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...The Old Dominion Monarchs will travel to the Murphy Athletic Center to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders this Thursday night in College Basketball action.
The Old Dominion Monarchs had their 3-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 14-9 (7-4 C-USA) on the season after being defeated by the Florida Atlantic Owls, 65-61, this past Saturday. Old Dominion went into halftime with a 27-19 lead however, struggled defensively in the 2nd half and allowed Florida Atlantic to finish the game on a 25-7 run to get the come from behind victory. Old Dominion allowed Florida Atlantic to shoot 40.4% from the field and 43.5% (10-23) from beyond the arc in the loss. Leading the way for the Monarchs was Ahmad Caver who had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. On the season, Old Dominion is averaging 63.4 ppg on 40.1% shooting from the field. The Monarchs are averaging 5.0 three-pointers per game on 31.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Old Dominion has been led by Ahmad Caver (13.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.1 spg), Zoran Talley (12.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg), Brandan Stith (10.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 apg), and B.J. Stith (10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg). Defensively, Old Dominion is holding their opponents to an average of 61.1 ppg on 40.4% shooting from the field. The Monarchs have a rebound margin of 6.4 and a turnover margin of 1.2.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders had their 10-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 20-4 (10-1 C-USA) on the season after being defeated by the UTEP Miners, 57-54, this past Saturday. Middle Tennessee went into halftime with a commanding 27-16 lead, however, allowed the Miners to get the comeback victory after the allowed UTEP to finish the last 6:01 of regulation on a 15-4 run. Middle Tennessee shot 48.9% from the field however, did lose the turnover battle by a 19-12 margin. Leading the way for the Blue Raiders was JaCorey Williams who had a double-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and a steal. On the season, Middle Tennessee is averaging 73.4 ppg on 48.7% shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders are averaging 6.4 three-pointers per game on 36.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Middle Tennessee has been led by JaCorey Williams (17.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 spg), Giddy Potts (15.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 spg), Reggie Upshaw (13.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg), and Tyrik Dixon (5.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg). Defensively, Middle Tennessee is holding their opponents to an average of 63.4 ppg on 42.1% shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders have a rebound margin of 4.7 and a turnover margin of 3.0.
The Monarchs are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss however, just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Blue Raiders are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
Old Dominion has won 5 of their last 8 games and although the Monarchs can struggle on the offensive end as they rank 331st in scoring offense and 325th in FG%, Old Dominion has one of the best defenses in the country as they rank 6th in scoring defense and 36th in defensive FG%. Even with their loss against UTEP, Middle Tennessee looks like the team to beat in the C-USA this season and has been outstanding on both ends of the court as the Blue Raiders rank 21st in scoring defense, 34th in turnover margin, and 24th in FG%......
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