Anxiety. Impatience. Contentment.
Whatever the emotion that often accompanies a top-flight team waiting for the postseason, the MTSU men?s basketball players said they have avoided it.
Middle Tennessee State University plays at Troy tonight and at Western Kentucky Saturday to finish out the regular season. It has already clinched the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
But the Blue Raiders said they will not rest on their laurels.
?It?s hard, but we need to keep our focus,? point guard Bruce Massey said. ?We worked real hard to build up our resume, and losing to Troy would mess up a lot of things we?ve worked for. We know they are a good team, better than their record, and they?ve been good at home.
?We are looking forward to the Sun Belt tournament just like our fans are, but we have to keep it one game at a time.?
Tipoff will be 7:30 p.m. today following the Lady Raiders? 5:15 p.m. game against Troy.
MTSU?s men have a few things to still play for this week.
For starters, the Blue Raiders have a Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranked 27th, a position they would like to keep for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They have a 14-game winning streak, the third-longest in the country.
At 25-4 overall, MTSU has the second-most wins in Division I behind Gonzaga (26-2). It could also tie last season?s program record for total victories (27) by winning its final two regular-season games.
?I don?t think our guys have even thought about the (Sun Belt) tournament. I know I haven?t,? MTSU coach Kermit Davis said. ?I think we?re so wrapped up in small seasons within the season. Now we have the third-longest winning streak in college basketball and we have the RPI thing going on and we?re being mentioned for at-large berths.
?Even though the championship is secure, I think our guys see a lot to play for these last few games.?
MTSU thumped Troy 93-41 in Murfreesboro on Feb. 9, marking the largest margin of victory ever by the Blue Raiders in a Sun Belt game.
Troy?s official athletic Website called tonight?s matchup a ?payback? game for the Trojans. Davis said his team has learned to expect each opponent?s best performance.
?We?ve kind of had (a target on our back) for a while, so I think our guys are used to it. Especially when we?ve gone on the road, teams have played well against us and we?ve had to play really well,? Davis said. ?So we expect no difference (tonight). They understand. We set a five-game season three games ago, and we thought it would be really important how we end.?
Whatever the emotion that often accompanies a top-flight team waiting for the postseason, the MTSU men?s basketball players said they have avoided it.
Middle Tennessee State University plays at Troy tonight and at Western Kentucky Saturday to finish out the regular season. It has already clinched the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
But the Blue Raiders said they will not rest on their laurels.
?It?s hard, but we need to keep our focus,? point guard Bruce Massey said. ?We worked real hard to build up our resume, and losing to Troy would mess up a lot of things we?ve worked for. We know they are a good team, better than their record, and they?ve been good at home.
?We are looking forward to the Sun Belt tournament just like our fans are, but we have to keep it one game at a time.?
Tipoff will be 7:30 p.m. today following the Lady Raiders? 5:15 p.m. game against Troy.
MTSU?s men have a few things to still play for this week.
For starters, the Blue Raiders have a Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranked 27th, a position they would like to keep for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They have a 14-game winning streak, the third-longest in the country.
At 25-4 overall, MTSU has the second-most wins in Division I behind Gonzaga (26-2). It could also tie last season?s program record for total victories (27) by winning its final two regular-season games.
?I don?t think our guys have even thought about the (Sun Belt) tournament. I know I haven?t,? MTSU coach Kermit Davis said. ?I think we?re so wrapped up in small seasons within the season. Now we have the third-longest winning streak in college basketball and we have the RPI thing going on and we?re being mentioned for at-large berths.
?Even though the championship is secure, I think our guys see a lot to play for these last few games.?
MTSU thumped Troy 93-41 in Murfreesboro on Feb. 9, marking the largest margin of victory ever by the Blue Raiders in a Sun Belt game.
Troy?s official athletic Website called tonight?s matchup a ?payback? game for the Trojans. Davis said his team has learned to expect each opponent?s best performance.
?We?ve kind of had (a target on our back) for a while, so I think our guys are used to it. Especially when we?ve gone on the road, teams have played well against us and we?ve had to play really well,? Davis said. ?So we expect no difference (tonight). They understand. We set a five-game season three games ago, and we thought it would be really important how we end.?
