Missouri State faces Middle Tennessee following Williams' 22-point game

Published Mar. 7, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (16-14, 10-9 CUSA) at Missouri State Bears (14-16, 8-11 CUSA)

Springfield, Missouri; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bears -1.5; over/under is 144.5

BOTTOM LINE: Missouri State hosts Middle Tennessee after Trey Williams Jr. scored 22 points in Missouri State's 87-74 victory against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

The Bears have gone 11-6 at home. Missouri State has a 1-6 record in one-possession games.

The Blue Raiders are 10-9 in CUSA play. Middle Tennessee is sixth in the CUSA allowing 72.9 points while holding opponents to 44.0% shooting.

Missouri State is shooting 44.6% from the field this season, 0.6 percentage points higher than the 44.0% Middle Tennessee allows to opponents. Middle Tennessee has shot at a 44.5% clip from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points less than the 45.3% shooting opponents of Missouri State have averaged.

The teams play for the second time this season in CUSA play. Middle Tennessee won the last matchup 90-87 on Jan. 17. Torey Alston scored 22 points to help lead the Blue Raiders to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Keith Palek III is scoring 18.1 points per game with 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Bears. Michael Osei-Bonsu is averaging 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Kamari Lands is scoring 13.7 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Blue Raiders. Alston is averaging 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 57.6% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bears: 2-8, averaging 75.8 points, 28.8 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 43.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.4 points per game.

Blue Raiders: 5-5, averaging 78.6 points, 32.6 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.4 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.