BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee (3-14, 0-4) vs. UTSA (10-7, 4-0), 6:30PM, Thursday, January 17, 2019

[SpaceRaider]

JAN 17 (THU) 6:30 PM
C-USA
VS UTSA
MURFREESBORO, TN

TV: ESPN+ Talent: Jake Rose (PxP), Alex Myers (Analyst)
RADIO: 94.9/95.1 FM


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LIVE STATS

PREVIEW

GAME NOTES

TUNEIN

 

[SpaceRaider]

MT a four point dog at home

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college...io-@-middle-tennessee-state.cfm/date/01-17-19

 

[SpaceRaider]

excerpt:

...CUSA college basketball action pits UTSA Roadrunners against the Blue Raiders.

The Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners ran their conference record to 4-0 with a 76-74 win against North Texas on Saturday as a two point home dog.

Jhivvan Jackson paced a balanced Roadrunners offense with 17 points followed by Nick Allen with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Keaton Wallace gave UTSA eleven points and another ten rebounds with Giovanni De Nicolao supplied ten points and five pulls.

A struggling Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders squad have lost ten in a row after a 73-56 defeat at Louisiana Tech as a 12.5 point underdog.

Middle Tennessee was only down six points after 20 minutes but were done in by a 21 point second half with limited scoring options.

Reggie Scurry was the Blue Raiders top threat with 13 points and six boards followed by a 12 point, four pull effort by James Hawthorne.

MT received ten points and three yanks from Antonio Green while Karl Gamble rounded out the offense with nine points and seven rebounds.

Under is 23-7 in UTSA last 30 overall and UTSA are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games overall and under is 14-5 in UTSA last 19 vs. Conference USA. MT are 7-19 ATS in their last 26 games overall and under is 9-4 in MT last 13 overall. Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings and home team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

The Roadrunners are on fire and the Blue Raiders are struggling mightily…

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Anybody gonna go tonite? Shouldn’t be a tough ticket for a decent seat.

 

[SpaceRaider]

It's not a tough ticket when you have season tickets.

 

[crposton]

Anyone know the story on Mosley? Seems to get a decent amount of playing time for a walk-on. He is also a senior. He play college at a lower level? Not anything on him online.

 

[crposton]

Still blew the lead, but did it late enough to hold on. Where did Hawthorne come from? Good win tonight.

 

[kingaling42]

Guessing Wiley lost his bet tonight.. making perimeter shots makes a huge difference.. nice to see guys make FTs down the stretch- 9 of 12 in the final minute.. good to see since they haven’t had a lot of close games

 

[MTOleBlue]

Great win. UTSA was in 1st place, 4-0...

 

[sWiley]

Guessing Wiley lost his bet tonight.. making perimeter shots makes a huge difference.. nice to see guys make FTs down the stretch- 9 of 12 in the final minute.. good to see since they haven’t had a lot of close games

Created On:
01/17/2019 at 03:22 PM
PICK DETAIL
EVENT DAY | 01/17/2019 AT 07:30 PM [1622] 1H MIDDLE TENN ST +2-110

Was 110 to win 100. I quit betting against our game spreads since the southern miss game. Actually took MT for the second half in that one and they covered. Vegas finally wised up and started making us big dogs as they should have all along. Now all the value is on MT first halfs. If I only bet MT sports I'd never have to work

 

[crposton]

Created On:
01/17/2019 at 03:22 PM
PICK DETAIL
EVENT DAY | 01/17/2019 AT 07:30 PM [1622] 1H MIDDLE TENN ST +2-110

Was 110 to win 100. I quit betting against our game spreads since the southern miss game. Actually took MT for the second half in that one and they covered. Vegas finally wised up and started making us big dogs as they should have all along. Now all the value is on MT first halfs. If I only bet MT sports I'd never have to work

Wiley I do not care if you keep betting, but I want us to win ans hope you do too. Maybe you and MTSU can get some wins.

 

[crposton]

Two games in a row Hawthorne has played well. Hope he keeps it up and gives us a legit 3rd option or even second. Still do not feel good about him being our 2nd or 3rd option, but I hope he can be.

 

[Raiderclyde]

Congratulations, Coach McDevitt on your first C-USA win at MT! Whether 3 or 30 margin it's still a great feeling! Got something to build upon taking down a conference leader tonight. Lets get a UTEP win on Saturday to start a winning streak. Who knows, if we work out our problems we just may get hot enough in February to make noise into the C-USA Tournament.

 

[MTsumner92]

Yeah!!!! the drought is over!!!

 

[C-Bow]

Anyone know the story on Mosley? Seems to get a decent amount of playing time for a walk-on. He is also a senior. He play college at a lower level? Not anything on him online.

Played lower level ball at Dyersburg State. Only thing I've seen is he put up 9.4 PPG last year in 12 games. Shot 50% from deep..

 

[RandallThomason]

Good win! UTEP on Saturday is a huge game for having a chance to qualify for the conference tournament. Have to get that win!

 

[MightyRaider]

Good to see us get off the schneid. Curious to see if see can avoid huge runs/second half collapses in games moving forward. Crazy to think we are celebrating a win over USTA but I’ll take it at this point.

 

[MTLynn]

 

[crposton]

Played lower level ball at Dyersburg State. Only thing I've seen is he put up 9.4 PPG last year in 12 games. Shot 50% from deep..

Yea I found that after digging a little deeper. His film in juco looked pretty good. He is definitely one that can spell our guards for a bit without sacrficing a lot. Would like to see him look a little more like his film, but I think he had a knee injury.

 

[dukewayne]

Well good. Glad to see the Blue Raiders put one up in the win column. Those players have continued to play hard and grow as a team despite the horrible record. That is a pretty big deal in my opinion. That is the main reason I've hopeful MT could win a few games down the stretch. It has also shown up in the team sustaining better play for longer lengths of time in each game. In this win, it looks MT finally put together 30+ mins of playing decently well to the system.

Dang if UTSA didn't get hot with their 3s in the closing couple of mins. Once MT started to defend those 3s a little better in the closing minute, they were able to seal the deal.

Who would have guessed, anyone can truly beat anyone in C-USA. MT was dead last, UTSA was in first place. MT got the big win to end the losing streak vs team in first place. Strange season.

 

[MTFNBY5]

Boy, do I feel better about the state of the program after last night. Funny how much better it is after just one win against a good team (I didn't say great but darn, does SA have shooters - easy to see why Johnson was last years' C-USA freshman of the year). Team played hard, really goes after rebounds; handling, passing, and execution is beginning to significantly improve. We are still very limited but improvement, at least last night, was evident.

Listening to Monte's podcast I found out that one of the best players (tied for scoring high in the blow out upset at UNC) for Louisville is the transfer from Ashville. Monte and Hertzer both seemed to think the McDevitt will be a good recruiter at MT. Monte: "They will be a much different team next year." I'm beginning to have just a little more hope for the future of the program.

 

[MTBig Blue]

He can definitely spot talent. Problem was that UNCA's best player transferred out after each year he was there.

 

[sWiley]

Winning is contagious. Teams have to learn how to win, and sometimes the W's can start to come in bunches once teams get it figured, especially playing at home. So hopefully more to come.

We've never been that devoid of talent which is why I've been pretty critical with my comments recently. Just gotta stop turning the ball over and hit some freakin' shots for 4 quarters. About damn time.

 

[kingaling42]

He can definitely spot talent. Problem was that UNCA's best player transferred out after each year he was there.

Not every year and yet somehow they kept reloading and winning titles...

 

[crposton]

I was really hoping he could bring a transfer over with him. Especially Baehre. 6’10” and very skilled from Getmany. Transferred to Clemson.

 

[MTFNBY5]

He can definitely spot talent. Problem was that UNCA's best player transferred out after each year he was there.

IIRC MT hasn't lost a player to a higher-profile program since Raleigh Choice and LaRay Davis transferred to Florida St. during the coaching change from Simpson to Stewart. IMHO it would be a real slap in the face to fans of a program that was aspiring to relevancy to have good players constantly transferring to power schools. I would have a hard time accepting even one player using MT as a feeder school, even more so had they gone to VU, UT-K or perhaps any $EC school.

Perhaps our friend from Ashville, kingaling42, could help us out to understand the numerous transfers under McDevitt at UNCA, something that I don't believe has been adequately explored. Was it something unique about the school, the city of Ashville, the conference, Coach McDevitt, each of the players, or was it just "something in the water". Hard to believe that three players all transferred out and were willing to sit a year to go elsewhere and that each had a major role, once eligible, at a "power" school.

 

[kingaling42]

IIRC MT hasn't lost a player to a higher-profile program since Raleigh Choice and LaRay Davis transferred to Florida St. during the coaching change from Simpson to Stewart. IMHO it would be a real slap in the face to fans of a program that was aspiring to relevancy to have good players constantly transferring to power schools. I would have a hard time accepting even one player using MT as a feeder school, even more so had they gone to VU, UT-K or perhaps any $EC school.

Perhaps our friend from Ashville, kingaling42, could help us out to understand the numerous transfers under McDevitt at UNCA, something that I don't believe has been adequately explored. Was it something unique about the school, the city of Ashville, the conference, Coach McDevitt, each of the players, or was it just "something in the water". Hard to believe that three players all transferred out and were willing to sit a year to go elsewhere and that each had a major role, once eligible, at a "power" school.

I’ve posted the various challenges that UNCA has had in regard to both attracting and retaining players several times now actually... see Well, this sucks.. by the way we’ve had more than 3 players transfer ‘up’.. and yes I know all 6 players and the reasons they gave for leaving- by the way all that transferred ended up starting at the schools they went to- they didn’t just fall into any voids which is a testament to them working hard/developing and the recruiting ability of this staff..

Hornsby- LSU
Rowsey- Marquette
Dylan Smith- Arizona (senior)
Dwayne Sutton- Louisville (senior)
MaCio Teague- Baylor (redshirt)
Jon Baehre- Clemson (redshirt)

Main Issues
1. The academic requirements at UNCA are challenging.
2. The main source of ethnic diversity on campus is within the student athlete population.
3. All of the transfers (except Rowsey) had NCAA tourney experience and team/individual success early.
4. UNCA is one of the lowest funded programs in the country (the cost per win is always around the top in the nation though)
5 UNCA is a successful program but in a low major conference.

Most of these players left in part to play in a better program many at the behest is overbearing parents- the last 2 left with the coaching change.. they were all starters, most had been all conference or all tourney performers.. All but Hornsby and Smith were overlooked coming out of HS... Hornsby has a close relationship with former associate coach Brett Carey who also played at Oak Hill..

 

[dukewayne]

Obviously not knocking anyone, but it doesn't take an expert to see why UNC-A would have difficulty retaining elite level talent that a skilled recruiting HC was able to land. While Asheville is nice town and a good school there, it's not exactly a crossroads of elite big time athletics programs.

CNM's style and ability to recruit has been something in which I have confidence. I'm also confident that CNM will not have the same problems of keeping highly talented athletes at MT. Sure there are always exceptions, but I don't expect it to be the rule here at MT. With sustained winning, MT can get opportunities to compete and win on the national stage for aspiring highly skilled athletes.

 

[MTFNBY5]

I’ve posted the various challenges that UNCA has had in regard to both attracting and retaining players several times now actually... see Well, this sucks.. by the way we’ve had more than 3 players transfer ‘up’.. and yes I know all 6 players and the reasons they gave for leaving- by the way all that transferred ended up starting at the schools they went to- they didn’t just fall into any voids which is a testament to them working hard/developing and the recruiting ability of this staff..

Hornsby- LSU
Rowsey- Marquette
Dylan Smith- Arizona (senior)
Dwayne Sutton- Louisville (senior)
MaCio Teague- Baylor (redshirt)
Jon Baehre- Clemson (redshirt)

Main Issues
1. The academic requirements at UNCA are challenging.
2. The main source of ethnic diversity on campus is within the student athlete population.
3. All of the transfers (except Rowsey) had NCAA tourney experience and team/individual success early.
4. UNCA is one of the lowest funded programs in the country (the cost per win is always around the top in the nation though)
5 UNCA is a successful program but in a low major conference.

Most of these players left in part to play in a better program many at the behest is overbearing parents- the last 2 left with the coaching change.. they were all starters, most had been all conference or all tourney performers.. All but Hornsby and Smith were overlooked coming out of HS... Hornsby has a close relationship with former associate coach Brett Carey who also played at Oak Hill..

Apologize for my tardiness in responding since I asked for this response:

To continue this discussion with my first comment on your statement on overbearing parents - not just parents but friends, hangers-on, AAU coaches and sponsors, high school coaches and administrators (especially those at the BkB factories); anyone who wants to be associated with successful athletes at the highest level possible in order to stroke their egos and/or pocketbook. Status has overcome loyalty as a desired personal trait.

You have mentioned several time in posts about the academics at UNCA. I was under the impression when one of my children was considering one of the UNC campuses (don't remember which campus - many years ago) that all UNC entrance requirements were higher than any state sponsored school in TN and that the UNC campuses had higher requirements than the other state-supported schools in NC (App. St, WCU, ECU, etc.) Is this your understanding?
And on to UNCA specifically? Is UNCA significantly different academically than say, our conference rival UNCC? If so, what makes up that difference?

 

[kingaling42]

Apologize for my tardiness in responding since I asked for this response:

To continue this discussion with my first comment on your statement on overbearing parents - not just parents but friends, hangers-on, AAU coaches and sponsors, high school coaches and administrators (especially those at the BkB factories); anyone who wants to be associated with successful athletes at the highest level possible in order to stroke their egos and/or pocketbook. Status has overcome loyalty as a desired personal trait.

You have mentioned several time in posts about the academics at UNCA. I was under the impression when one of my children was considering one of the UNC campuses (don't remember which campus - many years ago) that all UNC entrance requirements were higher than any state sponsored school in TN and that the UNC campuses had higher requirements than the other state-supported schools in NC (App. St, WCU, ECU, etc.) Is this your understanding?
And on to UNCA specifically? Is UNCA significantly different academically than say, our conference rival UNCC? If so, what makes up that difference?

Never saw your reply and follow up question- sorry about that..

Entrance requirements at UNC campuses are more stringent than most of the others that are part of the UNC system (ie WCU, ECU, & App State) .. the short answer to my reference on academics and without delving into the metrics is that there are no academic exceptions allowed at UNCA for athletes.. many schools will allow some latitude for athlete admissions that are below the par level of other freshmen/transfer students... additionally UNCA does not allow JUCO transfers unless the student athlete is an academic qualifier out of HS (which is counter to why most kids go to JUCO vs prep).. once on campus the professors in many academic areas do not treat athletes any different, in fact I’d say there even a slight opposing bias at least in terms of attitudes and understanding of travel/class time missed etc.. there’s always been a pervasive conflict at the academic level between athletics and academics on campus.. I’m not sure it’s a much a retention factor as it certainly is a recruiting factor in regard to our original discussion.. I can think of only 2 kids who left due to academics in the past 15 or so years.. but we’ve had some other elite players on academic probation a few times.. it will be easier for CNM and staff to recruit some players at MTSU that they could not while at UNCA..

 

[MTFNBY5]

Thanks, I thought you had missed my post.

Don't doubt CNM will have ability to recruit in a "bigger pond" at MT because of the factors you listed in your previous post. Additionally, the fact that that McDevitt recruited many players who were successful at a "higher" level leads me to believe he has the ability to find and recruit "sleeper" high schoolers who become impact players immediately and get noticed early; Davis' most obvious ability regarding high schoolers was to sign under-valued high school Bigs and develop them to their potential over time. Your explanation gives me hope that MT will do a better job recruiting high school players than durning the previous regime.

To expand somewhat over your explanation on UNCA's academics: We would hope that no college professors have a bias one way or the other regarding any students but I'm aware that even in high school some teachers don't like the extra work required to "cater" to students who miss class for any reason. I can see why that could be a problem in a smaller university w/o many teachers for the academic counselors in the athletic dept to choose between when making out athletes schedules. As for the conflict between academics and athletics. We hear that refrain often about VU where it is said of the supporters and school administration: They want to be Harvard on Mon. through Fri. throughout the year and to be Alabama on Saturdays in the fall.
It is common knowledge that schools with higher standards than the NCAA requirements (I've always assumed that MT can get any athlete in if he/she meets those) allow exceptions for students who bring something exceptional to the campus. It's common knowledge that Duke allows exceptions. I assume to be competitive UNC-CH does the same and IIRC UNC-CH has had several JUCOs through the years. Is UNCA unique among the UNC campuses to have such stringent policies regarding exceptions and JUCOs? If so, how did this uniqueness develop in Ashville?

As for the ethnic diversity on campus being primarily among the athletes. Having been to Ashville several times but focusing on The Biltmore and downtown I don't remember any impressions of the population but I assume that the area (as is a huge portion of Appalachia) is primarily white. Are none of North Carolina's dozen or so HBCUs close enough to allow social interaction with UNCA's ethnic athletes?

Three additional questions regarding your knowledge about McDevitt's recruiting philosophy. The mid-state has produced many &$%-major players who Davis either never recruited or was unable to sign. IMHO, and I realize this is "old school", we need more mid-state players on the roster. Does McDevitt have the propensity to keep local players home?
One question that's hard to ask without appearing racist: The rosters at Belmont and Lipscomb have been littered with white players from what should be MT's primary recruiting area who Davis apparently never even looked at even though they obviously could have played at MT. I'm not charging Davis with seeing race (All coaches just want the best players) but over his 18 years only three scholarship players where white. Other than giving a "stock" answer can we expect to see more diversity on the roster in the future?
Lastly, what are McDevitt's international contacts and how soon do you think we will have an international element on the team?

 

[kingaling42]

Thanks, I thought you had missed my post.

Don't doubt CNM will have ability to recruit in a "bigger pond" at MT because of the factors you listed in your previous post. Additionally, the fact that that McDevitt recruited many players who were successful at a "higher" level leads me to believe he has the ability to find and recruit "sleeper" high schoolers who become impact players immediately and get noticed early; Davis' most obvious ability regarding high schoolers was to sign under-valued high school Bigs and develop them to their potential over time. Your explanation gives me hope that MT will do a better job recruiting high school players than durning the previous regime.

To expand somewhat over your explanation on UNCA's academics: We would hope that no college professors have a bias one way or the other regarding any students but I'm aware that even in high school some teachers don't like the extra work required to "cater" to students who miss class for any reason. I can see why that could be a problem in a smaller university w/o many teachers for the academic counselors in the athletic dept to choose between when making out athletes schedules. As for the conflict between academics and athletics. We hear that refrain often about VU where it is said of the supporters and school administration: They want to be Harvard on Mon. through Fri. throughout the year and to be Alabama on Saturdays in the fall.
It is common knowledge that schools with higher standards than the NCAA requirements (I've always assumed that MT can get any athlete in if he/she meets those) allow exceptions for students who bring something exceptional to the campus. It's common knowledge that Duke allows exceptions. I assume to be competitive UNC-CH does the same and IIRC UNC-CH has had several JUCOs through the years. Is UNCA unique among the UNC campuses to have such stringent policies regarding exceptions and JUCOs? If so, how did this uniqueness develop in Ashville?

As for the ethnic diversity on campus being primarily among the athletes. Having been to Ashville several times but focusing on The Biltmore and downtown I don't remember any impressions of the population but I assume that the area (as is a huge portion of Appalachia) is primarily white. Are none of North Carolina's dozen or so HBCUs close enough to allow social interaction with UNCA's ethnic athletes?

Three additional questions regarding your knowledge about McDevitt's recruiting philosophy. The mid-state has produced many &$%-major players who Davis either never recruited or was unable to sign. IMHO, and I realize this is "old school", we need more mid-state players on the roster. Does McDevitt have the propensity to keep local players home?
One question that's hard to ask without appearing racist: The rosters at Belmont and Lipscomb have been littered with white players from what should be MT's primary recruiting area who Davis apparently never even looked at even though they obviously could have played at MT. I'm not charging Davis with seeing race (All coaches just want the best players) but over his 18 years only three scholarship players where white. Other than giving a "stock" answer can we expect to see more diversity on the roster in the future?
Lastly, what are McDevitt's international contacts and how soon do you think we will have an international element on the team?

Quite a bit to follow up so I needed to carve out the time to reply..

In regard to academic exceptions/JUCO: UNCA when I played used to allow 2 exempt student-athletes.. what they found is that those students rarely graduated and were often on academic probation.. same for JUCO kids that were not academic qualifiers out of HS.. so UNCA has decided to not allow such exceptions since about 2010- I'm not sure if that is hard/fast rule in writing per se but it is clearly known.. there was a kid that CNM was recruiting a few years back out of Oak Hill but went to JUCO in Texas due to family situation after HS.. UNCA had an 'in' on him due to the Oak Hill ties that a former assistant has.. kid was even a qualifier out of HS and CNM couldn't get Admissions to grant his admission due to some coursework completed at the JUCO- kid ended up at Oregon State. No other school would've declined the kid- he had grades, test scores- everything was fine and he didn't care if UNCA accepted the coursework credit.. just one example of some interesting decisions that have occurred with recruits..

Diversity on campus- there is local diversity but college kids are looking for outlets/connections readily available on campus and in their college community.. Mars Hill College & WCU are both under an hour away but again that's not really close enough when compared to attending another school.. it's an easier choice to simply go somewhere that offers what you want.

Local/Area recruits- CNM has made keeping kids that want to stay home- close.. fortunate to have had several kids (Wnuk, Weeks) from perennially nationally ranked Christ School.. he has also encouraged local kids that are not highly recruited to have preferred walk-on spots (similar to Donavan Sims).. we graduated a walk-on who earned a scholarship in R. Miller just last year- Raekwon started since the middle of his junior year.. CNM played for and has been associated with the Tenn Travelers AAU team so he has established connections in the region/state- will just to see how that plays out going forward.

CNM is always going to be interested in the most talent he can get- that will apply to their locality and their race. The staff tends to be selective in their recruiting efforts- they won't likely use the shotgun approach when extending scholarship offers.. if the kid is black/white/yellow/purple/orange won't matter to him.. but he likes kids whose arm spans are greater than their height, but only if they can help his team and have the skillset he's after.. my guess is you'll see far more black athletes than white athletes as that is the nature of the sport as a general rule. But their evaluation will be based on what the kid is displaying on the court and how he thinks they'll fit personality wise with the team he wants. He won't be interested in talented but cancerous personalities..

As for overseas connections- CNM has several teammates who live, coach, play overseas- he will continue to make inquiries but many of the kids interested in playing in the US tend to come here to play in HS to get exposure.. i.e. Jonathan Baehre who was at UNCA and recently transferred to Clemson.. German born but played HS in Atlanta (Coach Dixon's home area)- so the coaches saw him play for a year and also were able to speak with a guy we know in Germany for background.. CNM has teammates/connections in The Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, and Australia- but I can't think of any international kids that we had at UNCA that didn't come to the US prior to college.. I think you'll see similar peppering of international kids- I don't imagine it being a high priority until there is stability in the recruiting pipeline and in the on-court results.. too much other work to be done right now for MTSU basketball given the extensive time demands that international recruits require.. he'll definitely evaluate a player if he gets a tip.

 

[MTFNBY5]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

If I read you correctly you are saying that because of past history it is understood (by those in the know at least) that UNCA has tougher academic requirements for athletes than other UNC campuses and UNCA coaches have to recruit with "one hand tied behind their back"?
It sounds as if the administration at UNCA is much like that at so-called elite schools who like to promote their entrance requirements (along with small % of admissions) while at the same time touting their retention and graduation rate. (hard to get in; hard to fail once in)