Wednesday, March 4th, 8:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Murphy Center (11,520) -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Television: None. Home Record: ASU 9-5, MT 9-6. Away Record: ASU 4-11, MT 6-7. Neutral Record: ASU 0-0, MT 2-0. Conference Record: ASU 5-13, MT 10-8. Series Record: Middle Tennessee leads, 12-10.

GAME NOTES: The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders host the reeling Arkansas State Red Wolves in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament tonight at the Murphy Center. The Red Wolves head into the postseason in a major slump, dropping each of their final nine games of the regular season. The downward spiral led to a last place finish in the West Division at 5-13 and the 12th seed in this 13-team event. ASU has gone 10-16 all-time in the SBC Tournament, winning its lone title in 1999. As for MT, it made a run to the finals last season, but was denied its first tourney championship with a loss to Western Kentucky. The Blue Raiders will take another stab at the league crown as the fifth seed, which they earned with a 10-8 finish. The team will also be looking to snap a three-game home losing skid. MT though, did pick up a 60-57 win over ASU in the only meeting during the regular season, giving it a 12-10 edge in the all-time series. The survivor of this bout will have the chance to play either North Texas or Florida Atlantic in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

The Red Wolves have dropped a lot of tight games this season and that helps to explain why they have a losing record despite outscoring their opponents by nearly 2.0 ppg. Donald Boone is the team's top scorer and only player averaging in double figures, with 13.7 ppg, and he is also a terrific defender, racking up 54 steals on the campaign. Eric McKinney is the main threat down low with 8.7 ppg and a team-high 6.1 rpg to his credit, and he too plays a big role on defense, posting 58 blocks. The biggest problem for ASU though, has been its three-point shooting, connecting on just 32.5 percent of its chances this season.

The Blue Raiders have done a sound job on offense, managing 70.2 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting from the floor, and they have also fared well on defense, forcing opponents into 15.0 turnovers per game. Desmond Yates is the team's top producer with 17.5 ppg on the season and he is also collecting 4.6 rpg and making 59.4 percent of his field goal attempts. Kevin Kanaskie, the catalyst behind this attack, distributes a team-high 3.9 ppg, to go along with 12.0 ppg. Demetrius Green chips in with 10.5 ppg and he has also been a factor at the other end of the floor, recording 31 steals.

MT clearly has more weapons than ASU does and that should help the Blue Raiders move past the first round with a win tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Middle Tennessee 66, Arkansas State 61