BASKETBALL MBB: Middle Tennessee vs UTSA (ASN). 3PM Saturday, January 9

[SpaceRaider]

goblueraiders.com:

MT HOSTS UTSA ON JAN. 9 AT 3 P.M.

GAME INFORMATION
(FULL GAME NOTES)

Hashtag: #TrueFamily, #BlueRaiders
Twitter: MT_MBB
Instagram: @MT_MBB
Facebook: Blue Raider Athletics

Date: Saturday, Jan. 9
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Teams: Middle Tennessee (9-5) vs UTSA (3-13)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Stadium: The Murphy Center (11,520)
TV: American Sports Network
Radio: WMOT-FM (89.5), WGNS (1450 AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM), Game 2 (102.5/94.9/95.1)
Play-by-Play:Chip Walters
Analysis: Kyle Turnham

Live Audio/Live Streaming | Live Stats

 

[SpaceRaider]

excerpt:

...The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the UTSA Roadrunners face off on Saturday in a conference USA college basketball match up.

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders are 9-5 this season and they have win two of their last three games. MTSU is averaging 69.8 points and they are shooting 42.9 percent while defensively they are allowing 67.7 points and their opponents are shooting 40.8 percent. Reggie Upshaw leads the Blue Raiders averaging 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Giddy Potts is averaging 14 points and 6.4 rebounds, Darnell Harris is averaging 13.2 points, and Perrin Buford is averaging 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds. MTSU looks like they have a chance to land in the post season somewhere.

The Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners are 3-13 this season and they have lost four of their last five games. UTSA is averaging 71.4 points and they are shooting 42.5 percent from the floor while defensively they are allowing 87.6 points and their opponents are shooting 52 percent. Ryan Bowie leads the Roadrunners averaging 17.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. J.R. Harris is averaging 12.7 points, Christian Wilson is averaging 11.9 points, and Gino Littles is averaging 8.2 points. UTSA just seems to be no match on the defensive end of the court.

Middle Tennessee is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games, 19-8-1 against the spread in their last 28 home games, and 5-12-1 against the spread against Conference USA. UTSA is 1-5 against the spread in their last six road games, 1-5 against the spread against Conference USA, and 0-5 against the spread in their last five road games against a team with a winning home record.....

 

[SpaceRaider]

Raiders are a heavy favorite

 

[dukewayne]

A few stats from game notes to consider for high likelihood of winning games:

Need lead with 5 mins to go in game

>40% FG%

>70pts in game

A lot has been made this season of first team to 60 in MT games. That seems to have made sense w/ MT defensive history. Maybe it's the new shot clock or just defense and team overall, but I thought 60 pts a game has seemed to come up short, more like 65-70 pts a game is perhaps needed. Turns out when MT has scored 70 or more in a game, MT is a perfect 6-0. When MT scores less than 70, MT is a stomach churning 3-5.

So, you gotta like MT chances when shooting >40% from the field and scoring 70 or more points in each game.

 

[SpaceRaider]

http://bbstate.com/games/2016-01-09/UTSA-MTSU

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Well, BB is an "offensive" game. Sometimes I think we focus too much on D and rebounding and forget about balancing all aspects of the game.

 

[SpaceRaider]

goutsa.com:
http://www.goutsa.com/ViewArticle.d...88&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210621341&DB_OEM_ID=13100
UTSA to face Middle Tennessee in televised matchup on Saturday

utsa game notes

 

[SpaceRaider]

http://americansportsnet.com/schedule/

This says the game will be on MyTV30/WUXP but looking at the guide on comcast it says UVA @ Gatech.

 

[MTLynn]

It is on 30 after UVA @ Gatech. I've got it set to record

 

[MTBig Blue]

So far, it looks like we are completely unprepared to play this game today. We look terrible .

 

[TeKEraider]

Yep. Ugly. Can't make shots. Not playing D.

 

[MTBig Blue]

And UTSA has 19 freaking points at the foul line. That tells you all you need to know right there.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Don't matter. We showed up at the end and won that thang. Go Blue. #trueheart

 

[SpaceRaider]

That's two conference games in a row where the officiating has been horrible. UTSA was constantly going to the line and was 19 of 20 in the first half. They were playing out of their minds and did not look like they had only won three games. Glad that if MT was going to play as poorly as they did, the Raiders still found enough inside to win it at the end.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[dukewayne]

Well, BB is an "offensive" game. Sometimes I think we focus too much on D and rebounding and forget about balancing all aspects of the game.

I generally agree that well balanced is a good idea in just about everything. As critical as I sometimes can be of Kermit, this area is really not one of those times. The emphasis Kermit has on tough hard nosed defense is something I love about Kermit. I really like his emphasis on defense and rebounding.

Certainly, I want to see good play on offense as well. Kinda have to agree w/ Kermit, good offense starts on defense. My guess is that the reason beyond steals and fast break points is because high level defense requires team to play with tremendous effort, energy, intensity, and focus. All of those desirable attributes that are critical to defense and rebounding are bound to transition to the other end of the court when on offense. When the team is then playing with that level of effort, intensity, and focus on both ends of the court, good things are going to happen in most games. Dare I say, lots of success. Don't get me wrong though, there's plenty of room for improvement on the offensive side i.e. ball movement.

 

[dukewayne]

Clarification: Watching Kermit's teams has about convinced me that good offense starts with good defense.

 

[dukewayne]

MT shots >40% from the field - check

MT had lead w/ 5mins to go in game - check

MT scored over 70pts - check

MT wins.

Although, I must admit lethargic play in the 1st half combined with incredible UTSA FT% was looking disastrous there for a while.

I think in years past, Kermit's mention of 60 pts was probably accurate. This season with new shot clock rules, I understand scoring avg nationally is up almost 10%. This might be a good explanation why 70 pts now seems to be the key score to substantially increase MT's chances of winning any given game.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

I still think we get lost on the offensive end a lot, good players disappear. And I think we are relying way too much on the 3 point shot. I do love our D intensity (although with good opposing guards they end up on the FT line - like UAB and UTSA early). UTSA guard play lost them the game down the stretch with multiple turnovers.

But good teams win when they play bad - so I count this one as a good win.

 

[blueboro007]

That's two conference games in a row where the officiating has been horrible. UTSA was constantly going to the line and was 19 of 20 in the first half. They were playing out of their minds and did not look like they had only won three games. Glad that if MT was going to play as poorly as they did, the Raiders still found enough inside to win it at the end.

The reason both UTEP and UTSA got to the line so often is they have guards they dribble penetrate to the basket and create easy buckets or get fouled. We get in ruts where we just pass the ball around the perimeter and then settle for a crappy shot.

 

[Hop45]

We didn't play well most of the night, but UTSA sure did not look like a 3-10 team. They shot the lights out first half. Giddy carried the team the first half and kept us close and Harris gave the team a spark to start the second half. Hard fought win. UTSA is much better than their record.