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Middle Tennessee	8	–	10		.444			11	–	21		.344
Charlotte	5	–	13		.278			8	–	21		.276
UTEP	3	–	15		.167			8	–	21		.276
† 2019 C-USA tournament winner

Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2017–18 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.^[1]

Head coach Kermit Davis left the school on March 19, 2018 to accept the head coaching job at Ole Miss.^[2][3] 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.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Tyrik Dixon	0	G	6'1"	184	Sophomore	Bentonville, AR	Transferred to Missouri State
Brandon Walters	1	F	6'10"	250	RS Senior	Chattanooga, TN	Graduated
Antwain Johnson	2	G	6'2"	197	Junior	Greenwood, FL	Dismissed from the team; transferred to Buffalo
Nick King	5	F	6'7"	225	Senior	Memphis, TN	Graduated
Will Slatten	10	G	6'4"	166	RS Freshman	Sparta, TN	Walk-on; left the team due to personal reasons
Edward Simpson Jr.	11	G	6'2"	195	Senior	Ocean Springs, MS	Graduated
Therren Shelton-Szmidt	12	G	6'5"	190	Freshman	Mississauga, ON	Left the team due to his religion
Giddy Potts	20	G	6'2"	217	Senior	Athens, AL	Graduated
David Simmons	21	G	6'3"	195	Junior	Henderson, KY	Graduate transferred to Southern Indiana
Davion Thomas	35	F	6'9"	215	RS Freshman	Columbus, GA	Dismissed from the team

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
DeAndre Dishman	2	F	6'6"	215	Junior	Lexington, KY	Transferred from Eastern Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dishman will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of eligibility left.
Reggie Scurry	22	F	6'5"	213	Senior	Atlanta, GA	Transferred from Missouri State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Scurry will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have one year of eligibility left.
C. J. Jones	23	G	6'5"	180	Junior	Birmingham, AL	Transferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Jones will have to sit out in the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of eligibility left.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Anthony Crump SG	Canton, MI	Plymouth High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	May 8, 2018
	Recruiting 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
	Recruiting 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 September 23, 2018.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Keishawn Davidson PG	Murfreesboro, TN	Oakland High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Apr 19, 2018
	Recruiting 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 23, 2018.

Roster

2018–19 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Anthony Crump 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Plymouth Insker, MI G 1 Junior Faquhar 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Orangeville Prep Mono, ON F 2 DeAndre Dishman   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Bryan Station Eastern Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky G 3 Donovan Sims (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Blackman Murfreesboro, TN F 4 James Hawthorne 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Prentiss Southwest Mississippi CC Prentiss, MS G 10 Jayce Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Canisius Buffalo, NY G 14 Chase Miller (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Shelton Dallas, TX F 15 T. J. Massenburg 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Shiloh Snellville, GA F 22 Reggie Scurry   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr North Clayton Missouri State Atlanta, GA G 23 C. J. Jones   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Central Park Christian Arkansas Birmingham, AL G 24 Darnell Butler Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr McCucheon Seminole State College Lafayette, IN F 25 Karl Gamble 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr A.C. Flora Columbia, SC G 55 Antonio Green   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Tupelo Texas–Rio Grande Valley Tupelo, MS	Head coach Nick McDevitt (UNC Asheville) Assistant coach(es) Sean Dixon (Presbyterian) Wes Long (Clemson) Andre Morgan (North Georgia) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018* 6:30 pm		Lees–McRae	W 91-69	1-0	24 – Green	11 – Scurry	3 – Sims	Murphy Center (3,255) Murfreesboro, TN
Nov 9, 2018* 11:00 am		Milligan	W 102-73	2-0	24 – Green	12 – Gamble	5 – Sims	Murphy Center (7,722) Murfreesboro, TN
Nov 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Belmont	L 73-92	2-1	20 – Gamble	8 – Gamble	2 – Gamble	Curb Event Center (2,148) Nashville, TN
Nov 16, 2018* 6:30 pm		Charleston Southern Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game	W 76-73	3-1	22 – Green	6 – Green	5 – Crump	Murphy Center (3,945) Murfreesboro, TN
Nov 21, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 4 Virginia Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals	L 52-74	3-2	11 – Green	6 – Hawthorne	5 – Sims	Imperial Arena (1,115) Nassau, Bahamas
Nov 22, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Butler Battle 4 Atlantis	L 53-84	3-3	11 – Hawthorne	8 – Gamble	3 – Farquhar	Imperial Arena (953) Nassau, Bahamas
Nov 23, 2018* 6:00pm, ESPNU		vs. Stanford Battle 4 Atlantis	L 54-67	3-4	21 – Green	8 – Hawthorne	2 – Sims	Imperial Arena (1,087) Nassau, Bahamas
Dec 1, 2018* 5:00 pm		Lipscomb	L 74-84	3-5	30 – Green	7 – Gamble	3 – Farquhar	Murphy Center (4,573) Murfreesboro, TN
Dec 5, 2018* 6:30 pm, SECN		at Vanderbilt	L 51-79	3-6	18 – Green	8 – Gamble	3 – Farquhar	Memorial Gymnasium (8,513) Nashville, TN
Dec 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	L 42–64	3–7	12 – Johnson	9 – Tied	1 – Tied	Murphy Center (4,102) Murfreesboro, TN
Dec 15, 2018* 6:00 pm		at Toledo	L 62-84	3-8	13 –  Tied	9 – Hawthorne	4 – Sims	Savage Arena (4,205) Toledo, OH
Dec 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, Facebook		Ole Miss Battle at Bridgestone	L 56–74	3–9	22 – Green	7 – Johnson	2 – Tied	Bridgestone Arena (11,294) Nashville, TN
Dec 30, 2018* 4:00 pm		at Rhode Island	L 60-72	3-10	26 – Green	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Ryan Center (6,382) Kingston, RI
Conference USA regular season
Jan 3, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+		FIU	L 76-83	3-11 (0-1)	23 – Green	11 – Gamble	5 – Johnson	Murphy Center (3,307) Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 5, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida Atlantic	L 56–63	3–12 (0–2)	20 – Green	8 – Scurry	6 – Sims	Murphy Center (3,422) Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 10, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Miss	L 70–77	3–13 (0–3)	28 – Sims	5 – Tied	5 – Johnson	Reed Green Coliseum (1,987) Hattiesburg, MS
Jan 12, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana Tech	L 56–73	3–14 (0–4)	13 – Scurry	7 – Gamble	7 – Sims	Thomas Assembly Center (3,894) Ruston, LA
Jan 17, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+		UTSA	W 89-86	4-14 (1-4)	24 – Sims	7 – Hawthorne	6 – Sims	Murphy Center (3,504) Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 19, 2019 5:00 pm		UTEP	W 75-72	5-14 (2-4)	21 – Green	9 – Scurry	4 – Tied	Murphy Center (3,806) Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm		at Rice	L 68-79	5-15 (2-5)	22 – Scurry	12 – Scurry	3 – Green	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,375) Houston, TX
Jan 26, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Texas	L 53-70	5-16 (2-6)	15 – Scurry	5 – Tied	5 – Sims	The Super Pit (3,418) Denton, TX
Jan 30, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+		UAB	W 71-65	6-16 (3-6)	19 – Sims	9 – Sims	4 – Sims	Murphy Center (3,963) Murfreesboro, TN
Feb 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UAB	W 79-78	7-16 (4-6)	28 – Green	10 – Scurry	6 – Sims	Bartow Arena (4,075) Birmingham, AL
Feb 7, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Charlotte	W 71-53	8-16 (5-6)	21 – Green	7 – Hawthorne	5 – Sims	Murphy Center (3,303) Murfreesboro, TN
Feb 9, 2019 6:00 pm, Stadium		Old Dominion	L 50-55	8-17 (5-7)	14 – Sims	9 – Hawthorne	1 – Sims	Murphy Center (4,380) Murfreesboro, TN
Feb 14, 2019 7:00 pm, Facebook		at Western Kentucky	L 63-71	8-18 (5-8)	18 – Sims	11 – Hawthorne	3 – Hawthorne	E. A. Diddle Arena (6,044) Bowling Green, KY
Feb 16, 2019 1:00 pm, Facebook		at Marshall	L 93-98	8-19 (5-9)	31 – Green	10 – Gamble	2 – Green	Cam Henderson Center (6,927) Huntington, WV
Feb 23, 2019 6:00 pm		Charlotte	W 86-67	9-19 (6-9)	21 – Green	7 – Hawthorne	5 – Green	Murphy Center (2,986) Murfreesboro, TN
Mar 3, 2019 2:00 pm		at Rice	L 61-67	9-20 (6-10)	16 – Green	8 – Farquhar	4 – Farquhar	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,478) Houston, TX
Mar 6, 2019 8:00 pm		at UTEP	W 69-53	10-20 (7-10)	26 – Green	13 – Johnson	4 – Farquhar	Don Haskins Center (4,748) El Paso, TX
Mar 9, 2019 7:30 pm		UTEP	W 48-47	11-20 (8-10)	11 – Green	10 – Hawthorne	3 – Johnson	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA tournament
Mar 13, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+	(12)	vs. (5) UAB First Round	L 61-70	11-21	22 – Sims	13 – Gamble	7 – Green	Ford Center at The Star (2,704) Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[5]

References

1. Steinberg, Russell (February 19, 2018). "AP Poll: Middle Tennessee earns first-ever Top 25 ranking". midmajormadness.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
2. "Ole Miss announces Kermit Davis as Rebels' next coach". ESPN.com. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
3. "Ole Miss formally introduced Kermit Davis as its new men's basketball coach late Monday evening". Retrieved March 21, 2018.
4. Goodman, Jeff (March 24, 2018). "Nick McDevitt joins Middle Tennessee St. after lengthy run at UNC Asheville". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
5. "2018–19 Men's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University.