BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee vs SFA, 7PM, Thursday, November 9, 2023

[Brew_Raider]

This is a good win. Definitely the type of game CNM lost in his first few years here.

Glad to see us bounce back after the terrible first half and grind out a W.

 

[MT01]

If you guys think hero ball and the fact Porter held the ball 15 to 20 seconds of the 30 sec shot clock before anyone else touched the ball is good basketball and bad take then I don’t know what to tell you other than good luck.

I gave credit for the defense. I’m glad to see CNM has at least evolved some on that side of the ball but when it comes to offense it’s same infuriating nonsenses we’ve seen every year he’s been here.

I said we got lucky because a) we were the beneficiary of a lot of bad calls. I bet if we were venture. Over to SFAs board they would be talking about how the officiating screwed them. We also had a quite a few lucky bounces of an awful play where the ball bounced right to us. I lost count how many awful shots were taken - one where the ball careened right to King for a layup under 2 min to go. Don’t get to overtime without that one. And several others. Yes, we were very lucky last night because that was not good basketball except maybe the first 6 minutes of the game.

 

[crposton]

If you guys think hero ball and the fact Porter held the ball 15 to 20 seconds of the 30 sec shot clock before anyone else touched the ball is good basketball and bad take then I don’t know what to tell you other than good luck.

I gave credit for the defense. I’m glad to see CNM has at least evolved some on that side of the ball but when it comes to offense it’s same infuriating nonsenses we’ve seen every year he’s been here.

I said we got lucky because a) we were the beneficiary of a lot of bad calls. I bet if we were venture. Over to SFAs board they would be talking about how the officiating screwed them. We also had a quite a few lucky bounces of an awful play where the ball bounced right to us. I lost count how many awful shots were taken - one where the ball careened right to King for a layup under 2 min to go. Don’t get to overtime without that one. And several others. Yes, we were very lucky last night because that was not good basketball except maybe the first 6 minutes of the game.

I have not seen anyone say that “hero ball” or Porter holding it for that long was good basketball. I was screaming at the TV for him to pass it the last possession of regulation. Most are saying it was ugly, but it was a win. Being happy with getting a win vs a good team is okay. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss. Wins happen for many reasons, and in close games the ball will bounce the way of the winners. The way we played was a product of it being early and SFA’s defense. Hopefully we learn and improve. There are more positives than negatives right now.

 

[crposton]

Also, FT shooting was not awesome last night at times, but ended up being just under 70% and we are at 74% for the season. Not a large sample size, but it seems that will be an improved area.

 

[MTBig Blue]

Does anyone know why Tre Green has hardly gotten any playing time? I was under the impression he would be a solid contributor this year.

 

[SigmaNuBlue]

Hard to have a pretty win against a team like SFA. Will take an ugly win all day, especially against a tough OOC opponent. Let's just enjoy being 2-0.

We "should" be 4-0 when UAB comes to the Murphy Center. Will be a fun one.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Regardless on how ugly it was, SFA has busted our chops in the past. Our defense is way better and kept us in this when we could have mailed it in. 2nd game in is not a final product and I think they will work on the slopiness. However, being 2-0 against 2 tough NCAA tourney programs is a huge step in the right direction. I'll never knock a win. Ugly win beats moral victory all day. Ugly win against a team probably better than the rest of our conference is even better.

 

[kingaling42]

This board is hilarious..

SFA plays a very unique perimeter defense with their overplay and has very good defenders.. some of you thought the game was gonna be as easy as the first few minutes went offensively.. it’s a good gutsy win- on to the next one..

 

[OliverLBaltz]

Does anyone know why Tre Green has hardly gotten any playing time? I was under the impression he would be a solid contributor this year.

Its a great question. Nick told me specifically that he was a possible front-runner for 6th man. Someone else told me the same thing not too long after. Also was the first sub in the first Italy scrimmage. I promise I didn't just make it up lol.

My guess is 1. Nagging injury 2. Things just change. Maybe other players have had better days in practice or maybe Green hasn't been hitting specific expectations the staff has set for him since the 6th man quote was shared to me. Again, both are complete speculation from me.

 

[OliverLBaltz]

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Main takeaway I got from this was when they all lit up talking about how they guard themselves like that in practice every day. I can 100% confirm that as fact. Both practices I went to the offense looked grim but it did feel like more a result of how strong they were defensively. Hopefully the same explanation is valid when analyzing the offensive performance last night.

 

[MTFAN61]

Would be an excellent question for someone to bring up on the 1st coaches show.
By the way, has there been any word for when the men's & women's 1st show is scheduled? Of course Green may find his way into the rotation by then

 

[MT01]

I have not seen anyone say that “hero ball” or Porter holding it for that long was good basketball. I was screaming at the TV for him to pass it the last possession of regulation. Most are saying it was ugly, but it was a win. Being happy with getting a win vs a good team is okay. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss. Wins happen for many reasons, and in close games the ball will bounce the way of the winners. The way we played was a product of it being early and SFA’s defense. Hopefully we learn and improve. There are more positives than negatives right now.

Fair. I guess a) I'm just surprised we won. When they were up 4 or 5 it felt like 15, so that's where I developed the premise of luck from; and b) I have not at any point (as you all know) developed any confidence in McDevitt's philosophy.

And FWIW, I'm ok losing ugly. Most of the wins in Kermit's era were ugly. Winning is better than losing. Maybe we will point back to this in the spring as a big win. Right now it feels more like an indicator of more of the same we've seen.

 

[MT01]

This board is hilarious..

SFA plays a very unique perimeter defense with their overplay and has very good defenders.. some of you thought the game was gonna be as easy as the first few minutes went offensively.. it’s a good gutsy win- on to the next one..

Where were the back doors? Although it resulted in a terrible shot, there was only one that was executed all night (and probably not by design and King just making a cut). Is that not what you do when you have overly aggressive defensive play at the perimeter? But that's kind of what I was pointing out. There was just a lot of standing around until by chance someone else got the ball and then dribble, dribble, shoot.

 

[MTOleBlue]

This was a really good win. SFA is a very good mid-major program and this win will pay dividends throughout the year, not just for our ratings but also for the team's toughness.

 

[blueraiderJT]

This board is hilarious..

SFA plays a very unique perimeter defense with their overplay and has very good defenders.. some of you thought the game was gonna be as easy as the first few minutes went offensively.. it’s a good gutsy win- on to the next one..

I agree totally. I think it was a huge win. If we can improve on some things which we will, we could have a really good team and season this year. I have not always felt that way about a CNM coached team. It's rare in fact. However, the defensive improvements are there and the offensive ability has improved a lot as well. We will see but 2-0 against 2 tough teams is a heck of a start.

 

[MTsumner92]

First of all, I'm just glad Wiley is not a coach. Second of all. We gotta win the conference tournament to get in so the best way to enjoy the season is to sit back and watch how we improve throughout the year.

 

[TrueBlue147]

https://nashvillehoops.blog/2023/11/09/middle-tennessee-wins-one-they-had-every-right-to-lose/

 

[kingaling42]

Where were the back doors? Although it resulted in a terrible shot, there was only one that was executed all night (and probably not by design and King just making a cut). Is that not what you do when you have overly aggressive defensive play at the perimeter? But that's kind of what I was pointing out. There was just a lot of standing around until by chance someone else got the ball and then dribble, dribble, shoot.

If this was just a 3 on 3 rec league game then sure that's just all you have to do, just go back door and make a layup right? The reality is that the lane isn't just open for back doors when you have help side defenders clogging up those lanes.. this is a game where you miss Dishman and his decision making with the ball at the high elbow.. the team will learn from this or other teams will attempt to take MT out of their offensive in similar ways.. let's see how the team responds to perimeter pressure in future contests and how they deal with the loss of Weston

 

[MT01]

If this was just a 3 on 3 rec league game then sure that's just all you have to do, just go back door and make a layup right? The reality is that the lane isn't just open for back doors when you have help side defenders clogging up those lanes.. this is a game where you miss Dishman and his decision making with the ball at the high elbow.. the team will learn from this or other teams will attempt to take MT out of their offensive in similar ways.. let's see how the team responds to perimeter pressure in future contests and how they deal with the loss of Weston

I have three points to this.

First, if the perimeter is overplaying there should be some back door opportunities - not just for layups but to create spacing - but our guys weren't cutting at all. A lot of standing around.

Second, to that point about spacing it is obvious the aggressive defensive play wasn't a surprise tactic deployed by SFA, so shouldn't CNM have created some offensive plays in practice that would take advantage of this overplay and reduce the chances of there even being a help side to contend with? I mean a little Princeton implementation could have taken advantage of that could it not?

Lastly, if help side was eliminating those backdoor opportunities, then there should have been opportunities to swing it or skip to weakside, no?

Bottom line is I didn't see any of this. There were virtually no backdoor cuts. No skip passes, etc. Just a lot of one-on-one street ball. Tell me I'm wrong about that.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

This board is hilarious..

SFA plays a very unique perimeter defense with their overplay and has very good defenders.. some of you thought the game was gonna be as easy as the first few minutes went offensively.. it’s a good gutsy win- on to the next one..

Bump.

 

[BRaiderDave]

Bump.

He’s gone into hiding. Can no longer defend the indefensible.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

”Southern Utah plays a very unique perimeter defense with their overplay and has very good defenders.. some of you thought the game was gonna be as easy as the first few minutes went offensively.”

 

[kingaling42]

Oooh- you guys missed me eh? I'm around still- why would I be hiding? I don't work over there...

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Oooh- you guys missed me eh? I'm around still- why would I be hiding? I don't work over there...

Welcome back 😉

 

[ewglenn]

Oooh- you guys missed me eh? I'm around still- why would I be hiding? I don't work over there...

Curious your thoughts on the season?

 

[kingaling42]

Curious your thoughts on the season?

TBH I haven't been able to watch as much as I have in the past so I'll hold off on specifics since I'm ignorant in that regard this season... I will say that the loss of Weston was going to create a void that likely won't be filled since he has abilities it seems no one else on the team can replicate.. his style is frustrating at times for me but he is a gifted play maker while the others on the team seem to rely heavily on facilitation.. I expected some lumps and growing pains when he went out since he was the centerpiece on running this team but certainly wouldn't have expected what we've seen so far.. that's about all I've got right now