MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Excitement surrounding Middle Tennessee men's basketball is high for the 2008-09 men's basketball season and Rivals.com believes the Blue Raiders will be one of the 65 teams dancing when "March Madness" begins.

Rivals.com has rated Middle Tennessee No. 64 in its Top 65 Countdown to the start of preseason basketball practice in October.

"There are a lot of great basketball sites but Rivals.com is one of the most comprehensive sites that cover our sport," Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis said. "These are preseason expectations and they are great for fans and it is great publicity for our players and our team. We all know the hard work that's ahead for us because when you compete in one of the Top 10 or 11 conferences (Sun Belt) in the nation we understand the competition and what a tough conference it is.

"The Sun Belt Conference will have the best depth as a league in the seven years I have been in it and it is a tough league, which our players understand."

The Blue Raiders return all five starters and nine letterwinners from the 2007-08 squad that reached the championship game of the Sun Belt Championships before falling to eventual Sweet 16 participant Western Kentucky.

Find out why Rivals.com national writer Andrew Skwara believes the Blue Raiders are the team to beat in the Sun Belt in 2008-09.

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