The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Chattanooga Mocs meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the Murphy Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Middle Tennessee vs Chattanooga Prediction.
Middle Tennessee Recap
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders come into the NIT on behalf of Conference USA and finished the year with a 22-11 overall record including a 12-6 mark in conference play. As the 3-seed, Middle Tennessee took out LA Tech in double OT, 77-75 before falling to Jacksonville State, 70-68, in the tournament semifinals.
Blue Raiders In First NIT Since 2018
Jestin Porter leads the Blue Raiders in scoring with 14.9 PPG while Essam Mostafa has 14 PPG with 9 RPG to lead the Blue Raiders on the glass. Jlynn Counter has 10.6 PPG as well as 4.1 RPG and 3.5 APG for Middle Tennessee on the year. Camryn Weston has 11.5 PPG along with 3.8 RPG and a team-high 3.5 APG to lead Middle Tennessee in assists and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for the Blue Raiders. Kamari Lands also has 8.2 PPG while Torey Alston also has 6.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG. As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 75.9 PPG on 45.2% shooting from the field, 31.8% from three and 67% from the foul line this season.
Why the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will win
- Middle Tennessee has won 13 of its last 14 Tuesday games at Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center.
- Chattanooga has lost four of its last five road night games against non-Conference opponents.
Chattanooga Recap
The Chattanooga Mocs come into the NIT repping the SoCon, finishing the year with an overall record of 24-9 on the year including a 15-3 mark in SoCon play. The Mocs were the regular season SoCon champions, and as the top seed, knocked off Mercer in the quarterfinals before falling to Furman in the semifinals.
Mocs Making First NIT Appearance Since 1987
Bash Wieland has 13.9 PPG with 4.2 RPG while Trey Bonham has 13.4 PPG with 4.2 RPG and 2.7 APG so far this season. Honor Huff has 15.1 PPG with 2.2 APG and Frank Champion’s posted 11.4 PPG with 4.7 RPG and 3.8 APG in 23 games played so far this season to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Chattanooga up to this point in the year. Garrison Keeslar has 6.5 PPG with 4.3 RPG and a team-high 2.9 APG to lead the Mocs in assists up to this point in the year. As a team, Chattanooga is averaging 78.8 PPG on 48% shooting from the field, 36.4% from three and 76.7% from the foul line this season.
Why the Chattanooga Mocs will win
- Chattanooga has won each of its last eight road games.
- Middle Tennessee has lost each of its last five night games against the Southern Conference.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Middle Tennessee’s last 16 night games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 150 or fewer points.
- Seven of Chattanooga’s last eight road games have produced a total of 150 or fewer points.
Middle Tennessee vs Chattanooga Prediction
I’m looking at Chattanooga here. I think the Mocs are the better team by a fair margin in this game, and have the clear edge on the offensive end of the floor. The Mocs also do a great job of taking care of the basketball, and Middle Tennessee isn’t a team that forces a lot of turnovers to begin with. I think the only edge that Middle Tennessee has is being at home, and they were below .500 ATS as a home favorite this year, while Chattanooga had 10 wins in road games this season. Give me Chattanooga.