ST. LOUIS — For starters, you should know that 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee State beat second-seeded Michigan State at the Scottrade Center on Friday.

It’s just the eighth time that’s happened in NCAA Tournament history — the first was when Richmond beat Syracuse in the 1991 Tournament, if you’re keeping track. Now the Blue Raiders (25-9, 13-5 Conference USA) will face the 10th-seeded Orange (20-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) on Sunday, at a time to be determined, in a rare battle of double-digit seeds.

“We’re coming hungry on Friday, Syracuse should know that we’re hungry,” said MTSU forward Joshua Phillips after his team’s win. “We’re a hungry team right now.”

Here’s what you need to know about Middle Tennessee State, from a basketball standpoint, heading into that matchup.

All-time series with Syracuse: Sunday will be the first matchup between the two teams.

The Middle Tennessee State report: The Blue Raiders are a 3-point-chucking team through and through that ranks 14th in the country shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. In its upset of the Spartans, MTSU shot 11-for-19 from deep and three different players — Reggie Upshaw, Darnell Harris, Giddy Potts — made three 3s. The Blue Raiders sport that kind of offensive balance game to game, with Potts leading the way with 15 points per content and Upshaw (13.8), Perrin Buford (12) and Harris (11.6) also averaging double-figures. MTSU hasn’t lost since Feb. 25, good for a seven-game win streak, and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Old Dominion, 55-53, in the Conference USA championship. Potts also leads the nation shooting 50.1 percent from 3 on the season, and the Blue Raiders put up 90 points Friday by stretching out the Michigan State defense and then attacking it off the dribble. Middle Tennessee State’s defense is all-around average from a numbers standpoint, but is particularly good at keeping opponents off the offensive glass. The Blue Raiders’ opponents’ offensive rebounding percentage of 25.6 is the 26th lowest in the country, according to Kenpom.com.

---

MORE COVERAGE:

• Middle Tennessee State shocks Michigan State to advance to Round of 32
• Read about the first time a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2 seed
• Malachi Richardson, unpredictable and unfazed, is ready for the big stage

---

How Syracuse beats Middle Tennessee State: Limit the Blue Raiders’ perimeter production without selling out too much on the perimeter. Not a simple concept, but the Orange has proven time and again this season that is capable of taking away open 3s while defending the whole court and that will be crucial Sunday. Nine times this season, MTSU has now made 10 or more 3s, and if it gets hot early against the Orange zone a lot of doors will open up. The Blue Raiders don’t have an inside presence that can really chop Syracuse up inside, and the only way a player will have a field day in there is if the SU zone has to really extend to the perimeter to try to cool off the MTSU shooters. At that point, the Orange defense would be stuck at a crossroads between limiting 3s and giving up unnecessary points in the paint. It can avoid that by holding Potts, Harris and Upshaw in check early with pressed-up wings and aggressive defense around the rim. The key there will be the two wings of the zone, which will have to close out on shooters and quickly drop back if that takes them far away from the interior.

 

Margaret Lin | Senior Staff Photographer

 

Stat to know: While Middle Tennessee State is a really savvy shooting team, its team free-throw percentage of 60.8 ranks 349th out of 351 Division I teams. If the Blue Raiders do attack the zone off the dribble on Sunday, Syracuse shouldn’t be hesitant to get physical and make MTSU prove itself on the line.

Player to watch: Potts is the easy selection here with the way he shoots the ball, but Buford seems capable of hurting the zone with more than just his outside jumper. Buford shoots 41.7 percent form 3, averages 5.9 rebounds per game and had a team-high six assists in the win over Michigan State. His 6-foot-6 frame will potentially allow him to shoot over Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney, his apparent court vision could make him an effective distributor out of the high post and his rebounding nose makes him a candidate to hurt the Orange on the offensive glass. Buford really is MTSU’s Swiss army knife, and could burn Syracuse if it is too perimeter focused.

Published on March 18, 2016 at 7:42 pm