Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Middle Tennessee looks much better today on their home court. A win is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but Middle Tennessee is up 25-23 over Cal Baptist.

If Middle Tennessee keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 8-3 in no time. On the other hand, Cal Baptist will have to make due with a 5-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Cal Baptist Lancers @ Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Current Records: Cal Baptist 5-5, Middle Tennessee 7-3

How To Watch

What to Know

The Cal Baptist Lancers' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday at Murphy Center. The Lancers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 77.4 points per game this season.

Last Wednesday, Cal Baptist came up short against San Diego State and fell 81-75.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Dominique Daniels Jr., who scored 22 points along with six assists. Those six assists gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Adam Moussa, who earned ten points plus five assists.

Even though they lost, Cal Baptist smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Middle Tennessee's season wasn't pretty last year but it's starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They fell just short of Belmont by a score of 82-79 last Saturday. The close contest was extra heartbreaking for the Blue Raiders, who almost overcame an 18 point deficit.

The losing side was boosted by Jlynn Counter, who had 22 points in addition to five assists. Another player making a difference was Essam Mostafa, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Cal Baptist's loss was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 5-5. As for Middle Tennessee, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-3.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Cal Baptist hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.4 points per game. However, it's not like Middle Tennessee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 82.8. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Cal Baptist is hoping to beat the odds on Monday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, careful betting on Cal Baptist: they have a less-than-stellar 3-7 record against the spread this season.

Odds

Middle Tennessee is a 4.5-point favorite against Cal Baptist, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 4.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 145 points.

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Series History

Middle Tennessee won the only game these two teams have played in the last 2 years.

  • Mar 19, 2022 - Middle Tennessee 64 vs. Cal Baptist 58