Host Minn. after UT win
Shortly after beating Tennessee for the Blue Raiders? biggest win in more than 20 years Monday night, MTSU coach Kermit Davis had simple instructions for his players: Leave the celebration in Knoxville.
That?s easier said than done, but the Blue Raiders (27-6) must regroup quickly for tonight?s National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal against Minnesota (21-14). Tipoff is 6 p.m. at Murphy Center on ESPN2. The winner earns a ticket to the NIT final four at Madison Square Garden in New York next week.
?If we can?t leave the UT game behind us, we?re not going to last long in this tournament. That?s for sure,? Davis said. ?Our guys have immediate respect for Minnesota. If you?re a good team, you put a big win like that behind you and look to the next one.?
But beating UT is not just a big win. It?s a historic win. It was MTSU?s first win over the Vols since the 1988 NIT, when the Blue Raiders fell in the quarterfinal, one win shy of a bid to the Big Apple.
Davis went to great lengths to turn his team?s attention to Minnesota, which drubbed Miami 78-60 on the road Monday. MTSU players watched the Minnesota-Miami game on the bus ride back to Murfreesboro Monday night and then briefly discussed the next opponent after arriving at Murphy Center just before midnight.
But when players walked MTSU?s campus Tuesday, looking ahead was not quite so easy.
?Everywhere I go everybody says, ?Way to go. We?ve been waiting years and years to beat UT,?? MTSU senior LaRon Dendy said. ?But Minnesota is a really good team, so it?s not hard to look forward when you know they?re coming in here.?
MTSU now has a program-record 27 victories, including other wins with name recognition over UCLA and Ole Miss.
?We?ve gotten enough big wins this season like Ole Miss and UCLA, that this team knows how to move on to the next one,? MTSU sophomore Kerry Hammonds said.
But UCLA was followed four days later by a home game against UNC-Greensboro, and MTSU had eight days off after the victory over Ole Miss during Christmas break.
Tonight?s matchup offers a massively important game 48 hours after earning a victory the program had chased for 24 years. Turning the page will present a challenge, and so will Minnesota.
?On campus, they?re all talking about the great win, but we woke up this morning and that win was behind us,? MTSU point guard Bruce Massey said.
Minnesota provides a tough road-block to New York.
The Golden Gophers, guided by former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, will seek their third straight road win in the NIT. Overall, they?ve won four of their last five games.
?It?s a typical Tubby Smith team. They play really hard, and in the last four or five games, they?re outrebounding their opponents by about 12 a game,? Davis said. ?And just the right guys shoot the shots. They don?t take bad shots.?
Minnesota is led in scoring by athletic 6-foot-7 forward Rodney Williams (11.7 points) and guard Julian Welch (10.2), but lately freshman point guard Andre Hollins has stolen the show.
Andre Hollins is familiar with Murphy Center. He played 11 state tournament games there over four years at White Station High, winning the 2009 Class AAA title and 2011 Mr. Basketball. He has averaged 17.2 points in the last six games.
Likewise, sophomore guard Austin Hollins, from Germantown High, has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games. He was heavily recruited by MTSU out of high school.
Shortly after beating Tennessee for the Blue Raiders? biggest win in more than 20 years Monday night, MTSU coach Kermit Davis had simple instructions for his players: Leave the celebration in Knoxville.
That?s easier said than done, but the Blue Raiders (27-6) must regroup quickly for tonight?s National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal against Minnesota (21-14). Tipoff is 6 p.m. at Murphy Center on ESPN2. The winner earns a ticket to the NIT final four at Madison Square Garden in New York next week.
?If we can?t leave the UT game behind us, we?re not going to last long in this tournament. That?s for sure,? Davis said. ?Our guys have immediate respect for Minnesota. If you?re a good team, you put a big win like that behind you and look to the next one.?
But beating UT is not just a big win. It?s a historic win. It was MTSU?s first win over the Vols since the 1988 NIT, when the Blue Raiders fell in the quarterfinal, one win shy of a bid to the Big Apple.
Davis went to great lengths to turn his team?s attention to Minnesota, which drubbed Miami 78-60 on the road Monday. MTSU players watched the Minnesota-Miami game on the bus ride back to Murfreesboro Monday night and then briefly discussed the next opponent after arriving at Murphy Center just before midnight.
But when players walked MTSU?s campus Tuesday, looking ahead was not quite so easy.
?Everywhere I go everybody says, ?Way to go. We?ve been waiting years and years to beat UT,?? MTSU senior LaRon Dendy said. ?But Minnesota is a really good team, so it?s not hard to look forward when you know they?re coming in here.?
MTSU now has a program-record 27 victories, including other wins with name recognition over UCLA and Ole Miss.
?We?ve gotten enough big wins this season like Ole Miss and UCLA, that this team knows how to move on to the next one,? MTSU sophomore Kerry Hammonds said.
But UCLA was followed four days later by a home game against UNC-Greensboro, and MTSU had eight days off after the victory over Ole Miss during Christmas break.
Tonight?s matchup offers a massively important game 48 hours after earning a victory the program had chased for 24 years. Turning the page will present a challenge, and so will Minnesota.
?On campus, they?re all talking about the great win, but we woke up this morning and that win was behind us,? MTSU point guard Bruce Massey said.
Minnesota provides a tough road-block to New York.
The Golden Gophers, guided by former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, will seek their third straight road win in the NIT. Overall, they?ve won four of their last five games.
?It?s a typical Tubby Smith team. They play really hard, and in the last four or five games, they?re outrebounding their opponents by about 12 a game,? Davis said. ?And just the right guys shoot the shots. They don?t take bad shots.?
Minnesota is led in scoring by athletic 6-foot-7 forward Rodney Williams (11.7 points) and guard Julian Welch (10.2), but lately freshman point guard Andre Hollins has stolen the show.
Andre Hollins is familiar with Murphy Center. He played 11 state tournament games there over four years at White Station High, winning the 2009 Class AAA title and 2011 Mr. Basketball. He has averaged 17.2 points in the last six games.
Likewise, sophomore guard Austin Hollins, from Germantown High, has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games. He was heavily recruited by MTSU out of high school.
