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We have a showdown in the Volunteer State as the Vanderbilt Commodores head to Murfreesboro to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Thursday night.
The Vanderbilt Commodores will look for their 4th win in 5 games when they take on the Blue Raiders. Vandy bounced back from their 4-point loss against Minnesota with a 90-63 pasting of High Point behind a team-high 19 points from leading scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis. MFD connected on 6 of 10 from the floor with 4 threes in the win. Jeff Roberson and Riley LaChance each contributed 14 points, however it was LaChance that had the more efficient night, nailing all 4 of his attempts from the field, which also happened to come from behind the arc, in addition to a game-high 7 assists. Payton Willis was next with 13 points and Nolan Cressler followed suit with 10. Fisher-Davis leads Vanderbilt in scoring with 14.9 points per game, while Roberson is the team’s top rebounder, pulling down 7.4 boards per game. LaChance is the Commodores’ best passer, averaging 4.7 assists per game in addition to his 58.2% from the field. As a team, Vandy is scoring 73.9 points on 44.3% from the field, 42.7% from behind the arc, which is the 10th-best mark from 3-point range and the 21st-highest free throw percentage in the country at 77.2%.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders look to build on their impressive 6-game win streak that has the team sitting at 8-1 heading into this game. Their most recent outing saw MTSU defeat South Alabama by a final score of 67-55 behind a game-high 16 points and 7 rebounds from leading scorer JaCorey Williams. Reggie Upshaw came in a tie for 2nd with 13 points in addition to 7 rebounds and a game-high 6 assists and 3 steals in the game, while Giddy Potts also scored 13 points on 4 of 10 from the floor with 3 threes and 5 rebounds. Williams leads the team with 19.7 points on 60.6% from the floor, while Reggie Upshaw leads the Blue Raiders with 6.9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.2 blocks per game this season. As a team, Middle Tennessee is scoring 75.9 points on the 22nd-best field goal percentage in the country at 49.9%. MTSU is also making 37.5% of their attempts from downtown, but just 61.6% from the charity stripe.
Vanderbilt is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 road games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games vs. C-USA. Middle Tennessee is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 home games. The road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between these two teams.
Vandy has yet to beat any solid competition this year with losses to the likes of Minnesota, Butler and Marquette. That’s not good news against a Middle Tennessee State team that’s full of confidence after winning 6 straight. Look for the Blue Raiders to make it 7 in a row with a convincing in-state rivalry win here.....
