Troy (5-8) plays host to Middle Tennessee (13-2) tonight in the Trojans toughest conference test of the season. You can read my game preview here.

The player to watch for the Blue Raiders is LaRon Dendy. The 6-9, 235 pound forward is a legit NBA prospect and Troy head coach Don Maestri feels he will end up the Sun Belt’s MVP.

MTSU has several first year players including guards Bruce Massey (6.0 ppg), Marcos Knight (13.3 ppg) and Raymond Cintron (7.3 ppg).

Interesting thing about Cintron, he played against Troy’s Emil Jones in junior college. Jones played for Pearl River CC and Cintron for Mississippi Gulf Coast. Cintron beat Jones last season for the Mississippi state JUCO championship.

Also, here is a story about Jones and his relationship with Pike County High School head coach Doug Branson.

INJURY UPDATE:

Steven Cunningham plans to play without the protective faceguard for the first time this season.

Will Weathers will play but Maestri doesn’t know how many consecutive minutes at a time.