1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
OVC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	22–8 (12–4 OVC)
Head coach	Stan Simpson (3rd season);
Home arena	Murphy Center
	Seasons ← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The 1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by third-year head coach Stan Simpson, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–8, 12–4 in OVC play to finish third in the regular season standings. In the OVC tournament, they defeated Murray State, Tennessee Tech, and Youngstown State to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the Mideast region, they upset No. 6 seed Kentucky, 50–44,^[1] in the opening round before losing to No. 3 seed, and eventual Final Four participant, Louisville, 81–56.^[2]

1981–82 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Western Kentucky	13	–	3	.813	19	–	10	.655
Murray State	13	–	3	.813	20	–	8	.714
Middle Tennessee State †	12	–	4	.750	22	–	8	.733
Morehead State	11	–	5	.688	17	–	10	.630
Tennessee Tech	8	–	8	.500	12	–	14	.462
Youngstown State	5	–	11	.313	8	–	18	.308
Austin Peay	4	–	12	.250	6	–	20	.231
Akron	3	–	13	.188	7	–	19	.269
Eastern Kentucky	3	–	13	.188	5	–	21	.192

† 1982 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1981–82 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	44	Jerry Beck	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	George Washington	Danville, Virginia

Head coach

Stan Simpson

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1981*		vs. Chattanooga Coors Classic	L 54–62	0–1	Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee
Nov 28, 1981*		vs. Austin Peay Coors Classic	W 54–51	1–1	Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 3, 1981*		South Alabama	W 71–69 ^OT	2–1	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 5, 1981*		Tennessee State	L 55–60	2–2	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 10, 1981		at Morehead State	W 64–59	3–2 (1–0)	Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, Kentucky
Dec 12, 1981		at Eastern Kentucky	W 69–51	4–2 (2–0)	Alumni Coliseum Richmond, Kentucky
Dec 17, 1981*		Georgia State	W 62–49	5–2	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 19, 1981		Tennessee Tech	W 88–63	6–2 (3–0)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 21, 1981*		Samford	W 67–63 ^OT	7–2	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 30, 1981*		Detroit	W 64–62 ^OT	8–2	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 4, 1982*		at Xavier	W 69–48	9–2	Schmidt Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 7, 1982		Akron	W 83–62	10–2 (4–0)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 9, 1982		Youngstown State	W 73–56	11–2 (5–0)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 14, 1982		at Western Kentucky	L 49–65	11–3 (5–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jan 16, 1982*		at Tennessee State	W 70–68 ^OT	12–3	Gentry Complex Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 21, 1982		Murray State	L 58–59	12–4 (5–2)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 23, 1982		Austin Peay	W 64–52	13–4 (6–2)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1982*		at Oral Roberts	L 73–83	13–5	Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 30, 1982		at Tennessee Tech	L 61–75	13–6 (6–3)	Eblen Center Cookeville, Tennessee
Feb 4, 1982		at Akron	W 65–53	14–6 (7–3)	James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, Ohio
Feb 6, 1982		at Youngstown State	W 73–67	15–6 (8–3)	Beeghly Center Youngstown, Ohio
Feb 13, 1982		Western Kentucky	L 64–75	15–7 (8–4)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1982		at Murray State	W 70–53	16–7 (9–4)	Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky
Feb 20, 1982		at Austin Peay	W 67–56	17–7 (10–4)	Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee
Feb 25, 1982		Morehead State	W 63–52	18–7 (11–4)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Feb 27, 1982		Eastern Kentucky	W 62–55	19–7 (12–4)	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
OVC tournament
Mar 5, 1982*	(3)	vs. (2) Murray State Semifinals	W 56–54 ^OT	20–7	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
Mar 6, 1982*	(3)	at (1) Western Kentucky Championship game	W 54–52	21–7	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
NCAA tournament
Mar 11, 1982*	(11 ME)	vs. (6 ME) No. 15 Kentucky First round	W 50–44	22–7	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 13, 1982*	(11 ME)	vs. (3 ME) No. 20 Louisville Second round	L 56–81	22–8	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast Source^[3]^[4]. All times are in Central Time.

Awards and honors

Jerry Beck – OVC Player of the Year (2x)

References

^ "Raiders claw Cats 50-44 in first-ever NCAA Tournament win". Middle Tennessee State University. March 15, 1982. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
^ "Indiana Eliminated; Louisville a Winner". The New York Times. March 14, 1982. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
^ "2019-20 Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
^ "1981-82 Men's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved May 21, 2023.

[1] "Raiders claw Cats 50-44 in first-ever NCAA Tournament win". Middle Tennessee State University. March 15, 1982. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

[2] "Indiana Eliminated; Louisville a Winner". The New York Times. March 14, 1982. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

[3] "2019-20 Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

[4] "1981-82 Men's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved May 21, 2023.

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