BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee(23-5, 15-1) vs WKU(22-7, 14-2)(CBSSN), 7PM, Thursday, March 1, 2018

[SpaceRaider]

WKU
Series: WKU leads 93-42
Location: Bowling Green, Ky.
Founded: 1906 Enrollment: 20,178 Colors: Red & White Nickname: Hilltoppers
Facility: E.A. Diddle Arena (7,326)
Head Coach: Rick Stansbury, Campbellsville, 1981 WKU Record: 15-17 (1 season) Overall Record: 308-183 (15 seasons)
2016-17 Record: 15-17, 9-9 (8th C-USA) 2017 Postseason: None
Starters R/L: 1/4 Lettermen R/L: 2/8 Newcomers: 8


GAME INFORMATION
[Game Notes]

Hashtag: #TrueBlue, #BlueRaiders
Twitter: @MT_MBB
Instagram: MT_MBB
Facebook: MTSUMBB

Date: Thursday, March 1st
Time: 7:00 PM. CT
Match-up: Middle Tennessee (23-5, 15-1) vs. Western Kentucky (22-7, 14-2)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. | Murphy Center

Live Stats


goblueraiders.com:
http://goblueraiders.com/news/2018/...mt-hosts-rival-wku-for-top-spot-in-c-usa.aspx
MT hosts rival WKU for top spot in C-USA

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400992688

 

[SpaceRaider]

wku fans on playing MT

https://247sports.com/college/weste...580/Contents/Can-we-solve-the-1-3-1-115542881
Can we solve the 1-3-1?

 

[MTBig Blue]

Most of those posters sound reasonable and smart enough, not the head-scratching stupidity that graces the Haven on a daily basis.

Granted, I haven't ventured over to that website in a few years but I highly doubt it's changed.

 

[SpaceRaider]

Interesting, old Blue Raider Lonnie stepping down before the end of his team's season... and a couple of days before his son steps foot in Murphy Center as a starter for wky

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sp...ball-coach-lonnie-thompson-retires/373795002/

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[MTOleBlue]

Parking changes announced for WKU & Marshall games.

MURFREESBORO – The Middle Tennessee Athletic Department announced today a few changes to game-day parking for the final regular season men's and women's basketball games on Thursday and Saturday.

The Greenland Drive Lot both days will be for BRAA members ONLY.

Fans who normally pay $5 to park in the Greenland Lot will have to utilize the Livestock, Middle Tennessee, Nursing, Holmes and Reese Smith Field lots. All of these lots will be free and a shuttle will be available from the Livestock, Nursing, Holmes and baseball lots beginning two hours prior to tip off. Thursday night the shuttles will begin at 5 PM and on Saturday they will start at 1 PM.

The No. 24 ranked Blue Raiders will face rival WKU on Thursday night for Blue Out, and fans will be treated to a doubleheader on Saturday with the women meeting Old Dominion at 3 PM and the men following at 6 PM against Marshall.

For tickets, please log onto GoBlueRaiders.com or contact the MT Ticket Office at 615-898-5261.

http://goblueraiders.com/news/2018/...-changes-announced-for-thursday-saturday.aspx

 

[HenryMuto]

Conf USA game of the year - Part 2

 

[MTOleBlue]

Conf USA game of the year - Part 2

This is a huge one. Electric atmosphere coming up... should be a sellout... nationally televised on CBS... and hopefully a win for the good guys. Can't ask for much more!

 

[SpaceRaider]

This is a huge one. Electric atmosphere coming up... should be a sellout... nationally televised on CBS... and hopefully a win for the good guys. Can't ask for much more!

CBS Sports Network

 

[MTOleBlue]

CBS Sports Network

Yeah yeah. Almost the same thing

 

[HenryMuto]

 

[SpaceRaider]

wbko:
http://www.wbko.com/content/sports/...-watch-two-of-the-nations-best-475166983.html
Murfreesboro the place to be Thursday to watch two of the nation's best

 

[MTsumner92]

That lopsided win over ODU tells me WKU will bring their A game. Thursday will be an ncaa tourney type of game. I hope we come out on top...

 

[MidTennMtneer]

That lopsided win over ODU tells me WKU will bring their A game. Thursday will be an ncaa tourney type of game. I hope we come out on top...

Especially considering how precarious our position is in the rankings and with the possible selection committee. We won in our own lopsided fashion, had teams above us lose, yet we still didn’t move in the polls.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

Nothing but bleacher seats remain at GoBlueRaiders.com.

Game is going to be a legit sellout.

 

[MTOleBlue]

Nothing but bleacher seats remain at GoBlueRaiders.com.

Game is going to be a legit sellout.

To be fair the UAB game also had only bleacher seats. It’ll probably be sold out, assuming we have another day of strong ticket sales tomorrow and on Thursday plus a walk up crowd to get the remainder. Hope we don’t have too much red.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

bgdn:
http://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/w...cle_f0a2e2f1-a419-5ea5-a7ea-7054d2c58266.html
WKU riding program's best shooting streak since 1978-79

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

bgdn:
http://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/w...cle_f0a2e2f1-a419-5ea5-a7ea-7054d2c58266.html
WKU riding program's best shooting streak since 1978-79

What I am worried about is WKU getting about 40 FT attempts during the game. They are going to penetrate and try to get to the foul line. We need to make them hit outside shots to beat us. Our guys need to not overplay on D and get out of position

 

[sWiley]

What I am worried about is WKU getting about 40 FT attempts during the game. They are going to penetrate and try to get to the foul line. We need to make them hit outside shots to beat us. Our guys need to not overplay on D and get out of position

Yea. WKU wants to turn it into an 8 vs. 5 style of game. Pretty slimeball approach to the game they take IMO. Abusing the latest rules changes favoring offensive players. I'm glad we win playing tough defense and not relying on refs to bail us out. Let our talent do the talking.

It really bothers me that refs don't enforce the verticality rule with defensive players. Defensive players are 100% allowed to jump vertically and defend their ground without being whistled for a foul but 99% of the time if there's contact, the refs screw the defensive players regardless. Infuriating.

 

[SpaceRaider]

-4

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college...ky-@-middle-tennessee-state.cfm/date/03-01-18

 

[sWiley]

Ugh. That's almost like a death sentence in my eyes. This is going to be a war.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

You guys are talking like some sissies.

Middle by 10.

 

[TrueBlue147]

I agree. I see us running away with this one. What was the line against UAB? 6? We beat them 25 and could have easily been 40 if we didnt let off tbe gas. I think we win by 15

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[sWiley]

I agree. I see us running away with this one. What was the line against UAB? 6? We beat them 25 and could have easily been 40 if we didnt let off tbe gas. I think we win by 15

This is exactly why the -4 terrifies me. Every other person in the country is using your same logic and Vegas knows it. I was hoping the line would be closer to -6 or -7. If this line goes down even more to -3 or -2, then we are in serious trouble.

 

[SpaceRaider]

goblueraiders.com:

MT hosts rival WKU for top spot in C-USA

dnj:

Middle Tennessee basketball vs. Western Kentucky: 5 things to know

wbko:

Conference title on the line when Western visits Middle on Thursday

cbssports.com:

Middle Tennessee vs. Western Kentucky: Watch online, live stream, TV, channel, picks, odds, analysis

BGDN:

Hilltoppers hope to limit King's damage late in shot clock

 

[SpaceRaider]

excerpt:

...The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will travel to the Murphy Athletic Center to take on the 24th ranked Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their 6th straight game and improved to 22-7 (14-2 C-USA) on the season after defeating the Old Dominion Monarchs, 88-66, this past Saturday. Western Kentucky was outstanding on the offensive end against the very good Old Dominion defense and had no trouble securing the victory after taking a 46-30 halftime lead. Western Kentucky shot 59.3% from the field and 72.2% (13-18) from the FT-line in the win. Leading the way for the Hilltoppers was Justin Johnson who had a double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and a steal. On the season, Western Kentucky is averaging 79.6 ppg on 50.2% shooting from the field. The Hilltoppers are averaging 5.6 three-pointers per game on 36.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Western Kentucky has been led by Justin Johnson (14.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.3 apg), Darius Thompson (14.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.5 spg), Taveion Hollingsworth (13.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 spg), and Dwight Coleby (11.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 bpg). Defensively, Western Kentucky is allowing their opponents to average 69.5 ppg on 42.3% shooting from the field. The Hilltoppers have a rebound margin of 2.0 and a turnover margin of 1.8.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders won their 10th consecutive game and improved to 23-5 (15-1 C-USA) on the season after defeating the UAB Blazers, 79-54, this past Saturday. Middle Tennessee came out of the gates quickly in this one and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 40-19 lead. Middle Tennessee held UAB to 36.0% shooting from the field and 5.9% (1-17) from beyond the arc in the win. Leading the way for the Blue Raiders was Nick King who had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal. On the season, Middle Tennessee is averaging 75.1 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders are averaging 7.2 three-pointers per game on 36.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Middle Tennessee has been led by Nick King (21.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 apg), Giddy Potts (13.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.5 spg), Antwain Johnson (10.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg), and Brandon Walters (10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg). Defensively, Middle Tennessee is holding their opponents to an average of 65.3 ppg on 42.4% shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders have a rebound margin of 5.9 and a turnover margin of 1.3.

The Hilltoppers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games. The Blue Raiders are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 44-21-1 ATS in their last 66 home games.

Western Kentucky has some great wins this season, including a win against Purdue at the beginning of the season, and has been led by their offense that ranks 58th in scoring offense and 8th in FG%. Middle Tennessee recently cracked the top-25 largely due to their defense that ranks T-27th in scoring defense and 90th in defensive FG%. Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee are the two best teams in the C-USA however, Middle Tennessee had dominated this matchup winning 6 of their last 7 contests against the Hilltoppers and the Blue Raiders are 12-1 at home this season.....

 

[dukewayne]

Gameday has arrived. It's a huge one. As could be said for most any "next" game, this is shaping up to be the biggest game of the season so far.

Glad it's at home with a huge crowd coming out. The Blue Raiders can use all the help they can get. It's going to be a war. Overall, I like MT's chances, but WKU is a good team. For MT to realize those chances for the win, they will have to be on top of their game with maximum effort and overall good play. Defense will be key.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

Anybody got word on Dixon?

 

[SpaceRaider]

Anybody got word on Dixon?

yesterday, I heard Kermit say that he was going to practice and allowed contact and the same today and then a decision made...

 

[MTsumner92]

Wku has its back against the wall. This is a must win for each team if they want a chance at an at large bid. Loser has to win the tourney to get in. Huge motivation. This game is going to be very emotional and i hope my tv survives the night.

 

[sWiley]

83% of the money is on MT thus far. Line has moved to -4.5 at some books. Glad to see they're moving it the "right" way. I went ahead and locked in MT -4 with my online book. Let's get it guys.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[RaiderDawg78]

I was going back through our season-by-season results, and it seems like the last time we had as meaningful a regular season, home basketball game in February was in 1989. Besides the the 4 way 13-3 first place season a few years back, we have either been eliminated from a championship or had it locked up by this time of year.

The most important home, regular season late February games I can find was in 1989, the back to back home wins over Murray and Austin Peay. That is incredible to me....almost 30 years!

Another note - still several hundred GA tickets remaining. Hoping for a strong walk up sale.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[SpaceRaider]

I was there as a freshly minted graduate and new alumnus...