South Florida
11/22/2024 | 1 p.m.
ESPN2
WGNS (101.9 FM | 1450 AM | 100.5 FM)
11/22/2024 | 1 p.m.
ESPN2
WGNS (101.9 FM | 1450 AM | 100.5 FM)
BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee (4-1) vs South Florida (3-2) (Myrtle Beach Invitational)(ESPN2), 1PM, Friday, 11/22/2024
- Thread starter SpaceRaider
- Start date
Rewatched South Florida’s 74-68 win over Portland today. Another solid team competing in this tournament, but I have reasons to be skeptical. All 3 of their wins are against teams ranked 280+ Kenpom, but both of their losses are road and neutral games against #121 Charleston and #22 Florida, respectively. Outside of Charleston, MTSU will be their second game against a team in their “ballpark”.
USF has the roster and play style of a classic, strong mid major. Guard heavy, play good defense, love to shoot the 3, and don’t turn the ball over. They won’t be as organized as Ohio was on offense but they know the shots they want and work quickly to get the ball there. They want their guards Jayden Reid (#0, 5’10” PG) or Kaden Jennings (#13, 6’3” G) to penetrate the defense and find an open shooter in the short corner for a quick 3 which is typically Kobe Knox (#4, 6’5” G) who scored a team high 13 points against Portland. If Jennings doesn’t keep it himself (leads the team with 12.3 ppg) he will find big man Jamille Reynolds (#2, 6’11” C) who is a physical specimen at 275 lbs. He did a lot of damage in the low post late against Portland and looks like the go to guy when they desperately needed a bucket.
USF is the quickest offensive tempo we’ve faced and they like to shot the 3. Nearly 50% of their attempts are from beyond the arc. Good news, Blue Raiders are one of the best 3 point defenses in the early season. How much of that is luck or MT’s 3 point defense being good? Too early to tell but Ohio didn’t get many uncontested 3 pointers today. Bad news, USF doesn’t turn the ball over. In their last 3 wins they haven’t allowed more than 10 TOs, however they don’t force very many either (bottom 60 in Non-Steal TO%). I’ll be a pessimist and say they haven’t played us, yet — I think they’ll set a season-high with the same level of physicality they played with today against Portland. Pretty simple, defend the 3 and don’t turn the ball over. That’s your best chance, but admittedly easier said than done with a quick turnaround against a better team.
USF has the roster and play style of a classic, strong mid major. Guard heavy, play good defense, love to shoot the 3, and don’t turn the ball over. They won’t be as organized as Ohio was on offense but they know the shots they want and work quickly to get the ball there. They want their guards Jayden Reid (#0, 5’10” PG) or Kaden Jennings (#13, 6’3” G) to penetrate the defense and find an open shooter in the short corner for a quick 3 which is typically Kobe Knox (#4, 6’5” G) who scored a team high 13 points against Portland. If Jennings doesn’t keep it himself (leads the team with 12.3 ppg) he will find big man Jamille Reynolds (#2, 6’11” C) who is a physical specimen at 275 lbs. He did a lot of damage in the low post late against Portland and looks like the go to guy when they desperately needed a bucket.
USF is the quickest offensive tempo we’ve faced and they like to shot the 3. Nearly 50% of their attempts are from beyond the arc. Good news, Blue Raiders are one of the best 3 point defenses in the early season. How much of that is luck or MT’s 3 point defense being good? Too early to tell but Ohio didn’t get many uncontested 3 pointers today. Bad news, USF doesn’t turn the ball over. In their last 3 wins they haven’t allowed more than 10 TOs, however they don’t force very many either (bottom 60 in Non-Steal TO%). I’ll be a pessimist and say they haven’t played us, yet — I think they’ll set a season-high with the same level of physicality they played with today against Portland. Pretty simple, defend the 3 and don’t turn the ball over. That’s your best chance, but admittedly easier said than done with a quick turnaround against a better team.
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BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee vs Ohio (Myrtle Beach Invitational)(ESPNU), 11AM, Thursday, November 21, 2024
