Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders – March Madness Team Predictions, Odds and Preview 2016

Midwest No. 15 – Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (Overall: 24-9, Conf: 13-5)

Team Strengths

Reggie Upshaw. Remember this name. He’s the main reason as to why the Blue Raiders are heading to the Big Dance for the first time since 2013. Upshaw, though, struggled in the C-USA title game opposite Old Dominion, scoring just nine points in total. But nevertheless, he came up big in the clutch by knocking down two crucial free throws with less than three seconds remaining on the lock to give his club the victory.

Needless to say, Middle Tennessee’s going to need that from him. He’s one of the main go-to-guys of the team and his versatility proves it. He’s made his presence felt in almost every way possible during the regular season, averaging 13.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG and 2.2 APG.

Giddy Potts, meanwhile, should prove to be another lethal weapon for the Blue Raiders’ offense (72.3 PPG). He leads the team in scoring with 15.0 points per contest on 49.2% shooting and his three-point shooting (.503), specifically, will play a big factor to the team’s overall success in the NCAA Tournament.

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Team Weaknesses

As much as how impressive the Blue Raiders have been shooting from down town, they haven’t been receiving he same results in the charity stripe, however. Middle Tennessee is currently among the worst in the country in terms of free-throw shooting (60.7%). And that’s definitely not a good sign for any team that’s going dancing this year.

Besides this, the Blue Raiders aggressiveness on defense has tormented them in a way this season. They are committing around 20.4 fouls per contest and are sending their opponents to the line around 23.2 times per game. The Blue Raiders have got to start playing smart on this side of the floor to avoid giving up easy points and prevent putting some of their key players in foul trouble.

Team Statistics

Category	Stat	NCAA Rank
Points Per Game	72.3	173
Rebounds Per Game	36.8	121
Blocks Per Game	3.5	155
3-Point Percentage	38.9%	20
Free Throw Percentage	60.7%	349

Starting Lineup

Position	Name	PPG
F	Reggie Upshaw	13.8
F	Darnell Harris	11.6
F	Perrin Bufford	12.0
G	Jaqawn Raymond	5.0
G	Giddy Pots	15.0

Writer’s Prediction

Middle Tennessee falls out in the first round.

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