Chattanooga Recap
MTSU dropped to 1-3 after losing to Chattanooga . The Blue Raiders simply had trouble finding success on both sides of the ball. The Mocs built a 16-7 lead early, but Middle Tennessee responded with a run over the next 5 minutes to make it 25-21. After that, the game didn't feature a lead larger than 5 until the 5:29 mark of the second half, with UTC finishing the game on a 13-6 run.
***Defense takes a step back while Mocs feast at the line***.
Most notably, the Blue Raiders were obliterated in the free throw battle. Chattanooga saw 21-26 go in from the line, while MTSU only saw 4-9. Hard to win games with that sort of difference in margin and execution. UTC deserves credit as they operated their offense well, but it was clear MTSU brought their worst defensive appearance of the season.
***Offense gets cold at the wrong time***
On the game, Middle Tennessee shot the ball well from the field (50%) and from 3 (44%). However, they struggled as the game came down to the wire, only making 3-13 in the final 9:06. The Blue Raiders also struggled with more turnover issues with 18 and only 8 assists.
***Dish's big return***
DeAndre Dishman led the Blue Raiders in points tonight with 16 points on 8-10 shooting along with 5 rebounds. Throughout the game, he was MTSU's most dependable player on offense, and could see more touches in the post after an encouraging performance. The junior forward has been through a lot, so it was great to watch him play aggressively and see success off of it.
***Struggling centers***
Jared Coleman-Jones and Tyson Jackson have not had the greatest starts to the season. Both lead the team in fouls and turnovers per-40 minutes. Coleman-Jones is 6-18 from the field on the year. Jackson has zero offensive rebounds and three total rebounds in 33 minutes of action so far. In four games, MTSU's point differential is -8, but lineups containing either Coleman-Jones or Jackson are -30. Both will need to discover their roles eventually when MT matches up against bigger teams.
***The bottom line***
The team is 1-3 on the year in four winnable games. Despite the defense struggling tonight, the offense remains a bigger concern. As of today, there aren't any Blue Raiders averaging over 10 points a game despite at least five having the potential to average over 10.
The good news is they understand that and are confident going forward. Both Jalen Jordan and DeAndre Dishman had the same message in the post game presser. They held themselves and the team accountable but were still optimistic that the team's best days are ahead of them. At the moment, I agree.
Unless you are fighting for an at-large bid, conference play is what matters the most. If the team can consistently play the way they did against Murray State in C-USA, they will have success in conference play. So the mission for the remainder of the month is simple: grow cohesiveness and consistency.