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A number of outlets have reported Wednesday that Ole Miss is expected to name Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis as its new head coach. Davis will apparently be bringing two of his current assistants with him to Oxford.
The news obviously comes at an awkward time for the Blue Raiders, who easily dispatched of Vermont last night and will now face Louisville in the second round of the NIT.
“Everybody in this town knows how much I love Middle Tennessee,” Davis told reporters Tuesday night. ”My full focus is Middle Tennessee basketball and how we can make a run and keep trying to keep these guys playing in the NIT tournament.”
Kermit Davis on the Blue Jacket he wore during @MTSU win tonight-“I guarantee you it will be going to Louisville “ pic.twitter.com/DliJLChkZK
— Danny Brewer (@SportzBrew) March 14, 2018
That’s quite the guarantee.
Davis is in his 16th season with Middle Tennessee, and had led the Blue Raiders to NCAA tournament wins in each of the past two years. MTSU won the Conference USA regular season title but was stunned in the league tournament quarterfinals by Southern Mississippi.
At Ole Miss, Davis will replace Andy Kennedy, the winningest coach in school history.
Middle Tennessee will be 25-7 heading into its game at the KFC Yum Center. The time and date of that game will be announced following the completion of the other NIT first round games Wednesday night.