Monday, December 3, 2007

You mean there's a game tonight? Tennessee State preview.

Tennessee State Tigers
Current record: 2-3
Ohio Valley Conference record: 0-0
2006-07 record: 11-20
2006-07 RPI: 260
2006-07 Sagarin: 275
Series: first meeting
TV: 7 pm, Big Ten Network

Less than 48 hours after IU played a tough road game, the Hoosiers play again, albeit against a less formidable opponent. I don't know much about this team, and given time constraints, probably never will. It would appear that TSU probably was one of the worst teams in Division I last year. They haven't yet defeated a Division I opponent this year, although they have been moderately competitive at times. The Tigers lost by two to Akron and by 15 to common opponent Georgia Tech.
This year, the Tigers have an average pace, at about 69 possessions per game. They score at a good clip (1.082 points per possession, good enough for #70 nationally), but their defense is truly hideous: 1.23 points per possession, #339 in the nation. Pomeroy ranks 341 teams, and Tennessee State is absolutely, positively dead last in the nation in effective field goal percentage allowed. Outscoring Eric Gordon and the Hoosiers might be a bit of a challenge. TSU's offense has been more productive this year than last, when TSU scored only .97 points per possession, but the defense has been worse this year (1.05 ppp defensively last year). Perhaps the defensive numbers can be explained by the quality of the competition, which, except for the Division II teams, has been higher than OVC quality. TSU is okay on the offensive boards so far, but like everything else defensively, is poor on the defensive boards.
Not much else to say about this one. It should be comparable to the first three games, and something of a practice game as we enter Kentucky Week.

1 comment:

PostmanE said...

Totally agreed on the quick turnaround. I'm still recovering from Saturday in more ways than one -- you mean we have to play again?