FAU Preview

Middle Tennessee will begin conference play on Friday night at 6 pm and Saturday at 3 pm (CST) in Boca Raton, FL against the Florida Atlantic Owls. This will be their first games in over two weeks after their final two nonconference games were cancelled due to positive cases of COVID-19 within the Blue Raider program. MTSU has since resumed practice and are currently cleared from any COVID related setbacks.

FAU is 5-3 on the year, but that record is slightly misleading. Of their five wins, four were against non-D1 opponents, and the fifth was against a North Florida team that is currently 2-8 and ranks 296th in the country per KenPom's rankings. They are led by senior wing Jailyn Ingram, who has started 97 in his 108 career games with the Owls. Ingram has been red hot from 3, making 51% of his shots behind the arc so far this year.

As a team, FAU has done an excellent job of taking care of the ball so far. They are only averaging 11 turnovers (ranking 32nd in the country per NCAA.com) and have yet to play a game where they turned it over more than their opponent. But against their four D1 opponents, the FG% offense and defense hasn't been pretty. Between those four outings, they combined to shoot 41% from the field and 30% from 3, while their opponent shot 51% and 45%, respectively.

This is a very winnable pair of games for MTSU. However, there are a lot of things going against them at the same time. The team has shown a clear lack of cohesiveness and chemistry, not constantly but consistently, in their first six games. Going one week without practice and two weeks without a game will not make those hurdles any shorter. These two games will also be MTSU's first true road games on the season.

We can be grateful that Middle is not starting the C-USA season against heavyweights like Western Kentucky, UAB, and North Texas. However, the Blue Raiders still have their work cut out for them, as league play on the road presents a different type of challenge this team has yet to face together.

Both games will be broadcasted on CUSA.tv. Follow me on twitter at @GoMiddle_Oliver for live updates each day.