The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders play the Marshall Thundering Herd in the fourth round of the CUSA tournament at Legacy Arena. Action begins at 6:30 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 11 and can be seen on CCS.
The Blue Raiders played well in their last game, blowing out Charlotte 79-61 in the 3. Reggie Upshaw was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting. The Thundering Herd, meanwhile, are coming off an 87-85 win against UTEP in the 3. Ryan Taylor claimed his sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Perrin Buford and Upshaw have been better than usual over the last five games for the Blue Raiders. During that stretch, Buford has averaged 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks, while Upshaw has recorded 18.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer a game. Jon Elmore has upped his play for the Thundering Herd. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 20.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers.
Ball control could weigh heavily in this showdown. Marshall commits the 25th-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 16.5%), while Middle Tennessee’s disruptive defense forces the 32nd-most (opponents’ TO% of 19.7%).
Both teams have won a game in the season series. The Blue Raiders had the upper hand in the most recent game, a blowout 79-61 win. In the victory, Upshaw led all scorers with 27 points.
Notes
Middle Tennessee won its last game by an 18-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Marshall is 7-4. Middle Tennessee is 4-0 in blowouts this season.
The Marshall Thundering Herd rank 73rd for their offensive rating of 110.5. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have a defensive rating of 98.7 (ranked 37th).
Marshall has an average field goal percentage of 46.6%. Middle Tennessee is an underachieving 3-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Marshall Thundering Herd both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Middle Tennessee is 132nd and 110th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Marshall is 55th and 28th in these categories.
Ranked 19th in the nation, Marshall has an average of 16.8 assists per game. Middle Tennessee ranks lower at 197th with 13.1.
Middle Tennessee ranks 192nd in offensive rebounds, while Marshall ranks 58th in defensive rebounds.
The Marshall Thundering Herd make an average of 6.9 steals per game. When the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders give up 6 or more steals, they are a winning 9-5.
