Murray State vs. Middle Tennessee preview
MBB: The Racers open their Cayman Islands gauntlet against the Blue Raiders
Murray State will play the first of three games in three days Sunday night when they face Middle Tennessee at the Cayman Islands Classic. Here’s what you need to know:
Murray State (4-1 overall) vs. Middle Tennessee (3-1 overall) at 6:30pm CST in John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
KenPom rankings: Murray State #112; Middle Tennessee #150
Bart Torvik rankings: Murray State #109; Middle Tennessee #139
Series history: 148th meeting (Murray State leads the series 109-38, this is the 13th-straight year these two programs have met)
You can watch the game on FloSports. You’ll need to sign up for a monthly subscription for $19.99 that will give you access to stream all three games, live and on demand.
Kenny Roth and I will have the radio call, with the pregame show starting at 6:00pm CST. You can listen to the game here: https://player.amperwave.net/2845
Vegas line: Murray State -7.5
Murray State Scouting Report
The Racers bring a two-game winning streak into The Cayman Islands, as they’ll try to get off to the program’s best start in four years.
Murray State is averaging 94.4 points per game, with a balanced scoring attack featuring seven players averaging at least 8.4 points per game. Dating back to at least 1953, there has never been an instance of seven Racers averaging at least 8.4 points per game for an entire season.
The Racers are in the Top-50 nationally in both three-point percentage (38.6%) and two-point percentage (59.9%).
Defensively, Murray State is the best team in the country at chasing teams off the three-point line. Only 22.1% of field goal attempts by Racer opponents are coming from beyond the arc. That may not impact Middle Tennessee much since the Blue Raiders are only making 27.0% from outside.
Middle Tennessee Scouting Report
The Blue Raiders are 3-1 on the season, with a pair of Non-Division I wins and a 77-72 road win at Evansville. Their last time out, MTSU got blown out at Michigan, 86-61.
Middle Tennessee brings in the #1 three-point defense in the country, allowing Evansville and Michigan to shoot just 20.5% from outside. The Blue Raiders haven’t been nearly as successful on the interior, as they’re allowing 59.8% from two-point range, which is in the Bottom-30 in the country.
Offensively, Middle is led by Kamari Lands, who is averaging 16.0 points per game. After averaging 8.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season, he has literally doubled all of his countable stats this season.
The Blue Raiders have done a poor job of getting to the free throw line this season, and when they’ve gotten there, they only make 65.5% of their attempts against Division I teams.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ posted after the game.