Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Hello from Frisco! What you missed before MT Played in the 2022 C-USA Tournament
3/9/2022 11:56:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, BRAA
C-USA Championship CentralMen's Basketball Championship ScheduleWomen's Basketball Championship Schedule
A quick hits guide to where things stand entering Thursday
FRISCO, Texas — Wow, does that dateline feel nice to type out! Morning, Blue Raiders! Hope you are doing well back in Murfreesboro, in Frisco or where you may be tuning in this fine Thursday morning.
It's been a busy few days of travel and preparation for both our men's and women's basketball programs down here in the Lone Star State, with the buses with support staff leaving Tennessee as early as Sunday to help make sure the teams had everything they needed for the week.
Rick Insell's Lady Raiders got into town on Monday, unwinding after the travel with the night at Top Golf while practicing both days, while Nick McDevitt's Blue Raiders flew in on Tuesday, getting up some shots at a local area high school shortly after.
I spent my time, meanwhile, watching a lot of C-USA basketball to get ready for Middle Tennessee's quarterfinal games today. The Lady Raiders start the day off with a game against Southern Miss at 2 p.m., while the Blue Raiders follow up with one of the latest games of the day, tipping off against UTEP at 8 p.m.
To catch you up on everything you missed from the first two days of action here in Texas (at least before tonight's men's session), check out all the tidbits and results below!
Tuesday's First Round
Tuesday, as one might expect from a schedule consisting of the bottom four teams in both the men's and women's fields this year, was a fairly ho-hum affair, where only a couple of teams (Marshall's men, FIU's women) appeared to have much of a pulse to try to advance beyond Wednesday.
I paid closest attention to the FIU-FAU women's game, a 68-60 victory for the Panthers after they trailed by as much as 12 in the second half. Kyla Nelson scored 23 points for FIU, bringing in seven rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. With the win, The Panthers found themselves on the path to MT, advancing to play USM on Wednesday, with the winner of that game taking on the Lady Raiders on Thursday.
As one might expect, Rick Insell and his entire coaching staff was courtside for the first round game, taking in some extra scouting of the two East division rivals, just in case the Panthers would end up upsetting the Golden Eagles the next day.
My favorite moment of the game came from the bands, when FIU's band started chanting "start the plane" in the closing seconds at FAU, a classic twist on the usual "start the bus" chant.
Other results: Women's Tournament UTSA 58, UTEP 57 (OT); Men's Tournament: Marshall 74, FIU 62; USM 67, UTSA 64
C'mon Y'all (Part 1)
In less fun band antics, a minor detail and inconvenience between games on Tuesday was a missed opportunity to make things easier on everyone in attendance at the Star.
FIU and UTSA both had the unfortunate situation of being the only two schools who had both their men's and women's teams scheduled to play in the first round. UTSA's women played on Court A in the first pair of games, while FIU's women played on Court B.
Great news! Both teams had bands in full support behind them here in Frisco. Bad news: their men's teams played on opposite courts of their women, so the bands, spirit squads or anyone who's down here to support both teams had to do a little switcheroo in between games.
Now, is this that big a deal in the grand scheme of things? No. It's a five minute movement at most, maybe 15 minutes to set up the drum kit if you're unlucky. But it was something that made very little sense (I suppose the schedule was predetermined based on seeds for who the overall "best" team was in each bracket, but that's the only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense).
C'mon Y'all Part 2: Lack of Shootarounds
In a tweet thread that went regionally viral within the conference overnight on Tuesday, I shared the news that no teams here in Frisco were able to have a shootaround on either of the two courts here at the Ford Center at the Star.
As it was explained to me, in pre-COVID times, only 12 teams from each bracket actually made the conference tournament in C-USA, with the 13th and 14th place teams staying home. This had the result of eliminating the games that are currently played on Tuesday, opening up an hour slot for all 24 teams to come for a shootaround on Tuesday (start at 8 a.m. or so, go until 8 p.m. at night, and you fit everyone in).
Now, with games starting Tuesday evening, there's not enough time for everyone to fit in a true shootaround, so no one gets a shootaround.
Of course, teams will get up shots before their game somewhere if they can, a local high school or athletic complex, of which there are many in the area. But the infamous C-USA Curtain is not the easiest backdrop to shoot against.
It didn't seem to be a huge issue for the three seeds on Wednesday, but might be something to keep an eye out for in each game Thursday, given the closeness of each team's talent level in many of those games between those that got byes to the quarterfinals (like both Middle Tennessee teams) and the teams that played on Wednesday.
Wednesday's Women Tournament Action
In the game with the most immediate implications to Middle Tennessee, USM controlled the game from the tip against FIU, scoring the game's first 11 points en route to a 19-point halftime lead and eventual 78-60 victory on Court B in front of MT's coaching staff. Kelsey Jones was a beast in the paint for the Golden Eagles, earning a double-double by scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting while going 6-for-6 at the line. She also hauled in 12 rebounds. A player to watch against the Lady Raiders, I'll be interested to see if Anastasiia Boldyreva or Courtney Whitson starts against her on defense.
Earlier in the afternoon, Old Dominion took care of business against UTSA, rolling over the Roadrunners 65-45 to set up a matchup with North Texas preceding Middle Tennessee's game with USM.
On Court A in the late game of the women's session, UAB pulled off what was likely, for my money, the surprise of the first two days, defeating Western Kentucky 74-62 thanks to a 22-8 advantage in the fourth quarter. Earlier on that same court, Rice easily dispatched Marshall, 80-62. The Herd, who had swept WKU the week before, and the Lady Toppers both failed to advance past their first game in Frisco, giving us five teams from the West and three from the East Division for the quarter finals tomorrow.
Wednesday Night Men's Session
The game that mattered most for Middle Tennessee fans was the penultimate game of the evening, where UTEP easily got past ODU, 74-64 in a game that was not even remotely close to that score, to set up tonight's game on Court A. Souley Boum, on a mission after being snubbed from All-Conference USA First Team, was excellent as always, scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a trio of three-pointers. Boum was one of four Miners to score at least 10 points on the night. It was UTEP's first postseason win since 2017.
On the same side of the bracket for MT, Florida Atlantic blitzed past Southern Miss, 86-59, to set up a matchup with UAB in the latest game on Thursday's schedule. The winner of that matchup will play the winner of MT and UTEP.
The West once again showed up in big force in the early games of the night, with Rice upsetting Charlotte 73-61, while LA Tech fought off a great effort from No. 7 seed Marshall, 77-67. The winners will take on North Texas and Western Kentucky, respectively.
Three-Point Woes, Paint Success
In a related note to the lack of shootaround, it seemed to me across the tournament's first two days that, anecdotally, the teams that were winning were the ones that were able to get to the rim for easy buckets, as the three-point shot was not working for pretty much anyone at a rate that would lend itself to prolonged offensive success.
So, I decided to actually look at the numbers of each game to see what the percentages were from beyond the arc. And, bearing in mind that the numbers are skewed by not featuring the top teams of C-USA in the first two days, the numbers bore out that assumption: the shots are not falling for just about anyone.
Women's teams in Frisco have shot just 61-212 (28.8%) from three through two days, with winning teams only marginally performing better at 30-88 (34.1%). On the men's side of the bracket, all teams were ever so slightly better, shooting 82-268 (30.6%) from three through two days, with winners shooting 42-127 (33.1%).
Where does the advantage lie over the next few days then? In teams that can score inside and teams with great perimeter defense. Traits that both the Blue and Lady Raiders possess, in other words.
Salute to the Fallen (*cues Horn of Plenty*)
And now, we pay tribute to all the teams that have had both their men's and women's teams fall in Frisco, eliminating them from any C-USA championship contention.
UTSA
FIU
Marshall
It's been a busy few days of travel and preparation for both our men's and women's basketball programs down here in the Lone Star State, with the buses with support staff leaving Tennessee as early as Sunday to help make sure the teams had everything they needed for the week.
Rick Insell's Lady Raiders got into town on Monday, unwinding after the travel with the night at Top Golf while practicing both days, while Nick McDevitt's Blue Raiders flew in on Tuesday, getting up some shots at a local area high school shortly after.
Hey @MT_WGolf, y'all holding tryouts?#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/kFHJK3363X
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) March 8, 2022
Wheels down in the Lone Star State. Let's get to work.#StickTogether pic.twitter.com/osOHsxDPBg
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) March 9, 2022
I spent my time, meanwhile, watching a lot of C-USA basketball to get ready for Middle Tennessee's quarterfinal games today. The Lady Raiders start the day off with a game against Southern Miss at 2 p.m., while the Blue Raiders follow up with one of the latest games of the day, tipping off against UTEP at 8 p.m.
To catch you up on everything you missed from the first two days of action here in Texas (at least before tonight's men's session), check out all the tidbits and results below!
Tuesday's First Round
Tuesday, as one might expect from a schedule consisting of the bottom four teams in both the men's and women's fields this year, was a fairly ho-hum affair, where only a couple of teams (Marshall's men, FIU's women) appeared to have much of a pulse to try to advance beyond Wednesday.
I paid closest attention to the FIU-FAU women's game, a 68-60 victory for the Panthers after they trailed by as much as 12 in the second half. Kyla Nelson scored 23 points for FIU, bringing in seven rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. With the win, The Panthers found themselves on the path to MT, advancing to play USM on Wednesday, with the winner of that game taking on the Lady Raiders on Thursday.
As one might expect, Rick Insell and his entire coaching staff was courtside for the first round game, taking in some extra scouting of the two East division rivals, just in case the Panthers would end up upsetting the Golden Eagles the next day.
My favorite moment of the game came from the bands, when FIU's band started chanting "start the plane" in the closing seconds at FAU, a classic twist on the usual "start the bus" chant.
Other results: Women's Tournament UTSA 58, UTEP 57 (OT); Men's Tournament: Marshall 74, FIU 62; USM 67, UTSA 64
C'mon Y'all (Part 1)
In less fun band antics, a minor detail and inconvenience between games on Tuesday was a missed opportunity to make things easier on everyone in attendance at the Star.
FIU and UTSA both had the unfortunate situation of being the only two schools who had both their men's and women's teams scheduled to play in the first round. UTSA's women played on Court A in the first pair of games, while FIU's women played on Court B.
Great news! Both teams had bands in full support behind them here in Frisco. Bad news: their men's teams played on opposite courts of their women, so the bands, spirit squads or anyone who's down here to support both teams had to do a little switcheroo in between games.
Funny thing about today is that FIU pep band moved from women's win over to start of mens win, while UTSA's is doing the same on opposite courts. pic.twitter.com/89d13hgjbN
— CUSA Report (@cusaReport) March 9, 2022
Now, is this that big a deal in the grand scheme of things? No. It's a five minute movement at most, maybe 15 minutes to set up the drum kit if you're unlucky. But it was something that made very little sense (I suppose the schedule was predetermined based on seeds for who the overall "best" team was in each bracket, but that's the only explanation I can come up with that makes any sense).
C'mon Y'all Part 2: Lack of Shootarounds
In a tweet thread that went regionally viral within the conference overnight on Tuesday, I shared the news that no teams here in Frisco were able to have a shootaround on either of the two courts here at the Ford Center at the Star.
Fun fact about this year's C-USA tournament I just learned from our SID Tony Stinnett: No teams were given any shootaround time prior to their first game on either of the Ford Center at The Star's two courts.
— Sam Doughton (@sjdoughton) March 9, 2022
Meaning that the teams with double byes (NT, UAB, MT and WKU for the men, LA Tech, NT, CLT and MT for the women) will all be playing a team with at least one game and potentially two games more of shooting acclimation when they open their tournaments on Thursday.
— Sam Doughton (@sjdoughton) March 9, 2022
As it was explained to me, in pre-COVID times, only 12 teams from each bracket actually made the conference tournament in C-USA, with the 13th and 14th place teams staying home. This had the result of eliminating the games that are currently played on Tuesday, opening up an hour slot for all 24 teams to come for a shootaround on Tuesday (start at 8 a.m. or so, go until 8 p.m. at night, and you fit everyone in).
Now, with games starting Tuesday evening, there's not enough time for everyone to fit in a true shootaround, so no one gets a shootaround.
Of course, teams will get up shots before their game somewhere if they can, a local high school or athletic complex, of which there are many in the area. But the infamous C-USA Curtain is not the easiest backdrop to shoot against.
It didn't seem to be a huge issue for the three seeds on Wednesday, but might be something to keep an eye out for in each game Thursday, given the closeness of each team's talent level in many of those games between those that got byes to the quarterfinals (like both Middle Tennessee teams) and the teams that played on Wednesday.
Wednesday's Women Tournament Action
In the game with the most immediate implications to Middle Tennessee, USM controlled the game from the tip against FIU, scoring the game's first 11 points en route to a 19-point halftime lead and eventual 78-60 victory on Court B in front of MT's coaching staff. Kelsey Jones was a beast in the paint for the Golden Eagles, earning a double-double by scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting while going 6-for-6 at the line. She also hauled in 12 rebounds. A player to watch against the Lady Raiders, I'll be interested to see if Anastasiia Boldyreva or Courtney Whitson starts against her on defense.
Earlier in the afternoon, Old Dominion took care of business against UTSA, rolling over the Roadrunners 65-45 to set up a matchup with North Texas preceding Middle Tennessee's game with USM.
On Court A in the late game of the women's session, UAB pulled off what was likely, for my money, the surprise of the first two days, defeating Western Kentucky 74-62 thanks to a 22-8 advantage in the fourth quarter. Earlier on that same court, Rice easily dispatched Marshall, 80-62. The Herd, who had swept WKU the week before, and the Lady Toppers both failed to advance past their first game in Frisco, giving us five teams from the West and three from the East Division for the quarter finals tomorrow.
Wednesday Night Men's Session
The game that mattered most for Middle Tennessee fans was the penultimate game of the evening, where UTEP easily got past ODU, 74-64 in a game that was not even remotely close to that score, to set up tonight's game on Court A. Souley Boum, on a mission after being snubbed from All-Conference USA First Team, was excellent as always, scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a trio of three-pointers. Boum was one of four Miners to score at least 10 points on the night. It was UTEP's first postseason win since 2017.
On the same side of the bracket for MT, Florida Atlantic blitzed past Southern Miss, 86-59, to set up a matchup with UAB in the latest game on Thursday's schedule. The winner of that matchup will play the winner of MT and UTEP.
The West once again showed up in big force in the early games of the night, with Rice upsetting Charlotte 73-61, while LA Tech fought off a great effort from No. 7 seed Marshall, 77-67. The winners will take on North Texas and Western Kentucky, respectively.
Three-Point Woes, Paint Success
In a related note to the lack of shootaround, it seemed to me across the tournament's first two days that, anecdotally, the teams that were winning were the ones that were able to get to the rim for easy buckets, as the three-point shot was not working for pretty much anyone at a rate that would lend itself to prolonged offensive success.
So, I decided to actually look at the numbers of each game to see what the percentages were from beyond the arc. And, bearing in mind that the numbers are skewed by not featuring the top teams of C-USA in the first two days, the numbers bore out that assumption: the shots are not falling for just about anyone.
Women's teams in Frisco have shot just 61-212 (28.8%) from three through two days, with winning teams only marginally performing better at 30-88 (34.1%). On the men's side of the bracket, all teams were ever so slightly better, shooting 82-268 (30.6%) from three through two days, with winners shooting 42-127 (33.1%).
Where does the advantage lie over the next few days then? In teams that can score inside and teams with great perimeter defense. Traits that both the Blue and Lady Raiders possess, in other words.
Salute to the Fallen (*cues Horn of Plenty*)
And now, we pay tribute to all the teams that have had both their men's and women's teams fall in Frisco, eliminating them from any C-USA championship contention.
UTSA
The Roadrunners closed the 2021-22 campaign in the second round of the conference tournament to finish 7-23 on the season.https://t.co/BMvdcj1es3#BirdsUp 🤙
— UTSA Women's Basketball (@UTSAWBB) March 9, 2022
FIU
FINAL | Tough result against a good Southern Miss squad.
— FIU Women's Hoops (@FIU_WBB) March 9, 2022
Ekpiteta led FIU w/ 11 PTS, 6 REB ✅#PawsUp 🐾 | #PantherPride pic.twitter.com/phOpX1FWsk
Marshall
Final: MU 67, LA Tech 77.
— Marshall Men's Basketball (@HerdMBB) March 10, 2022
Thank you Herd fans for all of your support throughout the season! #BringOnTheHerd x #RiseAsOne pic.twitter.com/2a3ZOEKO8k
Players Mentioned
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