BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee vs UAB
- Thread starter MTFAN61
- Start date
Really don’t care who is there but I will be! But sure those who don’t attend will complain the most about attendance as always.
Certainly don't have to worry about any of our 20,000 students complaining. Apparently they think the Murphy Center is primarily for registration or graduation.
This is gonna be a good one. UAB has lost by 2 to Bradley in OT, by 1 to Clemson and beat Maryland by 3.
I’ll be watching from home. 😂
I’ll be watching from home. 😂
Won't be going in our favor. I don't see how we can keep up with them. We do not have guards that can put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis.
Gotta have it if you want championship caliber team. We havn't had it since Sims and Jefferson's final years. Shame we didn't win more with them. They were both sharp shooters and played so well together on the court.
We will need outlier performances from Bufford and King to have any chance to beat UAB.
UAB was picked fourth in the AAC coaches poll behind FAU, Memphis, and Tulane. The Almanac has them third. Eric Gaines is their stud, second year in Birmingham after transferring from LSU. Jordan Walker graduated (thank goodness). Just 2-2 start for the Blazers, losses to Bradley and Clemson. They do have a win against Maryland who was supposed to be good in the Big Ten this year.
They are a good defense/bad offense team thus far. 42% from the field, 29% from 3. They turn it over a lot and force a lot of turnovers. Pretty close to Middle's thumbprint.
With the major caveat that is "its just Milligan," I was impressed with how Porter played in the 2H Saturday night. Made several 3s. Made judicious passes in rhythm. Hustled on D. Hope that can translate tonight. They need him to be a star to salvage this season.
O'zhell Jackson was my favorite offseason acquisition, and he showed me what I hoped in his Blue Raider debut against Milligan. Superb versatility for a kid his size to be able to handle and pass the ball. Strong rebounder as well. Hope to see him continue to get minutes tonight.
Really need the centers to play better. JCJ and Ogundele make up 22 of the Middle's 55 player turnovers (40%). I get Nick wants to maintain that Dishman sort of presence but none of the 5's this year have looked good trying their rendition at it. I'd like to see less of it until they can prove themselves dependable.
Lastly, I am glad they kept UAB on the schedule this year despite going up to the AAC. Fun program that Middle has had some really tight games against. Hope they become a Murray State to some extent and become a near-permanent opponent on the nonconference schedule.
They are a good defense/bad offense team thus far. 42% from the field, 29% from 3. They turn it over a lot and force a lot of turnovers. Pretty close to Middle's thumbprint.
With the major caveat that is "its just Milligan," I was impressed with how Porter played in the 2H Saturday night. Made several 3s. Made judicious passes in rhythm. Hustled on D. Hope that can translate tonight. They need him to be a star to salvage this season.
O'zhell Jackson was my favorite offseason acquisition, and he showed me what I hoped in his Blue Raider debut against Milligan. Superb versatility for a kid his size to be able to handle and pass the ball. Strong rebounder as well. Hope to see him continue to get minutes tonight.
Really need the centers to play better. JCJ and Ogundele make up 22 of the Middle's 55 player turnovers (40%). I get Nick wants to maintain that Dishman sort of presence but none of the 5's this year have looked good trying their rendition at it. I'd like to see less of it until they can prove themselves dependable.
Lastly, I am glad they kept UAB on the schedule this year despite going up to the AAC. Fun program that Middle has had some really tight games against. Hope they become a Murray State to some extent and become a near-permanent opponent on the nonconference schedule.
Matter of time before UAB puts it all together. Their talent is real. Maryland's recruiting class was #15 in the country, & Lindy's had them preseason ranked #25 in the country.
Coach said Jackson has the ability to play point & we would use him some their. Haven't seen a 6' 8" or taller point guard since Magic. Jackson averaged 5 assists per game last year. That tells me he's an above average passer. Look forward to seeing him in action.
Coach said Jackson has the ability to play point & we would use him some their. Haven't seen a 6' 8" or taller point guard since Magic. Jackson averaged 5 assists per game last year. That tells me he's an above average passer. Look forward to seeing him in action.
Precisely why I really liked his commitment. He had 136 of his team's 459 total assists (30%). Next most was 84.
I didn't think we would. I couldn't help myself and had to bet UAB live. Need MT to win by 1-4 points to get my most desired result.
External
Pending
196.53 to win 157.22
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders VS UAB Blazers - Game - Spreads (OT Included) UAB Blazers +4½ -125
External
Pending
196.53 to win 157.22
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders VS UAB Blazers - Game - Spreads (OT Included) UAB Blazers +4½ -125
UAB has won 9 of the last 10 against us. Did not seem like it has been that lopsided. Kennedy has owned Mcdevitt.
They've had the better players. Jordan Walker had career highs every time he played us. Then their paint players have always been superior to ours as well. It was a free lunch for them tonight down around the basket. They are lucky we couldn't defend the paint well because they couldn't hit a 3 to save their life. They eventually just stopped even trying to shoot them.
If we would have just hit a few free throws we could have won though. It never ceases to amaze me how juvenile our FT shooting is. I don't understand how it can be this bad for this long. I know McDevitt only cares about and recruits athleticism, but good grief. I swear I could round up a few buddies and we could do a better job at the charity stripe.
50% from free-throw line and 18% from 3 point land. Is terrible shooting one of the main attributes Mcdevitt looks for in a recruit?
I don't think he looks at or cares about shooting %'s. He knows if he can recruit superior athletes, he can win with defense and the occasional hot shooting night against the better teams. It's the perfect recipe for mild success and mediocrity and maybe, if you could get lucky, a good run in the CUSA tournament.
Our men's basketball program is starting to look an awful lot like the team that plays in Floyd on Saturday's....
Can't say I blame McDevitt. With that kind of money on the line, I am milking it for every season I can get it if the admin will accept 17-20 wins and 2nd or 3rd place every year with little to no post season tournament success.
I guess they packed their bags early for the Bahama. Not impressed at all. UAB struggled with a SWAC team last time out I understand. Very disappointed.
At least we didn’t play street ball under Kermit.
Personally, I feel a lot better about this loss than the WCU one. Maybe I just respect a AAC team more than a SoCon one. Know it’s been said a couple times now, but UAB did beat Maryland, who was picked to finish third in the Big Ten. Granted Maryland has lost to three MMs at this point but I still think it’s a lot more significant than WCU beating Notre Dame.
Not in panic mode yet. 3-2 sucks but the two losses are by a combined 3 points to two good teams just ten days after they lost possibly their best player. I know excuses and silver linings are lame when you go 20-39 on your FTs.
I’m slightly worried both losses have been at home considering how significantly worse they’ve been on the road, but I’ll hold off full speculation until they actually prove or expose themselves in an away arena.
I think short-term expectations changed when Weston got hurt, but I do believe this team will get better. Think the flaws are obvious. Some are fixable. Some aren’t and are gonna have to be masked somehow. But think the team has enough dudes, enough age and experience and talent, to get better and be at a competitive level in Conference USA despite the early adversity they’ve already faced.
Not in panic mode yet. 3-2 sucks but the two losses are by a combined 3 points to two good teams just ten days after they lost possibly their best player. I know excuses and silver linings are lame when you go 20-39 on your FTs.
I’m slightly worried both losses have been at home considering how significantly worse they’ve been on the road, but I’ll hold off full speculation until they actually prove or expose themselves in an away arena.
I think short-term expectations changed when Weston got hurt, but I do believe this team will get better. Think the flaws are obvious. Some are fixable. Some aren’t and are gonna have to be masked somehow. But think the team has enough dudes, enough age and experience and talent, to get better and be at a competitive level in Conference USA despite the early adversity they’ve already faced.
It says below your name you are Staff, but regardless of whether this is a paying gig for you, I really appreciate the effort you put in to both your pre and post/game analysis.
It’s clear you do your homework as most of what you write is supported either by stats/data, or by watching prior games.
I live out of state, so I am grateful for insights you provide. You seem to be pretty objective as well.👏.
Lastly, but just as important to me, you write like you have more than a 6th grade education. One of the big downfalls to email/blogs/social media is people have gotten really lazy when it comes to how they put their thoughts in writing, regardless of the medium. For the record, I only took 2 English classes in college, that’s not my point. You obviously take pride in how you present your articles. You & MT01 set a pretty high bar here. Whether I always agree or not.
Well done!
Since the men's tennis coach is the only one who seems to know anything about coaching & "WINNING" on this campus can't we just let him coach everything?
Give him a raise & a couple of "coaching football & basketball for dummies" books & let him at it. Guarantee you in 6-9 months we'll be better off than where we are now.
Give him a raise & a couple of "coaching football & basketball for dummies" books & let him at it. Guarantee you in 6-9 months we'll be better off than where we are now.
I do very much appreciate all of that. Truly means a lot. I could blabber about sports all day, but I’m grateful Matt offered me the opportunity to blabber about my favorite team on a platform it can be appreciated on.
I know we’re just kidding around but don’t overlook our new track coach. He’s no Dean Hayes, but he’s already coach, the best cross-country team our university has ever had. He’s also doing a bang up job bringing in good sprinters too.
