Blue Raiders

NCAAB Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

General Team Information:

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Conference USA (2013-present)
Past Conferences: Ohio Valley, Sun Belt
City: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: Murphy Center
NCAA Tournaments: 9 (1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2013, 2016, 2017)

Championships:

National Championships: None
Conference Tournament Titles: 7 (1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1989, 2016, 2017)
Conference Regular Season Titles: 10 (1975, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1989, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018)

Team History

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are a Division I program located in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Middle Tennessee currently competes in Conference USA and is coached by Nick McDevitt.

Middle Tennessee has been to the NCAA Tournament nine times, including in 2016 when it engineered one of men’s basketball’s greatest upsets. On the heels of a C-USA Tournament title, the 15th-seeded Blue Raiders knocked off No. 2 seed Michigan State, 90-81. It was the eighth time a No. 15 beat a No. 2, and the first since Florida Gulf Coast defeated Georgetown in 2013.

In 2017, Middle Tennessee returned to the NCAA Tournament after sweeping the regular season and conference tournament championships. Much like the previous season, the Blue Raiders overcame the odds as a double-digit seed, beating Minnesota 81-72 in a No. 5-12 game. The Blue Raiders lost in the second round to Butler but still finished the year with a program-record 31 victories.

Twice in the Postseason

Middle Tennessee has appeared in the postseason twice more since then. In 2018, the Blue Raiders lost in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament to Louisville, and, in 2022, UNC Wilmington beat them in double overtime in the College Basketball Invitational final.

Middle Tennessee’s postseason history also includes first-round NCAA Tournament wins in 1982 and 1989, as well as a pair of NIT quarterfinal finishes (1988, 2012).

Following the 2018 campaign — during which Middle Tennessee cracked the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time, at No. 24 — Kermit Davis left to coach Mississippi. Davis, the winningest coach in Blue Raiders history (332-188), was replaced by McDevitt, who had won two Big South Conference titles at UNC Asheville. After guiding the Blue Raiders to 26 wins and the CBI final in 2022, McDevitt was named C-USA Coach of the Year.

Modest expectations followed the Blue Raiders into 2022-23, as they were ranked fourth in the C-USA preseason poll behind UAB, Western Kentucky and North Texas.