BASKETBALL CUSA Tourney - #25 Middle Tennessee vs. UTEP, 11:30AM, Friday, 3/10/2017

[SpaceRaider]

Middle Tennessee vs. UTEP

Tip-Off: 11:30 a.m. CT
Legacy Arena at the BJCC

TV: CBS Sports Network
Comcast: Channel 1721
DirecTV: Channel 221
Dish: Channel 158
AT&T U-verse: Channel 1643

Radio: 1450 AM, 94.9 FM, 95.1 FM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM


warren nolan live rpi: MT #35 / UTEP #228

Live-RPI.com: MT #35 / UTEP #228

Sagarin: MT #63 / UTEP #202

Pomeroy: MT #52 / UTEP #202

KPI: MT #31 / UTEP #234

ESPN BPI: MT #52 / UTEP #232

 

[MTBig Blue]

What's that saying? "Payback's a ...". Well it will be tomorrow.

 

[Matt Dossett]

What's that saying? "Payback's a ...". Well it will be tomorrow.

LOL

 

[BRaiderDave]

we'll have to play better tomorrow than we did today to beat UTEP. To me, this will be a harder game than one in the finals would be. UTEP is pretty dang good.

 

[Raiderclyde]

Marshall will be our easiest Championship Game draw, if they make it past ODU and La Tech (likely, unless UAB pulls an upset). The Herd cannot stop anyone and we have had their number fairly often. Only if we get cold in shooting will we have trouble. Dan Dantoni is a good coach, but they are a couple of players from being contenders, much like last year.

But, first thing is first, we have Domminick Artis and Omega Harris tomorrow and Miners play big, deep, and clean up glass well in rebounding and are patient. UTEP will give us fits where the object is survive and advance! Play like there is no tomorrow, Blue Raiders, and the C-USA Championship will be ours come Saturday!

 

[SpaceRaider]

What's that saying? "Payback's a ...". Well it will be tomorrow.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

Dixon throwing up before the utsa game due to flu like symptoms. Hope the have a bottle of hand sanitizer.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

This game scares me more than the championship. If we can get past it, I feel like we will play well Saturday against anyone.

 

[MTsumner92]

Yeah....UTEP is coming on like we did last year. Tough game.

 

[sWiley]

and down goes ODU - Marshall and La. Tech in the will battle it out

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

I really hope we can take care of business today. This conference is not a 2 bid league this year without us losing. No reason to do any other team any favors. Win it out.

A week ago, I thought we would stumble in the tourney but we look good. I think we can do this.

 

[SpaceRaider]

A couple pieces from the Miner Rush blog:

The Rush Podcast, C-USA Tournament Semifinal Preview
http://www.minerrush.com/2017/3/9/1...dio-tv-betting-odds-streaming-start-time-info
UTEP vs Middle Tennessee: Game Thread, Radio, TV, Betting Odds, Streaming, Start Time Info*

*looks like streaming is only available through a handful of tv providers and comcast/xfinity is not one...

 

[SpaceRaider]

9 point favorite

 

[SpaceRaider]

excerpt:

...The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the UTEP Miners face off on Friday in Conference USA college basketball tournament semi-final action.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are 28-4 this season and they advanced to this game with a 16-point win over UTSA. Middle Tennessee is averaging 73.7 points per game and they are shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 37.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while defensively they are allowing 63.3 points and their opponents are shooting 41.9 percent. JaCorey Williams leads the Blue Raiders averaging 17.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Giddy Potts is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for MTSU, Reggie Upshaw is averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds, and Tyrik Dixon is averaging 6.2 points. Middle Tennessee is 18-1 in CUSA this season and 4-0 in neutral site games.

The UTEP Miners are 15-16 this season and they advanced to this game with a 10-point win over Rice on Thursday. UTEO Is averaging 69.1 points per game and they are shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 34.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while defensively they are allowing 68.9 points and their opponents are shooting 42.5 percent. Omega Harris leads the Miners averaging 16.8 points per game. Dominic Artis is averaging 14.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists for UTEP, Matt Willms is averaging 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, and Paul Thomas is averaging 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. UTEP is 13-6 in Conference USA play 2-2 in neutral site games.

Middle Tennessee is 4-1 against the spread against a team with a losing record, 8-2 against the spread in neutral site games, and 19-7 against the spread in their last 26 games. UTEP is 14-2 against the spread in their last 16 games, 6-2 against the spread in their last 8 neutral site games, and 7-0 against the spread against a team with a winning record. The underdog has covered the point spread in 4 of the last 5 meetings of these 2 teams.....

 

[SpaceRaider]

DNJ:

MT advances to Conference USA semifinals

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

How is our TV / streaming contract so wonky? One day it is this. The other it is that. Can someone just go down there and KODI or Periscope the game?

 

[RaiderDawg78]

To emphasize how important this game is - Jerry Palm has us on the bubble probably out if we do not win the C-USA tournament.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

We are burning couches at the square sunday if we are left out.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

In 2013, the Raiders became one of the least deserving teams to ever receive an at-large bid, with only one RPI top 100 win. They are already in better shape now, with four. Two of them are over other non-major conference leaders and none over likely at-large teams. They also have a home loss to Tennessee State and at real clunker at UTEP. There is little margin for error playing a C-USA schedule.

Someone is holding on to some grudges.

Jerry Palm is a programmer turned media dude, having run some college websites that clearly favor p5 schools. These guys man....

 

[MT Glenn]

In 2013, the Raiders became one of the least deserving teams to ever receive an at-large bid, with only one RPI top 100 win. They are already in better shape now, with four. Two of them are over other non-major conference leaders and none over likely at-large teams. They also have a home loss to Tennessee State and at real clunker at UTEP. There is little margin for error playing a C-USA schedule.

Someone is holding on to some grudges.

As we all know. Wins over " non-major conference leaders " don't count.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[HenryMuto]

This is the worst possible opponent you guys could have played today.

UTEP has already beat you once the only team in conf to do so and they are white hot but if you beat them you get zero credit because they have an RPI of 227 but if you lose you get dinged with another "terrible" loss because of their RPI which could knock you out of at at large.

They are two 1 point losses away from having a 12 game winning streak and 5 points away from a 16 game winning streak.

How was this team so horrific early in the year when they had a 12 game losing streak with losses including teams like SE Louisiana, Northwestern St, Northern Arizona and Maryland-Eastern Shore.

 

[SigmaNuBlue]

This is the worst possible opponent you guys could have played today.

UTEP has already beat you once the only team in conf to do so and they are white hot but if you beat them you get zero credit because they have an RPI of 227 but if you lose you get dinged with another "terrible" loss because of their RPI which could knock you out of at at large.

I actually think the fact that we have already lost to them gives us an edge today. No chance we overlook them again. We know what they can do, and we know no lead is safe with them.

 

[Matt Dossett]

I actually think the fact that we have already lost to them gives us an edge today. No chance we overlook them again. We know what they can do, and we know no lead is safe with them.

This.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

11:53

MT 14
utpe 7

 

[sWiley]

time to leave habersham in the whole game. looks like none of our big 3 "want it" to me. UTEP sizes is a real problem and just seem to swallow them up

 

[sWiley]

if dixson jacks up one more bad 3...

 

[MTTim]

Dixon is off. Leave him out.

 

[sWiley]

if we dont start shooting better I fear we are going to have an unfavorable outcome. UTEP isn't going to stay this cold the whole game

 

[sWiley]

we need to get williams going. he can take this game over

 

[sWiley]

no lead is safe against this team. keep pounding. I love our depth and how it allows us to play high pressure defense for so long. Most teams are not very deep and simply can't afford to do it because they would gas out too fast.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[MTBig Blue]

About as good of a first half as we could have hoped for. On another note, Johnson is going to be a good one. Glad we have 2 more years of him.

 

[sWiley]

37-23 MT lead at the half. We've done an amazing job limiting UTEP's opportunities. They have exactly ZERO offensive rebounds and I'm pretty sure ZERO fast break points. Our defense switching is giving them absolute fits. Like Kermit said, our bench play has been huge. Johnson and Habersham combined for those 4 3's in the first half which is basically our lead right now. I feel good being up 14 because I feel like our team should know better after losing down 17.

UTEP is no doubt going to make some adjustments at the half and probably make a run. I hope we are ready for it. Very interested to see what UTEP tries with their guards getting absolutely $hit on.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[MTTim]

We need to start strong the second half. Push the lead out to 25-30. UTEP will make a run and we need a cushion
Keep the defense going

 

[sWiley]

For those who care or are interested, the second half life in this game is Middle Tennessee -1.5