On Friday night, MTSU-Tennessee basketball game will be a battle of expertise versus experience.
No. 14 UT touts tons of talent, albeit mostly untested. The Blue Raiders have loads of experience, though none of their past performances suggest they can beat the Vols.
“(The talent level) is closer. We have more size and length, but they have a lot more experience,” UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “We have a lot of new guys, and they have to show they can handle the adversity of the road. They haven’t had to do that yet.
“This is going to be a great atmosphere, but we have a lot to lose. The expectations are that we should come in and beat them. That’s just not accurate.”
Pearl is concerned about his young team, which starts three newcomers. But what they lack in Division I experience, they compensate with talent. Former junior college All-American point guard Bobby Maze and freshman guards Scotty Hopson and Renaldo Woolridge lead one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Add them to a lineup that returns All-SEC players Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism.
MTSU returns all five starters and its roster touts more than 300 career starts. But coach Kermit Davis has greater questions about how his team matches up with the Vols, which whipped the Blue Raiders 109-40 in Knoxville last season.
MTSU point guard Kevin Kanaskie said last year’s loss lingers for the returning players.
“That was really embarrassing. I don’t think everyone on our team was on the same page,” Kanaskie said. “That’s definitely a motivation.”
MTSU is 1-6 all-time versus the Vols. The Blue Raiders’ only win — an 85-80 victory in the 1988 NIT — was also their only home game in the series before Friday night.
Two MTSU starters, center Theryn Hudson (ankle injury) and Demetrius Green (suspension and ankle injury), have missed the first two games this season. Green should play tonight, while Hudson is questionable.
Davis said this is not a make-or-break game for his team, which has other expectations of winning the Sun Belt championship later this season. But an upset of the Vols would stand out as one of the program’s all-time biggest wins.
Davis acknowledges UT’s skill — calling this “(Pearl’s) most talented team so far” — but refuses to sell his veteran squad short.
“I can’t imagine that (MTSU’s) Desmond Yates thinks that Chism is better than him,” Davis said. “They grew up in the same area and played each other all through high school. I’ve got a point guard (Kanaskie) who’s a four-year starter who may leave this university as one of the best point guards to ever play here. Bobby Maze is good, but this is his first Division I year. We’ve got a lot of guys with experience. We have a lot of respect for Tennessee and their personnel, but we’re sure not going to be in awe. We’ll go in there with great expectations to play really well.”
— Adam Sparks, 615-278-5174
MTSU Blue Raiders vs. No. 14 Tennessee Vols
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Murphy Center
Radio: 1450-AM, 106.7-FM, 89.5-FM
TV: CSS (channel 27)
Series: UT leads 6-1
Last Meeting: UT 109, MTSU 40 (11/20/07)
Tennessee (2-0)
Probable Starters Ht. Pts.
G Bobby Maze 6-2 8.0
G Scotty Hopson 6-7 11.0
F Renaldo Woolridge 6-8 5.5
F Tyler Smith 6-7 20.0
C Wayne Chism 6-9 12.5
MTSU (2-0)
G Nigel Johnson 6-2 10.5
G Kevin Kanaskie 6-2 15.5
F Calvin O’Neil 6-4 10.0
F Darren Avery 6-4 3.0
F Desmond Yates 6-7 19.5
