NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee will be participating in postseason basketball for the 21st consecutive season after gaining an invitation into the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. The Blue Raiders will take on third-seed Belmont on Thursday, Mar. 20, at the Curb Event Center.
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Thursday, Mar. 20 | 6:30 p.m. | Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tenn. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 26-8, 16-2 CUSA |
at | BELMONT BRUINS 22-12, 15-5 MVC |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | ||||
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee will be participating in postseason basketball for the 21st consecutive season after gaining an invitation into the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. The Blue Raiders will take on third-seed Belmont on Thursday, Mar. 20, at the Curb Event Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 35
» Thursday, March 20 - 6:30 p.m.
» Curb Event Center
» Nashville, Tenn.
» This marks the 23rd meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Bruins, and the first postseason matchup in the series.
» The Blue Raiders owns a 17-5 lead over Belmont in the all-time series.
» Belmont defeated MTSU 52-65 earlier this season. Senior Jalynn Gregory and junior Ta'Mia Scott each led the way with 15 points.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» The Blue Raiders boast the No. 1 Defense in the Nation. MTSU is holding opponents to just 51.9 points per game on 32.4 percent shooting.
» This year's graduating class will go down as the winningest four-year class in program history with 111 wins and counting.
» Senior Anastasiia Boldyreva leads the league and ranks first in the Nation in blocks with 128 and blocks per game with 3.76.
» Middle Tennessee has won at least 17 games for the 23rd consecutive season. The only other NCAA DI schools with at least 17 wins in every season since 2002-03 (including this season) are Tennessee, UConn and Baylor.
» MTSU also owns CUSA's best all-time defense, holding conference opponents to just 46.2 points per game on 30 percent shooting. That would be the third-lowest opposing field goal percentage in conference play by any NCAA DI team over the last 20 seasons (2014-15 UConn – 26.8%, 2016-17 Bethune-Cookman 28.2%).
» Head Coach Rick Insell has led the Blue Raiders to 19 consecutive post-seasons. He has tallied a 489-164 record at his alma mater.
» The Middle Tennessee women's basketball program will celebrate its 50th varsity season in 2024-25 and is set to honor the program's storied tradition and rich history with various initiatives throughout the year.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
» Belmont enters Thursday with a 22-12 overall record and went 15-5 in MVC play. The Bruins are coming off a 62-83 loss to Murray State in the finals of the MVC Tournament.
» Sophomore Jailyn Banks leads the Bruins in scoring with 12.5 points per game and assists (3.3).
» Senior Kendal Cheesman leads the team in rebounds (8.6).
