COLUMN: A remarkable week of Murphy Magic in the Glass House

1/22/2023 5:58:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball

MTSU won all three games at home as students returned to classes, thanks to the Blue Zoo’s help

By: Sam Doughton, MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — If you're one of the many people who made it out to all three MTSU home games at the Murphy Center this past week, you've been treated to some remarkable basketball.

An overtime win for the men over UAB on Monday, where the Blazers had a shot to win in the final seconds go through the hoop, but it was a shot they were not able to get off until the buzzer sounded.

A back and forth, defensive slugfest on Thursday night, where the men once again made enough shots and free throws, collecting key defensive rebounds to push past Charlotte.

And Saturday afternoon, the Lady Raiders were finally tested in C-USA play, passing with flying colors after a 31-12 fourth quarter erased a one-point deficit after three against LA Tech.

There were 23 total MTSU blocks, 17 total MTSU three-pointers made, 28 total MTSU offensive rebounds that gave the home team a second chance on a possession. Eight combined clutch free throws in the final minute for the Blue Raiders, one to tie and one to go-ahead from DeAndre Dishman on Monday, and three pairs from Camryn Weston, Teafale Lenard and Eli Lawrence on Thursday.

The Lady Raiders, far enough ahead the Lady Techsters didn't even bother intentionally fouling, instead had a Savannah Wheeler jumper to beat the final shot clock for good measure, the final two of her 14 fourth quarter points.

Through all that action, the 20 times the games were tied after tipoff, the 30 times the lead changed hands this week in the Glass House, MTSU fans, and particularly MTSU students, showed up and made themselves heard, renewing the environment that kept both teams undefeated in the regular season in the Murphy Center a season ago.

Look, I'm sure the extra time off from class for students and professors alike was glorious. One of the best things about your freshman year of college is figuring out "Oh wait, I don't have class for over a month in the winter?" But wow, did we miss having so many students close by campus that were willing to come in and support their class mates.

The Blue Zoo of winter break was small but vocal.

The Blue Zoo of this week was a factor every single play.

Hear the roar after this Weston layup to tie the game.

Weston and one! Tie game! pic.twitter.com/0p2JalKLUW
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) January 20, 2023

Or here at the 0:22 mark, when Wheeler drills a dagger of a three against LA Tech.

.@savwheeler4 was special today. #BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/VBxXgGFN4U
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) January 22, 2023

It's an environment not every team in Conference USA has, sadly. Scrolling around ESPN+ on game days, or just seeing the highlights of our teams on the road on Twitter, it's stunning to me how much better our crowd at the Glass House comes across than others.

There are certainly standouts amid the crowd. WKU can get Diddle rocking on the right night. North Texas has great fan support that travels well. FAU has showed up for their excellent men's team this season. And Blazer fans can make Bartow Arena a tough place to play.

But what I love about MTSU is that, at least since I've been here, y'all have shown up for both the men and the women. Unfortunately for our peers, those that do have good crowds usually only come out for the men's teams during basketball season, a problem that is certainly not exclusive to Conference USA, mind you. It's a credit to the work Rick Insell and his staff and his players, both current and former, that our women's crowds truly are some of the best in the country.

Can things improve? Of course they can. I dream of the days that we can fill every seat that appears on the ESPN+ telecast, have both endzones of the bowl rocking with folks in addition to the sidelines. That one day, before Phase Two of Build Blue, we'll have a reason to pull out those bleachers other than an impending graduation.

But every game, every single Blue Raider that shows up makes themself known. Murphy Center holds its sound better than just about any arena I've visited. Where else can the crowd influence the game so much that two opposing players and an opposing coach get technical fouls in frustration with the officiating, as happened this week with KJ Buffen, Eric Gaines and Brooke Stoehr in the Glass House!

Most importantly, however, your efforts have not gone unnoticed by those on the court.

Hey @MTBlueZoo - we need you back on Thursday!

Note from @MTCoachNick ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YpRlOLOrd7
— MT Mktg & Promos (@MT_Promotions) January 18, 2023

"The fan base here is just amazing," Savannah Wheeler said after Saturday's win. "We're just a group of girls that love to play the game. Being surrounded by people that love it just makes it even more special. The crowd was fabulous today."

"It was amazing," Camryn Weston said after Thursday's win. "I feel like we feed off of everybody's energy. Once we have our fans and everybody in attendance, it makes us better as a whole."

So students, it was great to have you back in the Glass House, and on campus as a whole this week. We're going to need you a lot more in the weeks to come, with two Lady Raider games on tap this week.

And to all the veteran fans that came through the holidays, thank you for being there always. I can't wait to see everyone for some more Murphy Magic as the season rolls on!