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BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee (24-5, 16-1) vs Marshall (20-10, 11-6), Senior Night, 6PM, Saturday, March 3, 2018

Hit our free throws and we win. I hope we see Marshall again. Guarantee we won't shoot that bad again.
 
Chalk it up to a bad game with those missed FT's. I expect MT to still win this conf tournament and end up dancing. Should MT lose in tournament maybe you still get an at large bid but less sure now that I was a couple hours ago when I thought you guys were a lock.
 
What's worse than losing this gut wrenching punch in the face game? Arriving on the board here to see that Wiley and his twin brother has shown up to lift everyone's spirits.

Seriously though, that troll makes Wiley look like a gentleman of grace, virtue, and tolerance. Unbelievable!
 
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Trying to set frustration and emotion aside, it seems pretty clear that there was a huge hangover from Thursday night. Not only for MT, but for WKU as well. Dang, WKU losses by 30 to UAB this evening?! Across sports, it happens. Hardly no one is immune to it. How many top teams beat a top ranked rival in a key game only to fall next time out vs average team x, y, or z?

Credit Marshall, they did what they had to do. It was clear from early in the game that MT was not intently focused on the game. Kermit was even trying all the usual interventions to snap them out of it to no avail.

A couple of the stats reveal the nature of the loss. Rebounding, the usually dominant MT was out rebounded by Marshall which speaks to effort and attitude. FTs, MT was horrible. As most know, FTs are mental. The horrible FT shooting reflected MT not being focused. Brandon Walters was about the lone exception tonight as he played well. The countless defensive breakdowns and losing shooters are the other exhibits of a lack of focus.

This was the game MT could not lose regarding a possible at-large bid. MT's chances for an at-large looked real good if MT stumbled in the semis or finals in Dallas. If they had lost in one of those games, I think MT's chances were still really good. If they lose down there now, it is a real big question mark. I'm not going to say MT would be out. I wouldn't say MT would be in. It would likely mean one long nerve wrecking Selection Sunday.

Then again, maybe this will be another wake up call for MT to attack the C-USA tourney and remove all doubt.
 
Kermit was pulling King and inserting Simpson over and over... I kept thinking LEAVE SIMPSON IN THE GAME.

King made every mistake possible... leave him on the bench because he was hurting the team
 
King killed us tonight. He took a bunch of bad shots and couldn't hit anything when he got fouled. We just do not matchup well with Marshall. Kermit can't seem to figure out how tp stop their offense. Im afraid they may put us out of the CUSA tournament ig our guys don't come out with a little pride.

This loss also hurts our chance of getting a higher seed if we do make the tournament. Now were back down around the 12 level.
 
King's play was down right fishy IMO. A kid with his talent just doesn't go 3-11 from the FT line. It just doesn't happen. Nearly everyone on this message board could have shot FT's better than King tonight.
 
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From here on out, it’s going to be little things that will mean if we go dancing next Saturday or if we stumble into the NIT. Free throws and rebounding were problematic for us tonight. Marshall did not particularly execute threes that well, but they got interior looks too often. This was a bad loss being at home.

With this loss, it’s Tournament Championship or bust as far as NCAA’s are concerned. Our at large consideration is virtually done now. If we lose in C-USA Tournament that gives us loss #7 and that is too much to overcome. Seeding will be 12 most likely; maybe 11 if a few favorable seeds lose ahead also next week. Let’s rebound and go get the hardware in Frisco, Texas!!
 
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Wiley, just when this thread had you appearing to be one of the sane posters, you still manage to go off the rails.

Instead of outrage and flaming, I'll just try to simply and calmly approach this matter.

Wiley, would you please remove the post of calling one of the player's character into question?

Unless you have some real evidence to prove otherwise, casting aspersions on any of the players just ain't right. Not to mention that those players deserve better from the fanbase.
 
Wiley continues to display his ineptness for reality. I hope he will consider getting some professional help.

I will offer another - more viable explanation. Nick just looked plain worn out to me. Consider he hasn't played a full season in three years. Further, consider that he has nearly doubled the amount of minutes he's played in any season. He's simply never played this much basketball. When guys are missing free throws like he did it's usually because of tired legs.

IMO, Kermit needs to be very careful with him in the tournament. He needs to find longer stretches during the game to give him some breaks.
 
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King did nothing Sat. night we haven't seen before if you've been watching. The only difference is that he was in a funk for the entire game and not just for a short period. He tends to take occasional bad shots; sometimes gets in a bad place for a time after a negative play; and occasionally just nonchalants receiving or making a pass or handling the ball. (I would guess that during the course of the season we've given up a dozen or more layups to the opposing team because of King's unforced turnovers or lack of effort on a 50-50 ball.)

All that said, King is the highest rated (since rating services came into being) and probably the most talented player at MT in the last couple of decades. Because of what he brings to the table I have to believe Davis gives King a longer leash than other players. At times it seems obvious to this fan that King gets away with things that Davis has never allowed in any other player.

As for the accusation of point-shaving by someone who admittedly gambles frequently on college sports. I guess if you're in the arena you can't help smelling the popcorn. I saw nothing from King I haven't seen before, he's a smart kid (young man), and I don't think he would do anything to jeopardize his future or the team's success. We had a mediocre night from every player but Walters, tried to play three at the point and none were effective, absolutely no bench help from those who at times have been very good, etc. Just a bad night overall.

Now on to prove the old adage to The Herd if we both get past the quarterfinals: "It's hard to beat a good team three times in a row."
 
Look, we won the regular season title back to back. The loss hurt but it kinda doesn't matter and we always play better after a loss. We re-ignite. Couldn't happen at a better time before the tourney. You know we are practicing with a new energy. We'll be fine.
 
" . . . but it kinda doesn't matter . . ."

Another old coaching adage: "You probably need to lose one before the tournament"

Agreed, all things being equal; but it you're a %$&-major barely holding on to National rankings, respect, and a potential at-large bid you're caught in a bad place. Any loss, to anybody, in any game this late in the season has so much impact.
 
Sucks to lose the Top 25 ranking, but nothing else has really changed for this team. A win still didn't guarantee a spot in the dance. Handle business from here on out and everything is still within reach.
 
I know I'm being repetitive, but that game had all the hallmarks of the type of trap game coming off of a huge win. The WKU win may not have been along the lines of the Mich St win, but it was still incredibly big and important. The rival, a packed Murphy Center, Conference Title, a chance to move up in Top 25 all at the start of March.

That was some real buzz after the WKU game and all that came with it. Even in the big win, there was a lot of energy invested in that game. Then having to turnaround for Marshall within two days was a recipe for what occurred. Being that Marshall was the only conference loss, I thought the team was going to be ready for some payback. They weren't. The focus and intensity just wasn't there. Walters is the only exception that stands out in my mind from that night.
 
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