Nick King scored 22 points, and No. 24 Middle Tennessee won its 10th straight game with a 79-54 rout of visiting Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday in a Conference USA clash at Murphy Athletic Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Blue Raiders (23-5, 15-1 CUSA) entered the Associated Press Top 25 this week for the first time in program history. They played like they had something to celebrate.

Giddy Potts, Antwain Johnson and Brandon Walters joined King in double-figures, and Middle Tennessee's defense smothered UAB from the opening whistle.

The Blazers had just 13 points with four minutes left in the first half. Potts hit two of his four first-half 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, giving the Raiders a 33-13 lead. Potts finished with 17 points.

King had 13 of his points in the first half to help Middle Tennessee take a 40-19 lead into intermission.

It was the Blazers' third conference road game in the last nine days, and they struggled to find their shooting touch. UAB shot 26.1 percent from the floor and made 1 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half. The Blazers (17-12, 8-8) never recovered.

Freshman guard Zack Bryant scored 13 points, and Jalen Perry came off the bench to add 10 points to lead UAB. The Blazers finished 1-of-17 from 3-point land.

Middle Tennessee opened the second half with a 14-4 run, fueled by two quick threes from Johnson, who finished with 11 points. Walters had 16 points for the Blue Raiders, who have lost just once since Dec. 30.

Potts knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the game, as the lead ballooned to 70-37 with 7:30 to play.

They'll close out the regular season with two more home games, starting Thursday against second-place Western Kentucky. Middle Tennessee leads WKU by one game in the Conference USA standings.

UAB returns home looking to bounce back against Marshall on Thursday.

--Field Level Media