CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will hit the road Sunday, Dec. 19, when the Chanticleers will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face Middle Tennessee State University at 3 p.m. ET.
The Chanticleers, who are coming off a six-game homestand that saw them win five of the six contests, will be tipping off just their second true road game of the season at MTSU, as they played at UNCW back on Nov. 18. CCU has played two games at a neutral site when the Chants traveled to the Bahamas and played Valparaiso and Toledo at the Baha Mar Nassau Championship.
COASTAL vs. MTSU HISTORY
This will only be the second time the two programs have met on the hardcourt with CCU winning the initial meeting 93-72 in Conway in 2019. Both teams were playing as participants in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational.
CCU has won five of its past six contests and enters the action with a 7-3 record. MTSU owns an 8-3 record and has won all five of its home contests by an average of just over 26 points per game.
Both teams have played a common opponent this season in Winthrop. MTSU defeated the Eagles 76-65 on its home court, while CCU defeated Winthrop 74-64 at the HTC Center.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chanticleers have been heating up from the field as the season has gone along. Over the first five games of the season, the Chants only managed to shoot 42.2 percent from the field, made just 27.3 percent on their three-point attempts, and were shooting only 66.0 percent at the free throw line.
Over the past five games, CCU has heated up offensively by shooting 52.3 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 71.6 percent from the free throw line.
Essam Mostafa,
Rudi Williams,
Vince Cole, and
Ebrima Dibba have led the Chants during the early part of the season. Mostafa is averaging 16.9 points per game, followed by Williams at 13.3 points per contest and Cole at 11.3 points per game.
Dibba, who is also averaging 9.3 points per game, leads the Chants and the Sun Belt with 56 assists and in assists per game at 6.2. He also has 16 steals on the season which is among the league leaders.
ABOUT MTSU
MTSU's eight wins are the most wins by any CCU opponent this season. The Blue Raiders are averaging over 77 points per game with Eli Lawrence's 12.2 points per game leading the team. Josh Jefferson is averaging 11.6 points per game, while Donovan Sims sits at 10.8 points per contest.
While MTSU's offense is well-balanced, the Blue Raiders defense is the key to their success this season. Opponents are only shooting 41.7 percent against Middle while also only scoring 64.8 points per game. The defense has forced 191 turnovers and has 96 steals through the team's first 11 games.
The game can be heard on WRNN 99.5 Hot Talk. All links for following the game can be found at
www.GoCCUSports.com.
For complete coverage of CCU men's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUSports.com.
