Who’s Playing
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders @ Sam Houston Bearkats
Current Records: Middle Tennessee 13-5, Sam Houston 8-11
How To Watch
What to Know
After two games on the road, Sam Houston is heading back home. They and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will face off in a Conference USA battle at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 77.8 points per game this season.
On Saturday, Sam Houston came up short against Jax. State and fell 71-62.
The losing side was boosted by Josiah Hammons, who went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in three-point shooting accuracy (66.7%).
Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee entered their tilt with Western Kentucky on Saturday with two consecutive wins but they’ll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Hilltoppers by a score of 71-57.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Middle Tennessee to victory, but perhaps none more so than Essam Mostafa, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 18 rebounds. Jestin Porter was another key player, scoring 15 points along with three steals.
Sam Houston’s defeat was their seventh straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 8-11. As for Middle Tennessee, they have been performing well recently as they’ve won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Sam Houston hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Middle Tennessee struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 78.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Sam Houston strolled past Middle Tennessee when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a score of 81-64. Does Sam Houston have another victory up their sleeve, or will Middle Tennessee turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Series History
Sam Houston has won both of the games they’ve played against Middle Tennessee in the last year.
- Mar 02, 2024 – Sam Houston 81 vs. Middle Tennessee 64
- Jan 13, 2024 – Sam Houston 60 vs. Middle Tennessee 51