Syracuse Basketball vs MTSU: Game Preview

Syracuse basketball takes on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at 6:10 pm with a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament.

What a week so far in the NCAA tournament! Upset upon upset, including Syracuse basketball’s own with their 70-51 victory over Dayton. Now, thanks to the biggest upset of the tourney, the Orange face the 15th seeded Buccaneers instead of the 2nd seeded Michigan State Spartans.

While we all probably slept a little easier knowing that our opponent wasn’t coached by Tom Izzo, let’s not take MTSU for granted like MSU did. They are clearly a very talented team filled with a plethora of great shooters and ball handlers.

Let’s take a closer look at MTSU in general to see if we can’t figure out exactly what kind of team they are and what Syracuse basketball will have to do to beat them.

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Middle Tennessee went 24-9 this year and finished second in Conference USA at 13-5. They made it into the NCAA tournament by running the table in their conference tourney, winning it all with a 55-53 win over Old Dominion. Including the Michigan State victory, MTSU have run off seven consecutive victories. They didn’t really have a lot of big wins this year and their MSU win was the first over a ranked opponent all season.

So what is it about MTSU that made them so good against Michigan State? The answer is balance and 3-point shooting. MTSU boasts three players who shoot better than 40% from the perimeter. Against Michigan State, they went a combined 11-19 from deep, an impressive 57.9%. They also forced 14 MSU turnovers which they converted into 21 points.

They are a scrappy team that plays with a lot of energy, a fast pace, and high intensity at all times. Putting up 90 against a Tom Izzo team in the tournament is no small feat, but MTSU looked comfortable from start to finish and led throughout.

One of the main reasons they were able to do this is the balance their team has. MTSU plays nine guys at least 12 minutes per game. Of those nine, five of them shoot at least 36% from 3-point range.

The clear leader for their team is Giddy Potts, a 6’2″ sophomore guard who averaged 15.1 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50.1% from 3-point range for the season. That was good for third best in the entire NCAA. Yeah, the kid can shoot. Against Michigan State, Potts scored 19 points including 3-5 from behind the arc.

Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after the game against the against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Middle Tennessee State won 90-81. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Another key player for MTSU is Reggie Upshaw. Upshaw was second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game and led them in rebounding with 8.5 per contest. He also made 39% of his 3’s for the season and drained three of them against Michigan State. He led them in scoring that game, getting 21 points but only managed four rebounds. That was partly because both teams shot so well.

The other two main scorers for Middle Tennessee are Perrin Buford and Darnell Harris. Buford averaged 21.1 points and 5.9 and also hit 41.7% of his 3s. To be fair, he only made 15 on the season and didn’t even take one against MSU. Hudson averaged 11.7 points per game, 4 rebounds, and shot 42% from deep. He made 57 of them for the year, including three against Michigan State, so he’s yet another shooter Syracuse basketball will have to watch.

Overall, this could be a very tough game for Syracuse, or it could be really easy depending on how well MTSU shoots the ball. If they continue to be as hot as against Michigan State, it could be a very long evening. However, I don’t know that they can stay that hot, especially against the zone if it plays like it did against Dayton.

Next: SU Blows Out Dayton, 70-51

The other factor that goes SU’s way is size. Syracuse basketball has done poorly against bigger teams this year, but has held their own when they are facing similar sized teams or smaller teams. MTSU is not very big, with their tallest player only 6’8″. That’s a huge benefit for the Orange, as they absolutely dominated the smaller Dayton Flyers on the glass. If they can do that again today, it could swing things in SU’s favor.

I see this as a very favorable game for Syracuse basketball. All season they have done a tremendous job of guarding the 3-point line and forcing teams into bad shots. They led the ACC in 3-point field goal defense. As long as they are disciplined, I can see them winning this game.

If so, they would advance to the Sweet 16 to take on Gonzaga. That team could cause matchup problems for SU on the interior, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. First, let’s go beat Middle Tennessee State! I think Syracuse basketball is primed and ready, and I can’t wait to watch tonight’s game. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter as I’ll be live tweeting the game.

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