03-27-2022, 08:36 PM
Game time Monday at 7:00 PM in Savage.
Here's a bit of a scouting report on Middle Tennessee after watching parts of 2 recent games on ESPN3/+.
Now granted, I only saw 1 home game, but I wonder if their attendance figures are inflated. Played Charlotte at home a couple weeks back with a listed attendance of 3307, but it looked to me maybe 500-600 people there,
and those were really quiet. Again, only one game, but I was surprised. They are 16-0 at home, but only 8-5 on the road.
They start 6'6, 6'0, 5'11, 5'8, 5'6. The 6'6 FR from Russia looks like it would take 2 of her to make 1 Hannah Noveroske. Has some post moves, but not very effective in the games I saw. She's long and can affect/block shots & guards the rim freeing others to double. The best player and leading scorer is a 6'0 Belarusian transfer from VCU who does not start. A true stretch post, she will shoot and make the three or the 15' jumper. She handles the ball well & can drive or even play down low. Also thin and very long. Averages 13 points a game. The 2nd best player is PG Dor Saar, a Maine 5th year transfer from Israel. She was a player I had my eye on as a possible UT target last year in the portal. Quick, good ball handler and a lightning quick release on her jumpers. Takes threes off the dribble often and over taller players. She averages 12 points and 4 assists per game. The rest of the team are great role players who play tough defense, shoot the three and otherwise fill in all the glue spots. They have one other guard who seems to have nearly Marreon Jackson-level range, as I saw her take several 25-30 footers and make some.
On offense, MTSU loves the three. They're 3rd in the country in 3 point attempts, at almost 30 a game - nearly half their total shots. Their game high is 42. They're 4th in the country in 3 pointers made, at 9.7 per. They run a constant motion offense and will drive and kick to get threes as well as take them off the dribble. They will try to feed the post some but not that much. Because they take so many threes, there are a lot of long
rebounds and all 5 players will crash those and they get some free buckets off of the long boards. They have 4 players averaging >10 points per game, and 4 players that have made 49 or more threes. They commit slightly more turnovers than they get assists. They mostly score in the 50s, but have scored 80 or more several games. Their low total on the year was 46 against Charlotte on the road (which they won, 46-45.)
MTSU's signature is their defense. I saw several different ones, including a half-court trap, a ball-pressure man, and a man that doesn't pressure the ball but sags to surround any drive or post feed. Regularly saw 3 or
even 4 players sag to surround the ball in the paint, which leaves open shooters, but the teams I saw them play could not seem to find them very often. They only give up about 56 points a game, and because of that have been close in their losses. They equal their opponents in number of rebounds per game. They force over 17 turnovers a game.
They have one common opponent with UT in Marquette, who they lost to in OT on a neutral court in FLA. It was a low scoring game, 59-55 final. They forced MU into 26 turnovers, but only shot 29% for the game.
Will be a tough match-up for UT. Need to guard the three, and defend the boards, and find a way through the MTSU defense.
Here's a bit of a scouting report on Middle Tennessee after watching parts of 2 recent games on ESPN3/+.
Now granted, I only saw 1 home game, but I wonder if their attendance figures are inflated. Played Charlotte at home a couple weeks back with a listed attendance of 3307, but it looked to me maybe 500-600 people there,
and those were really quiet. Again, only one game, but I was surprised. They are 16-0 at home, but only 8-5 on the road.
They start 6'6, 6'0, 5'11, 5'8, 5'6. The 6'6 FR from Russia looks like it would take 2 of her to make 1 Hannah Noveroske. Has some post moves, but not very effective in the games I saw. She's long and can affect/block shots & guards the rim freeing others to double. The best player and leading scorer is a 6'0 Belarusian transfer from VCU who does not start. A true stretch post, she will shoot and make the three or the 15' jumper. She handles the ball well & can drive or even play down low. Also thin and very long. Averages 13 points a game. The 2nd best player is PG Dor Saar, a Maine 5th year transfer from Israel. She was a player I had my eye on as a possible UT target last year in the portal. Quick, good ball handler and a lightning quick release on her jumpers. Takes threes off the dribble often and over taller players. She averages 12 points and 4 assists per game. The rest of the team are great role players who play tough defense, shoot the three and otherwise fill in all the glue spots. They have one other guard who seems to have nearly Marreon Jackson-level range, as I saw her take several 25-30 footers and make some.
On offense, MTSU loves the three. They're 3rd in the country in 3 point attempts, at almost 30 a game - nearly half their total shots. Their game high is 42. They're 4th in the country in 3 pointers made, at 9.7 per. They run a constant motion offense and will drive and kick to get threes as well as take them off the dribble. They will try to feed the post some but not that much. Because they take so many threes, there are a lot of long
rebounds and all 5 players will crash those and they get some free buckets off of the long boards. They have 4 players averaging >10 points per game, and 4 players that have made 49 or more threes. They commit slightly more turnovers than they get assists. They mostly score in the 50s, but have scored 80 or more several games. Their low total on the year was 46 against Charlotte on the road (which they won, 46-45.)
MTSU's signature is their defense. I saw several different ones, including a half-court trap, a ball-pressure man, and a man that doesn't pressure the ball but sags to surround any drive or post feed. Regularly saw 3 or
even 4 players sag to surround the ball in the paint, which leaves open shooters, but the teams I saw them play could not seem to find them very often. They only give up about 56 points a game, and because of that have been close in their losses. They equal their opponents in number of rebounds per game. They force over 17 turnovers a game.
They have one common opponent with UT in Marquette, who they lost to in OT on a neutral court in FLA. It was a low scoring game, 59-55 final. They forced MU into 26 turnovers, but only shot 29% for the game.
Will be a tough match-up for UT. Need to guard the three, and defend the boards, and find a way through the MTSU defense.