FIU
1/15/2022 | 5:00 PM
ESPN+
WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM - ESPN 94.9 FM/95.1 FM
LIVE STATS
LISTEN LIVE
WATCH LIVE
1/15/2022 | 5:00 PM
ESPN+
WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM - ESPN 94.9 FM/95.1 FM
LIVE STATS
LISTEN LIVE
WATCH LIVE
BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee vs FIU, 5PM, Saturday, January 15, 2022
- Thread starter SpaceRaider
- Start date
espn matchup predictor has MT chances at 81.1%
www.espn.com
Florida International 39-50 Middle Tennessee (Jan 15, 2022) Final Score - ESPN
Game summary of the Florida International Panthers vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders NCAAM game, final score 39-50, from January 15, 2022 on ESPN.
Sides have a reasonable amount of folks. End zones are empty. More here than I expected there to be.
Ugly game but a nice opening 2nd half put enough distance between the teams.. 1st half MT far too reliant on outside shots (only 4 FG attempts that weren’t 3’s)..
FIU looking for their first conference win made them desperate.. and an ugly game like this is usually how conference tourney games go so good experience for this group..
CUSA officials are awful thus far in league play for MT- I dont usually key in on refs and the way games are called because bad calls usually play out both ways eventually but each game has had some really questionable calls that are only getting called on MT players.. is that just me? Part of why Jefferson was so pissed on the intentional foul.. he got raked several times before that.. 18 turnovers- obviously too many but 4-5 of those were no calls IMO..
FIU looking for their first conference win made them desperate.. and an ugly game like this is usually how conference tourney games go so good experience for this group..
CUSA officials are awful thus far in league play for MT- I dont usually key in on refs and the way games are called because bad calls usually play out both ways eventually but each game has had some really questionable calls that are only getting called on MT players.. is that just me? Part of why Jefferson was so pissed on the intentional foul.. he got raked several times before that.. 18 turnovers- obviously too many but 4-5 of those were no calls IMO..
Didn't get to watch but that's one ugly box score. Win's a win and sometimes this is how they go. Defense was obviously outstanding, holding them to 39 points and 23% FG %.
We should handle USM and then we enter a key stretch @Marshall, @WKU, @UAB
We should handle USM and then we enter a key stretch @Marshall, @WKU, @UAB
CUSA official have been bad for awhile now, That was a obvious missed call on Jefferson. For some reason they appear to be worse at home. We rarely get the "home cookin" that Western and Marshall seem to get, even when we had very large crowds. Its good to see us win an ugly game like this. Our guys probably came in a little over confident after thrashing FAU, but they did enough to get the win.
I think we need to go at least 1-2 on that stretch, but 2-1 would be really nice. We just cannot go 0-3.
I don't put much stock in ESPN BPI, but right now it predicts us to finish 22-9 (13-5) if we actually make up the UTSA/UTEP home games and 20-9 (11-5) if we don't play those games. To me that is crazy to think if that actually happens after the past few years. I do think a 20-win season is possible this year, but I am still not holding my breath.
Anybody check on FranklinRaider315 today? Maybe the Memphis players are in an open gym playing H-O-R-S-E this morning after that epic collapse.. Good Lord! 😎
This team still lacks a solid go to player and everyone commits way too many turnovers. They are still a mentally weak team in my opinion. However, they play much harder this year and I think we are good enough to play with anyone in the conference and win. I just don't think we can do it consistently for the reasons listed above.
I agree that the team needs consistency- both in terms of evening out the peaks & valleys in their play and in having a consistent scorer at times.. the problem if anything is that the players don't stay the course when things aren’t going their way- they revert to hero ball and they’re trying to be ‘the guy’ but by doing too much and forcing things.. honestly the studs of college basketball do the same thing- they simply make shots or plays..
Sims is a streaky player, Jefferson needs the offense to get him looks, Dish isn’t always assertive and is turnover prone with his back to the basket, Eli & Millin both seem to try too hard lately to carry the load but it looks forced, Lenard is a athletic freak but inconsistent shooter with average handles vs smaller guards- like to see some stuff that uses his mismatches better (posts vs smaller guards- pulling bigger guys to the perimeter, etc..
I think Weston is the key personally.. his ball handling and savvy around the basket in finishing is really, really good when he’s playing under control and going downhill.. when he’s playground dribbling, going side to side, driving out of control/too deep, or jacking deep shots is where he’s far less effective.. no one takes the ball from him when he’s attacking under control and with purpose, he’s able to make defenses shift to him opening up other guys and he passes well, he has a good fadeaway and midrange jumper- so he’s the only guy that plays effectively at all 3 levels on the court.. if he can shake the JUCO mentality, limit the hero shots and be more consistent it would really help this team..
I like that the team has several guys capable of being ‘the guy’ each night as it makes it hard for teams to focus on and take away one player and I think that’s what makes this team better..
I definitely agree that they don’t always play mentally tough or focused at times- that’s the difference in the home games vs road trips right now..
I don’t lament too much over Memphis Basketball. Not a Penny “the Coach” fan. He’s a fellow Tiger letterman in the M-Club with me but that’s the extent of my involvement. Some buddies of mine took it pretty hard after Penny blew a 10 pt. lead in the final two minutes and were wearing him out in a group text we had going.😂. He had a 5’8” PG (Tyler Harris) trying to guard a 6’6” shooter. It was a disaster.
My main source of grief from yesterday was watching the 22-point total beat down administered to Belmont in their own house by Murray St . I switched over to MT /FIU after for a minute or two. Maybe your guy is getting things turned around??😎
I thought the crowd was quite a bit larger last night than on Thursday...especially considering that many people decided to watch NFL and/or stay home due to weathermen predicting Armageddon. Also crowd was pretty vocal. I think the 6:00 start time on weeknights hurts attendance. Regarding the team, they play HARD but they do get out of control and make some really stupid turnovers. They just need to slow down sometime and look for better shots.
I stopped believing the reported attendance years ago for football and basketball. Unless there was a significant amount of folks sitting on the side opposite the benches, there is no way there were 2,515 people in that arena. Every time TV panned the crowd behind the benches and the end zones all you saw was blue plastic chairbacks.
There was a pretty large group of parents from the 40+ girls who danced at halftime in attendance in section Q or R and another group of kids from one of the schools. So it was noticeably more than Thursday's game. Not directed at anyone in particular but I find it odd when people who were not at the game complain about attendance.
I suspect your calling me out since I posted a screenshot, that’s fine. I’m honestly not offended because it’s a valid observation.
Here’ the deal. It takes me over 2 hours round trip to go to a game.
coach NMd is gonna have to do a hell of a lot better to get me to commit that kinda time to go to a basketball game.
Murfreesboro is more than large enough to support a packed Murphy center.
Here’ the deal. It takes me over 2 hours round trip to go to a game.
coach NMd is gonna have to do a hell of a lot better to get me to commit that kinda time to go to a basketball game.
Murfreesboro is more than large enough to support a packed Murphy center.
I live in the Boro and it takes me close to 2 hours round trip to get to campus these days (jokingly sarcasm).
JohnDavidBlue: "Murfreesboro is more than large enough to support a packed Murphy Center."
Not trying to split hairs but Belmont hosted Murray State an hour earlier than our FIU game in a huge contest with OVC title implications yet only 2,432 showed up.
With all the success the Bruins have had why aren't they able to have a growing fan base? They are certainly in a city large enough to support a packed Curb Event Center. And before you say they have more competition for the entertainment dollar - yes they have more competition within a few miles but we are in the same media market and for most potential fans the competition for support is similar.
Along these lines we could ask: During the last years of Davis when we were very successful why wasn't The Murph full more often as it was consistently during the last Earle years through Bruce Stuart's tenure?
Folks, our location (Pro sports and Big-Time colleges dominate) makes $#&-major sports irrelevant to nearly all potential fans. If you had told me when the NHL announced that the Preds were coming to Nashville that Ice Hockey would outdraw MT basketball I would have not believed it. I knew there were a few Dixie Flyers fans earlier but to outdraw basketball teams which had had fans forever, not in my wildest dreams. And now even the previous media darling VU men's BkB team which consistently sold out struggles to get a decent crowd if not playing UT-K or UK.
It's taken me a long time to accept that MT BkB would be better off if The Murph's capacity was significantly reduced. Hate it!!! When The Murph was built I couldn't wait until the fan base demanded a larger facility. I couldn't have imagined the changes coming.
Not trying to split hairs but Belmont hosted Murray State an hour earlier than our FIU game in a huge contest with OVC title implications yet only 2,432 showed up.
With all the success the Bruins have had why aren't they able to have a growing fan base? They are certainly in a city large enough to support a packed Curb Event Center. And before you say they have more competition for the entertainment dollar - yes they have more competition within a few miles but we are in the same media market and for most potential fans the competition for support is similar.
Along these lines we could ask: During the last years of Davis when we were very successful why wasn't The Murph full more often as it was consistently during the last Earle years through Bruce Stuart's tenure?
Folks, our location (Pro sports and Big-Time colleges dominate) makes $#&-major sports irrelevant to nearly all potential fans. If you had told me when the NHL announced that the Preds were coming to Nashville that Ice Hockey would outdraw MT basketball I would have not believed it. I knew there were a few Dixie Flyers fans earlier but to outdraw basketball teams which had had fans forever, not in my wildest dreams. And now even the previous media darling VU men's BkB team which consistently sold out struggles to get a decent crowd if not playing UT-K or UK.
It's taken me a long time to accept that MT BkB would be better off if The Murph's capacity was significantly reduced. Hate it!!! When The Murph was built I couldn't wait until the fan base demanded a larger facility. I couldn't have imagined the changes coming.
People my age probably remember the band Deep Purple. They recently did some recordings in Nashville and described it as a "hipsters paradise." I think that's the most accurate description I've heard of the New Nashville. Hipsters may go to a Preds game but Belmont and MT aren't events that they can post on their social media accounts, to be noticed.
With so many entertainment options these days, a G5 team has to do something eye-catching, such as making it into the top 25, to grab public attention.
Baseball, football, and men's basketball will not be ranked as long as mcphee is an employee.
MTFNBY5, You make a great point. I would think that Belmont would have drawn much better than that. They have been somewhat of the darlings of Nashville as they have continually made appearances in the NCAA tournament.
According to MT's site, we have around 64k alumni in the mid state. So much of that is untapped resources. That has been a given for years. Maybe we are who we are....we aren't in the SEC. The average student doesn't have an interest to support MT athletics.
During the last couple years at the Murph with Kermit, it was a lot of fun to attend basketball games. I've lost that loving feeling. Used to sit through games at the Murph during the Wiel games with the rest of ya. I have no interest in doing that again.
Belmont's Curb Event center holds just at 5k. Murphy holds just at 11.5k. Makes a larger difference when we are half full than Belmont. But I do think cutting out seats at the Murph for boxes (sans track and bleachers) would be ideal.
According to MT's site, we have around 64k alumni in the mid state. So much of that is untapped resources. That has been a given for years. Maybe we are who we are....we aren't in the SEC. The average student doesn't have an interest to support MT athletics.
During the last couple years at the Murph with Kermit, it was a lot of fun to attend basketball games. I've lost that loving feeling. Used to sit through games at the Murph during the Wiel games with the rest of ya. I have no interest in doing that again.
Belmont's Curb Event center holds just at 5k. Murphy holds just at 11.5k. Makes a larger difference when we are half full than Belmont. But I do think cutting out seats at the Murph for boxes (sans track and bleachers) would be ideal.
This is an EXCELLENT observation. Like or not, Nash (ehhh midstate aka Murf?) is hipster and college athletics are not a part of that scene (see Vandy).
100% not an excuse, but it is definitely a variable. Question is, how do you draw in that crowd? With MT's huge music base, makes the battle even more uphill. I think there has to be a way though.
I’m doing my part but honestly it’s hard to sell my friends on MTSU being fun. I brought over 15 people to each of the three football games we attended this year. These are my thoughts on what needs to be improved from a new fan that had absolutely no tie to the school prior to attending.
The Blue Raider Connect app is frustrating and not user friendly. I’m not sure why I have to constantly dig to find my ticket (I’m sure other students feel the same). It should be huge bold letters as soon as you logon to the app.
Purchasing student guest tickets is a nightmare. I got so frustrated, I gave up on the app and went to the ticket office. Every time I tried to buy tickets it brought up standard ticket pricing and not the student guest rate. The regular student isn’t going to go out of their way to make up for this, they just won’t attend.
Tailgating is confusing to a new comer on where to park without getting a ticket or towed. The ticket office really was no help here. I had to find a cop on campus to help me. The ticket office student workers (I assume) were nice but had no clue how to answer simple questions.
Alcohol sales were awkward and redundant. I had to get a wrist band only to get ID’d at the actual vendor.
PA announcer is absolutely garbage. I could do a better job.
MTSU fans would give us the dirty eye for actually yelling and standing. Marshall fans were the best as we gave them a hard time. One of the O-lineman’s dads said we were the most passionate MT fans he has seen (that’s sad since it was my first game).
Overall we had a good time and are planning to go to more games next year and maybe hit up an away game or two. The athletics department needs to do a better job of social media presence. It was just typical post and no fun or enthusiasm (UMBC does a great job).
The saddest part of all of this is I sent Chris a suggestion about what I’d like to see in the facility expansions. No response even though I said I would donate to the cause. I would assume, especially since I have a sales background, that an AD would jump at the opportunity to have a potential donor. While I’m not a multi-millionaire (yet), I’ve done well for only being 30. Unfortunately the athletics department wouldn’t know. Lee has been great and engaging as a deputy ad but he can only do so much. Just thought I’d let y’all know the thoughts of a new comer.
See my email below:
“
Chris,
I am proud to be part of the True Blue family. I wanted to reach out and express my thoughts on the Build Blue Campaign. I was a season ticket holder for Liberty football for a period of time. I’ll be switching that to MTSU when I am finished with my masters. The student performance center will be a huge upgrade that is desperately needed. I was disappointed to see that the upper deck would still wrap into that end zone. I think it would be a much better look to have the upper deck run end zone to end zone (symmetrical). I’ll be happy to donate to the cause once final renderings are posted but I thought I would let you hear it from a student’s perspective. Go Blue!”
Unfortunately Tolbert (PA announcer) can pronounce "first" (fuuuust) or "third" (thuuuuud). He tries to be cute and catchy but is just an annoying presence.
I pray for a complete loss of his vocal chofds. "Annoying" doesn't even begin to describe the red hot reaction to his voice.
I describe it as a redneck Vegas. I'll skip Nashville and go to Chattanooga every time since it's not that much further for us. I grew up in Nashville and loved old Nashville, but it's soul has been sold and bought. When they talk about the latest place to be demolished, I don't even care anymore like I used to because it's just a decaying she'll of what it used to be.
Also yes, college sports are being ruined too. This NIL was the opening of Pandora's Box. More thought should have been put into it for parity sake. That and ESPN. Sports in general seems like the athletes don't love the game like they used too. Probably because they're forced to do it year round now every day from a child with hopes of becoming a millionaire. It's purely a means to an end of being ultra wealthy. I think it's probably no different than any other career now to most who play.
Yes, I've been made an old man well ahead of my time. 😄 Our culture sucks.....or it's just me.
