MTSU and Charlotte will each be playing their second Conference USA game of the season when they square off on Thursday night. The Blue Raiders have won three of their last four games, including an 83-67 win over Murray State last Wednesday. Charlotte had its five-game winning streak snapped in a loss to UAB last Thursday.
MTSU is off to a solid start this season, including a conference-opening win over Rice in the middle of November. The Blue Raiders have won six of their last eight games, with the losses coming against St. Bonaventure and Chattanooga. They were 3.5-point underdogs in the loss to the Bonnies but were 4.5-point favorites in their 82-73 loss to Chattanooga. However, they picked up a win over Belmont as 1-point underdogs earlier this month and also covered the 6.5-point spread in an 83-67 win over Murray State last week. This will be MTSU’s first road game since its overtime win at Belmont on Dec. 10.
Blue Raiders reopen conference play at Charlotte, vs. WKU to close 2022.#BlueRaiders | #StickTogetherhttps://t.co/URFgdew6wc
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) December 28, 2022
The Blue Raiders have been a decent offensive team this season, outside of its poor shooting from 3-point range (30.8) and the charity stripe (64.7). They have been excellent from inside the arc, knocking down 54.2% of their 2-pointers. MTSU has also done a good job using its height on the offensive glass, but it will be facing an equally tall Charlotte defense that is excellent at rebounding. Senior forward Deandre Dishman leads MTSU with 12.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while junior guard Eli Lawrence is adding 11.3 points and 3.6 boards.