Bradley and Middle Tennessee meet for the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational championship
CONWAY, S.C. (November 23, 2024) – Either the Bradley Braves or the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will have something extra to pack in their luggage for their trip home from the Myrtle Beach Invitational. That’s because one of those teams will return to their campus with the MBI championship trophy.
Bradley (5-1) will take on Middle Tennessee (5-1) at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The championship contest and the entire MBI tournament are providing the teams with a taste of what to expect when conference and postseason tournaments roll around in March.
“That’s what we do this for. We want a tournament feel,” Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. “We want the short prep. We want to play sore and tired and get that experience, so in March we can fall back on those things.”
Middle Tennessee coach Nick McDevitt agrees. “The mindset for all eight teams here is to prepare yourself for March,” McDevitt said. “Learning how to enjoy (the wins) in the moment, but also learning how to refocus and beat the next team.”
Bradley advanced to the championship game with an 82-68 first-round victory over Texas State, followed by a hard-fought 77-74 win against Wright State in the semifinals. Zek Montgomery averaged 16 points over the first two games, including a huge 3-pointer late in the win against Wright State. Darius Hannah has averaged 13.5 point and 7 rebounds per game.
But Wardle also is giving a big assist to the Bradley fans, who have shown up in force and provided some loud support for the Braves in the first two games.
“We have a good Bradley fan base here,” Wardle said. “This is a fun arena to play in. It’s loud. Our guys are enjoying it. It means a lot to our players to go on the road and see all the love they get from the Bradley fans. That excites our players and gets them going. Maybe makes them play a little harder with a little extra motivation.”
Middle Tennessee made it to the championship game after winning an 83-81 overtime thriller against Ohio, followed by a physical 95-88 victory over South Florida. The Blue Raiders have been paced by Jestin Porter, who is averaging 25 ppg in the tournament, and Essam Mostafa, who has averaged a double-double in the two MBI games with 19.5 ppg and 11.5 rebounds.
Middle Tennessee went 0-3 in the Myrtle Beach Invitational back in 2019, but the Blue Raiders are poised to have a much different experience this time.
“All eight teams leave home thinking they’re going to come here and win the trophy, but there can only be one,” Middle Tennessee guard Justin Bufford said. “So why not us?”
Sunday’s final round begins at 10:30 a.m. ET with Princeton facing Portland. South Florida takes on Wright State at 1 p.m., and the tournament concludes with Ohio facing Texas State at 8 p.m.