The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (17-7) and the Ohio Valley’s top-ranked offense visit Tennessee State to play the Tigers (16-7) and the top-ranked defense in the conference. Action gets underway at 8:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The Tigers come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, narrowly defeating Morehead State 77-76 on Saturday. Tahjere McCall led all scorers on the team with 23 points on 4-for-13 shooting. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 68-58 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday. Aleksa Jugovic shot 6 for 10 and led in scoring with 16 points.
Over the last five games, McCall and Keron DeShields have played well for the Tigers. During that stretch, McCall has averaged 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 3.4 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, DeShields has put up 23.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers.
The physical Tennessee Tech offense may see plenty of chances from the free throw line in this one. It ranks 27th in the nation at getting to the stripe (FTA rate of 44.4), while Tennessee State gets whistled quite a bit (giving up a 285th-ranked FTA rate of 41.8).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Golden Eagles winning the first matchup 81-79. Keron DeShields was a top player in the game with 37 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and five three-pointers.
The Tigers enter the game with records of 16-7 Straight Up (SU) and 10-4-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. The Tigers have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 81.1 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 73.9 points per game. Tennessee State’s defenders rank 49th in Division I in steals with 7.5 per game.
In the other locker room, the Golden Eagles have records of 10-6-1 ATS and 17-7 SU. Most recently, Tennessee Tech is 8-2 ATS over the last 10 games. They sport the 32nd-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 80.0 points per game. The Golden Eagles are an excellent long-range shooting team with 204 three-point shots made (8.0 per game), ranking 49th in Division I.
Tennessee Tech beat Tennessee State in their most recent meeting this season, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. The Tigers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Tennessee Tech held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Tennessee State never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – TnTech, ATS Winner – TnTech
Notes
Tennessee Tech averages 80.0 points per game (ranked 32nd). Tennessee State, on the other hand, allows 69.3 points per game (ranked 105th).
Tennessee Tech beats Tennessee State in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Golden Eagles average 70.2 possessions and 1.140 points per possession, while the Tigers average 69.4 possessions with 1.064 points per possession.
Tennessee Tech has an average effective field goal percentage of 54.0%. Tennessee State is a losing 1-3 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Tennessee State Tigers average 17.0 three point attempts per game and are 4-3 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles average 23.0 attempts and have a winning record (14-6) when attempting 20 or more.
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles make an average of 5.5 steals per game. When the Tennessee State Tigers give up 5 or more steals, they are an outstanding 12-4.
