Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Facing a perennially-strong opponent on the fifth day of a road trip, the FGCU men’s basketball team (2-2) couldn’t overcome a slow start as Middle Tennessee (4-1) defeated the Eagles, 85-72, Tuesday night in a matchup of NCAA Tournament teams from each of the previous two seasons.
Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) led FGCU with 10 points, while Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) scored 16 of his 18 in the 2nd half. The Eagles entered the game with a +60 advantage in points in the paint on the year, but finished just +2 on the night, 34-32, and came into the contest with a +35 rebounding edge, but finished -5 in that category, 37-32.
Playing its second of six non-conference games against opponents which participated in the postseason and finished with a top-40 RPI last year, FGCU got off to a poor start shooting and never bounced back.
The Eagles could get nothing to fall in the first half, shooting just 35 percent (7-20) from the floor en route to a 47-29 halftime deficit. FGCU out-scored Middle Tennessee in the 2nd half, 43-38, behind 48-percent shooting (14-29), but could never trim its deficit to single digits.
“Beginning to end I thought Middle Tennessee dominated the flow of the game; they were the aggressors,” stated 5th-year FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “They put us on our heels the whole night, and I never thought that we had any flow. That’s a credit to them.”
The 18-point halftime margin represents the largest such deficit in the Dooley era (previous: 14 at Xavier on Dec. 28, 2014). Additionally, it was the largest halftime deficit in more than five years for the Eagles, dating back to a 22-point differential at Duke on Nov. 18, 2012 – the season the Green and Blue went to the Sweet Sixteen.
Struggling from the field in the opening 20 minutes, FGCU did connect on 15 of 19 free-throw attempts (79 percent). The 15 makes in the 1st half are the most in the Division-I history of the program and second-most all-time (16).
The Eagles – who trailed by as much as 22 in the 1st half – got the deficit down to as little as 10, 52-42, early in the 2nd half, and trailed by 11, 61-50, at the 12:22 mark. That prompted a Middle Tennessee timeout, and out of that the Blue Raiders instituted a trapping 1-3-1 zone. That pressure defense helped spearhead a 12-3 run to forge back ahead by 20, 73-53, and for all intents and purposes wrap up the game, despite FGCU getting its deficit back down to 10 in the final minute.
FGCU came into the game ranked #13 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, while Middle Tennessee was receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 the first two weeks. Each of FGCU’s first four opponents this year have received votes in the mid-major or AP polls.
Both Middle Tennessee and FGCU have made the NCAA Tournament three times in the previous five years. Both teams won a game in the tournament in 2016, while the Blue Raiders also picked up a victory last year as a 12 seed over Minnesota, in addition to stunning 2nd-seeded Michigan State as a 15 seed the season before.
The Blue Raiders – the defending Conference USA Champions and preseason favorites to defend that title – were led by Nick King with 25 points and seven rebounds. Tyrik Dixon recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while Giddy Potts netted 12 points to round out a trio of MT double-figure scorers.
Middle Tennessee connected at a 48-percent clip from the floor for the game (28-58), including a 55-percent rate (17-31) in the opening half when it created its large lead.
Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) had an off night shooting as he finished with just four points, but he did grab a season-high-tying eight rebounds. In just his second game back from an injury, sophomore RaySean Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) added eight points off the bench on 2-2 shooting and 4-5 from the free-throw line.
It was the first meeting between the two teams, but they won’t need to wait long to face each other again. Middle Tennessee will now have 11 days off before it heads to Alico Arena to battle the Eagles on Dec. 2.
FGCU returns home to host the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout this Friday–Sunday (Nov. 24-26). The Eagles will face Denver at 7 p.m. on Friday, Navy at 7 p.m. on Saturday and St. Francis Brooklyn at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
NOTEWORTHY: Freshman Darnell Rogers scored his first collegiate point on a free throw in the 1st half … FGCU was without freshman forward Brian Thomas, who suffered a left hand fracture in practice and is out indefinitely … the Eagles shot just 3-17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range … FGCU made 27 of 38 free-throw attempts for a 71-percent rate.
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