MTSU Basketball a Sleeper Team For 2014-15 Season

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders disappointingly missed out on a deserved trip to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, despite winning a share of the Conference USA regular season title and finishing the season 24-9. A loss against Maine late in their non-conference schedule is what really kept them out of the tournament, but they also struggled against the better teams in C-USA like Louisiana Tech and Tulsa.

The Blue Raiders’ four leading scorers are no longer part of the roster, which means it’s up to young players like Reggie Upshaw, Jr. and Jaqwan Raymond, as well as incoming freshman JaQuell Richmond to step things up this season. Although the four senior leaders from last season are gone, seniors Jacquez Rozier and Marcus Tarrance saw a lot of time on the floor for Middle Tennessee and will be a major aspect of their rotation this season.

However, one of the lesser known headlines throughout college basketball is the arrival of former Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele to the Blue Raiders on a graduate transfer. Steele, who has battled injuries throughout his career with the Bulldogs, was one of MSU’s brightest young players and averaged 10.1 points per game before he tore his ACL. Reports say that Steele is at full strength and should provide a major boost to Middle Tennessee this season.

On top of the arrival of Steele, the Blue Raiders boast a plethora of incoming junior college transfers. Perrin Buford and DeVante Jones, transfers from Southwest Tennessee CC, averaged 28 points, 6.5 assists and 8.9 rebounds, Xavier Habersham, a transfer from Hill College, averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds, and Darnell Harris, a transfer from Northwest Florida College, averaged 12 points and 3.6 rebounds. These four transfers should play major roles for the Blue Raiders this season.

Middle Tennessee may not look as dangerous on paper as they have over the past few seasons, but they are clearly one of the better teams in Conference USA. With no real tests on their non-conference schedule and lots of time for head coach Kermit Davis to get this team into full gear, they could come into the 2015 NCAA Tournament a relative unknown and do major damage to heavily favored teams.

Taylor Sturm is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.