BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee (3-9) at Rhode Island (6-5), 4PM, Sunday, December 30, 2018

[SpaceRaider]

DEC 30 (SUN) 4:00 PM

AT RHODE ISLAND

KINGSTON, RI
TV: ESPN+ Talent: Nick Cardi (PxP)
RADIO: 94.9/95.1 FM, 100.5/101.9 FM, 1450 AM

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GAME NOTES

 

[SpaceRaider]

fifteen point dog today

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college...nessee-state-@-rhode-island.cfm/date/12-30-18

 

[SpaceRaider]

excerpt:

...The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Rhode Island Rams meet in college basketball action from the Thomas M. Ryan Center on Sunday afternoon.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will be desperately looking for a win after losing 8 in a row with a 74-56 loss to Ole Miss in their last outing. Antonio Green led the Blue Raiders with 22 points on 7 of 17 shooting with 5 threes while Reggie Scurry added 13 points, not missing a shot on the night, going 4 for 4 from the field and 5 of 5 at the foul line. Jayce Johnson added 12 points and a team-high 7 rebounds to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Middle Tennessee in the losing effort. Donovan Sims added 5 points with 6 rebounds and a team-high 4 steals in the loss for Middle Tennessee. Green leads Middle Tennessee in scoring with 18.3 points per game while Sims leads the Blue Raiders in assists with 2.3 assists per game and Karl Gamble leads Middle Tennessee on the glass with 6.7 rebounds per game this season. As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 65.5 points per game on 41.3% shooting from the field, 28.6% from behind the 3-point line and 68.7% from the foul line this season.

The Rhode Island Rams will be looking to find some consistency after splitting their last 10 games and alternating wins and losses in each of their last 4 following a 68-60 loss to Hawaii in their last outing. Jeff Dowtin led the Rams with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting with 3 threes while Cyril Langevine added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double and Fatts Russell chipped in 10 points with a team-high 7 assists to finish off the trio of double-digit scorers for the Rams in the losing effort. Jermaine Harris added 6 points with 4 rebounds and 3 steals as well in defeat. Dowtin leads the Rams with an average of 16.6 points and 4 assists per game while Langevine leads Rhode Island in rebounding by averaging a double-double per game with 15.4 points to go along with his team-high average of 10.5 rebounds per game this season. As a team, Rhode Island is averaging 71.5 points per game on 40.9% shooting from the field, 24.8% from behind the arc and 67.1% from the foul line this season.

Middle Tennessee is 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games overall and 2-14 ATS in their last 16 non-conference games while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 road games. Rhode Island is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record while the under is 10-4 in their last 14 home games.

The Blue Raiders went from being the perennial team to beat in C-USA and a fixture in the big tournament in March, to a team that’s getting beat down left and right and has issues scoring the basketball, breaking the 60-point mark just twice in their last 8 games. Rhode Island isn’t normally the kind of team to blow teams out, but it’s hard to back the Blue Raiders when Middle Tennessee hasn’t covered a lined game this season, going 0-10 ATS. Middle Tennessee has lost their 3 road games by a combined 69 points, an average of 23 per game...

 

[altshauf]

I’m still watching. Going to be frustrating, but it would be nice to jump up and bite someone. Afterwards going to watch the titans.

 

[MTFNBY5]

We need to show some evidence of improvement during this last OOC game. I'm not expecting to win but a run in the 2nd half, a better defensive performance, drastically cutting down on unforced turnovers, beat the spread - something, anything to show the team is making progress.

I'm losing hope that I'll care by the end of the season.

 

[sWiley]

We are 5-5 from 3 shooting 100% and 50% from 2 (8/16), and we are still losing....LOL.

 

[sWiley]

scurry is so bad. i'll still never understand why we are taking transfer players from missouri state's bench

 

[sWiley]

It's really unfortunate Antonio Green isn't going to have an opportunity to play with high caliber players similar to teams of our past 6-7 years. He's so talented and would have shined so brightly with a typical MT basketball team.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[altshauf]

Wiley, I see Green as a short Carmelo Anthony. He is a bulk shooter. Too small to shoot midrange. The ONLY place he is dangerous is from 3. Also, Scurry is solid. Good body and a bulldog. He isn't really a "scorer". More of a rebounder. You saw the consecutive blocks he had on their bigs. He is tough. The guys that play are the guys I like. Problem is we will get run down because we only play 7... because honestly, thats all we CAN play. This was the best half we have played all year. That in itself is encouraging. I don't think we will win, but man it would be nice to see a consistent full game. That would be even more encouraging... Can we do it?

 

[kingaling42]

Wiley’s just mad because he lost his halftime wager...

 

[sWiley]

Wiley’s just mad because he lost his halftime wager...

Game started before I could get my wager in. Wasn't in love with the line anyway. Rhode Island is weak as hell this year. Lost too much

 

[sWiley]

Wiley, I see Green as a short Carmelo Anthony. He is a bulk shooter. Too small to shoot midrange. The ONLY place he is dangerous is from 3. Also, Scurry is solid. Good body and a bulldog. He isn't really a "scorer". More of a rebounder. You saw the consecutive blocks he had on their bigs. He is tough. The guys that play are the guys I like. Problem is we will get run down because we only play 7... because honestly, thats all we CAN play. This was the best half we have played all year. That in itself is encouraging. I don't think we will win, but man it would be nice to see a consistent full game. That would be even more encouraging... Can we do it?

Green can do much more than shoot 3's, though that's his strength. He can also drive and create his own shot. He's doing all of this work despite constant double teams. Imagine if the rest of the team was a threat and Green got some space? Dude would pour in the points night in, night out. Unfortunate his talents will be wasted. He's the kind of player that can help you win championships and NCAA tournament games.

 

[SpaceRaider]

44-37 MT leads, at the first media break of the 2nd half

 

[sWiley]

I stand by my statement about Scurry. garbage. He's just too small and gets overwhelmed by true big's in the paint. Every other player who has played for us today has at least 1 rebound. Scurry, despite being a starting "forward" for us, has ZERO.

 

[RandallThomason]

Green can do much more than shoot 3's, though that's his strength. He can also drive and create his own shot. He's doing all of this work despite constant double teams. Imagine if the rest of the team was a threat and Green got some space? Dude would pour in the points night in, night out. Unfortunate his talents will be wasted. He's the kind of player that can help you win championships and NCAA tournament games.

I like Green. We are asking him to do too much this year, which sometimes results in ugly plays. I’m excited to see what he can do next year when CJ Jones is on the floor with him.

 

[sWiley]

Scurry continues to get abused in the paint......

 

[sWiley]

I like Green. We are asking him to do too much this year, which sometimes results in ugly plays. I’m excited to see what he can do next year when CJ Jones is on the floor with him.

Green is an all-conference talent, obviously. Those are the types of transfers you want to sign. Not undersized bench players from Missouri State.

 

[sWiley]

25% from the FT line, 82% from 3 point land. Only a Middle TN team.

 

[kingaling42]

As good as Green is offensively.. according to Wiley he wouldn’t have played for CKD based on his defense..

 

[TrueBlue147]

Green is an all-conference talent, obviously. Those are the types of transfers you want to sign. Not undersized bench players from Missouri State.

Green is a spot up shooter and that's it. He can't drive the lane consistently.

 

[sWiley]

As good as Green is offensively.. according to Wiley he wouldn’t have played for CKD based on his defense..

Of course he would have. He would have been coached up in practice.

 

[sWiley]

Green is a spot up shooter and that's it. He can't drive the lane consistently.

Drives the lane as well as any guard we've had here in the last several years.....

 

[sWiley]

my god scurry is TERRIBLE

 

[sWiley]

and here comes the cratering. Looks like the Belmont game all over again, which was our first OOC game against a legit opponent. Lots of progress we've made.

 

[TrueBlue147]

Drives the lane as well as any guard we've had here in the last several years.....

Not true at all. Giddy Potts, Marcus Knight, Tweety Knight, Bruce Massey all far superior.

 

[kingaling42]

Of course he would have. He would have been coached up in practice.

Didn’t he sit out last year and practice? Evidently that same defensive coaching has a shelf life..

 

[sWiley]

Not true at all. Giddy Potts, Marcus Knight, Tweety Knight, Bruce Massey all far superior.

I disagree. With all of the defensive pressure Green has had to deal with, his ability to both shoot and drive strikes me as on par with someone like Potts. Do you actually watch the games? Green is extremely quick at getting to the basket and usually has no problem when he isn't getting double teamed, which is basically never.

 

[TrueBlue147]

We played decent defense early on but we just got tired. The problem is our offense is horrible.

 

[sWiley]

Didn’t he sit out last year and practice? Evidently that same defensive coaching has a shelf life..

Isn't this a completely new defensive system? Why yes, it is. Would explain why all of that practice from last year likely didn't help since we never trap or do anything creative to pressure opposing offenses. Gotta save our energy so we can turn it over like crazy on offense.

 

[sWiley]

We played decent defense early on but we just got tired. The problem is our offense is horrible.

That's what happens when you only play 7 players and refuse to put a player out there you just obtained a waiver for.

Only reason the game was close early is because we couldn't miss from 3. The second we start shooting our average %'s things go in the tank because at our core, we are simply a bad team.

 

[TrueBlue147]

I disagree. With all of the defensive pressure Green has had to deal with, his ability to both shoot and drive strikes me as on par with someone like Potts. Do you actually watch the games? Green is extremely quick at getting to the basket and usually has no problem when he isn't getting double teamed, which is basically never.

I watch just about every game. Potts was a much stronger player and much better jumping ability. You wont see Green catching any alley oops like Potts. Also being able to shoot the three actually makes it easier to drive to the basket because defensive players tend to overplay the three point shot like they do against Green. The problem is that Green can't finish at the basket and has no pull up shot like Potts. Green can only throw up floaters that rarely go in.

 

[sWiley]

I watch just about every game. Potts was a much stronger player and much better jumping ability. You wont see Green catching any alley oops like Potts. Also being able to shoot the three actually makes it easier to drive to the basket because defensive players tend to overplay the three point shot like they do against Green. The problem is that Green can't finish at the basket and has no pull up shot like Potts. Green can only throw up floaters that rarely go in.

Giddy was obviously stronger but I would be willing to bet $$$ that Green's senior year will statistically be equal or better than Giddy's senior year from a FG % standpoint. I don't care how the shots get in, if it's a finger roll or a half-court lob. Points are points. And green is doing all of this with much more pressure on him because he's basically our only offensive threat outside of some very hot & cold shooting from Sims.

 

[kingaling42]

Isn't this a completely new defensive system? Why yes, it is. Would explain why all of that practice from last year likely didn't help since we never trap or do anything creative to pressure opposing offenses. Gotta save our energy so we can turn it over like crazy on offense.

I’ve watched just about every game this year and Green is out of position as much if not more than the freshmen.. I’ve played with guys like Green- he’s a one way player and it’s not likely to change. He gambles in hopes of generating his own offense- that’s likely the only interest he has in that end of the floor..

If you believe that basic defensive principles (me-man-ball) are somehow completely different in various zone sets then clearly I’m wasting my time with you..

 

[altshauf]

Wiley is getting me bogged down and off topic. I am a little encouraged after this game. There are some underlying issues I won't talk about that bother me, but overall I am encouraged. This is definitely better basketball than we have seen the past 3 weeks. RI had a run in the second half we couldn't overcome.