MBB Game 11: FSU 69 Tennessee Tech 59

Preview: A win is a win. And the Noles hung on to move to 9-1 after squeaking past Georgia St. Tonight, we take on the Golden Eagles from Tennessee Tech.

FSUncensored asked if our expectations are to high for our team...take a look inside for my thoughts about our last game and how we'll do against the Golden Eagles.

The Noles moved to 10-1 tonight with a win against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. It wasn't pretty early but there were improvements during the game. Check out the game preview and game thread. Next up Charleston Southern...our final tune up before Pitt.

On Saturday evening, we barely hung on to beat the Panthers from Georgia State, blowing a huge lead in the second half. Thanks to our free throw shooting and a missed three by GSU best shooter, we won. And yes, it was nice to move to 9-1, but I was really disappointed with the outcome. If you quickly look at the numbers, we should have won this one easily. However, with 13:10 to go in the second half, the Noles allowed GSU to go on a 25-8 run to tie the game with 19 seconds left. In that time, we had 5 turnovers, two offensive fouls and couldn't buy a basket from the floor or the free throw line.

FSUncensored asked if our expectations are too high for this team? I want this team to well. I expect this team to do well. I recognize that this is a young team and we will make our mistakes. However, this team, with its size and talent should not squander such leads against a team like GSU. In my game preview, I made the point that I was concerned about playing such an erratic team on the road...we almost blew it.

After the game Loucks said the following: "I think we just got complacent. I think a couple of us looked up at the scoreboard and realized we were ahead by 19 . . . and honestly I think we just stopped being aggressive on both ends." Unacceptable.

"I'm just thankful we're able to win while we're going through the learning process," Hamilton said. We beat Florida. We beat Cincinnati. We beat Cal. Should GSU really be part of the learning process?

Demercy's quote about killed me: "I think really it's just a lack of focus." Guess what, you play in the toughest conference in college basketball, we can't afford to be unfocused against the likes of UNC, Maryland, Wake Forest and so on...

Let's quickly look at the numbers. We shot 55% from the floor. An amazing 63% from the 3 points line and only 68% from the line. (This wad a bad night from the line for us. Singleton went 11-4 and Reid was 0-2.) Except for the slightly low FT%, this is a good line. Compare it to GSU: 37% from the floor. 35% from the 3 point line and 66% from the FT line. Looking at tose numbers alone...we should have one the game. We turned the ball over 15 times. They turned it over 7. They had 13 offensive rebounds to our 10. I could go on but I won't...you get the point. It was a win, but I'm not happy.

Tonight we take on Tennessee Tech (TTech) at home, starting a 3 game home stand that includes Pitt. 5 out of our 6 next games are at home. TTech, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, is 6-2 and currently ranks 154 in the Pomeroy ratings. We rank 84th (Offense 155th and Defense 51st)

Here are their stats:

Raw Tempo: 73.3 poss/40 min National Rank=32
Adj Tempo: 73.6 poss/40 min National Rank=25

 Offense Defense
Raw Efficiency : 106.6 ( 79) 100.4 (175)
Adj Efficiency : 105.4 ( 93) 104.2 (233)

Effective FG% :  51.2 ( 85)  45.5 ( 75)
Turnover Pct. :  17.5 ( 28)  22.1 (133)
Off. Rebound% :  33.8 (161)  38.7 (311)
Free Throw Rate:  24.7 (160)  49.0 (323)

3-Point FG% :  37.6 ( 75)  25.8 ( 11)
2-Point FG% :  49.3 (119)  47.8 (167)
Free Throw Pct.:  68.4 (160)  66.3 (108)
Block Pct. :  3.0 ( 2)  11.6 ( 65)
Steal Pct. :  9.6 (156)  10.9 (116)

3PA/FGA :  27.4 (284)  24.9 ( 11)
A/FGM :  47.1 (299)  49.7 ( 85)

They like to run and they like to throw up shots. They typically put up 60 to 70 shots per game, which averages out to 1.5 to 1.75 shots per minute of game play. In our last game, we shot the ball 38 times or 0.95 shots per game. As you can see by their tempo, they like to move and get shots off quickly. And they do quite well on offense, having a top 100 offense: see all the green? Granted, we are going to be the best opponent they have played so far this year. They shoot the three well, they don't get blocked and they don't turn the ball over. Their defense is clearly their weakness...you could equate them to a Phoenix Suns like team. Run, run, run and get quick baskets and put up a lot of points and hope to out score your opponent. Their major weakness is getting in to foul trouble. Guess which team gets to the line often and shoots well from the line? That's right...the Noles.

Here is the Golden Eagles' schedule so far this year:

Familiar with any of these teams? I know Louisiana Monroe from college baseball. TTech has played reasonably well against its opponents thus far. They shoot the ball well and they put up a lot of points. They average 79 points per game and only give up 66. We only put up 66 and allow 62.

Here are their likely starters (This is based on their last game. They change their starting line up often and will sometimes go with a three guard set):

D. Northern F 6'9" 210 Sr 12pts 5.8 reb 3.2blks

K. Murphy F 6'6" 185 Fr 6.4pts 2.9reb

B. Inameti F 6'8" 215 Fr 2.4pts 1.6reb (Doesn't stay in the game for very long)

E. Muhammad G 6'0 170 Jr 5.3 pts 3.1 reb 2.9ast 2.0 A/T

F. Davis G 6'2" 185 Jr 9.9pts 1.7 reb 1.9 ast 1.44 A/T

They're young. They're relatively small. But they sub early and often and like to go small. This may explain why they are able to keep such a high tempo offense. This team isn't as sporadic as GSU. However, they haven't played anyone and most sites say this is a rebuilding year for them. Florida likes to run and look what we did with them. We have the athleticism to get up and down the floor with them and, once again, our size is superior.

Here's a quick look at our numbers. I won't go through them a ton as you already know how I feel where we stand. We're young and their is a lot to improve:

Raw Tempo: 67.4 poss/40 min National Rank=181
Adj Tempo: 69.4 poss/40 min National Rank=120

 Offense Defense
Raw Efficiency :  99.5 (186)  93.0 ( 75)
Adj Efficiency : 101.0 (155)  90.3 ( 51)

Effective FG% :  49.0 (162)  43.9 ( 44)
Turnover Pct. :  24.6 (299)  21.1 (175)
Off. Rebound% :  34.8 (135)  32.8 (157)
Free Throw Rate:  39.8 ( 6)  35.2 (151)

3-Point FG% :  35.8 (113)  31.2 ( 90)
2-Point FG% :  46.6 (204)  42.1 ( 45)
Free Throw Pct.:  73.4 ( 51)  66.8 (126)
Block Pct. :  6.4 ( 61)  17.3 ( 10)
Steal Pct. :  9.5 (151)  11.4 ( 87)

3PA/FGA :  32.8 (170)  38.6 (307)
A/FGM :  53.1 (187)  50.0 ( 90)

Lots of green on the defensive side of the ball, which I love and is typical of a Hamilton coached team. But look at that sore thumb on the offensive side of the ball-- turnover percentage. This has to improve quickly or we will be in trouble in conference play.

I like our chances against TTech. However, I fear that this team is starting to look too far ahead to Pitt and to the rapidly approaching conference play. I feel comfortable that we're playing at home. Look for us to slow the pace of the game and keep TTech anxious. What do I mean by that? Look for them to be overly aggressive on defense trying to force turnovers to try and get out in transition and control the game. This will lead to fouls and us getting to the line. Advantage us. Again, this should be an opportunity to get Reid and Alabi the ball and get their games developed as much as possible for the ACC season. We need them to be aggressive. Hansborough will eat them alive if they don't show some emotion.

The game will be televised locally on FSN-FL. There should be plenty of radio feeds.

What are your thoughts/worries about this game? Do you think we'll see more of Kitchen in this game and how will his playing time help our team? What are your thoughts about the GSU game: elated that we won or frustrated by our ability to consistently make the same mistakes?

Look forward to your thoughts. Go NOLES!