Under the Radar Game of the Day: Georgia State at Middle Tennessee

Georgia State at Middle Tennessee, 7:30 PM Eastern, cusa.tv

It is only December 21 and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are already making their fifth appearance in the Under the Radar Game of the Day.  The number of appearances has clearly been warranted as the Blue Raiders have put together an extremely impressive resume to date and are one of the top 2 or 3 Under the Radar programs so far this year.  They enter tonight’s game at 10-2 on the season with a KenPom rating in the top 60 in the country.  Although their early season slip-up at home against Tennessee State is still a bit of a head-scratcher (though Tennessee State is having a solid season themselves), the only other blemish was last time out, losing by three points at VCU.  Despite the loss, Giddy Potts was impressive with 25 points and Jacorey Williams was a force with 17 points and 14 rebounds.  Stat lines like those should earn Middle Tennessee their 11th win of the season tonight in their final non-conference game of the season.

Head coach Ron Hunter’s Georgia State Panthers are currently 6-4 on the season, though only 4-4 against Division I foes.  They have gone 6-0 at home and on neutral courts, but have yet to win a true road game.  The Panthers have had some great individual performances this season by the likes of Isaiah Williams, Jeremy Hollowell and D’Marcus Simonds, but just have not quite been able to put them all together with a strong game in a single contest.  If they finally get things together tonight, the upset road victory is definitely not out of the question, and the Panthers will prove that they are ready to challenge the likes of Texas-Arlington and Arkansas State as we head into Sun Belt Conference play starting New Year’s Eve.