College basketball: FGCU men at Middle Tennessee a rare clash of mid-major big-timers

This is one mid-major followers have long awaited. 

Back in June, SB Nation's Austin Brown compiled a list of the top 10 mid-major men's basketball matchups for this season. Florida Gulf Coast was included in four of those -- at UT-Arlington, at Rhode Island and against Middle Tennessee. Twice. 

The Eagles will host Middle Tennessee on Dec. 2.

The first-ever meeting between mid-major powers FGCU (2-1) and Middle Tennessee (3-1) tips Tuesday night in the Blue Raiders' Tennessee Miller Coliseum. If you can't make it to Murfreesboro, tune in to ESPN3. You don't want to miss this as the Eagles attempt to get back on track after Saturday night's stunning last-second, 83-80 loss at Bowling Green. 

"We simply took too many bad shots and made too many poor decisions with the ball, which for a veteran team is very surprising to see," FGCU coach Joe Dooley said. "We didn't hustle enough on the backboards, either. Surrendering offensive rebounds is something that we've been able to overcome in the first couple games, but it hurt us tonight."

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA tournament brackets, scores, schedules, teams and more.

Fifth-year FGCU coach Joe Dooley will be pushing his team to get past its first loss -- at Bowling Green on Saturday -- when the Eagles play at Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday night in a battle of mid-major powers.

FGCU has won 20-plus games in all of Dooley's four previous seasons. The Eagles have been to back-to-back NCAA tournaments and last season won the Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament titles before playing within 86-80 of third-seeded Florida State as a 14 seed in an NCAA tourney first-rounder. 

The Eagles returned three starters and are best known for that historic 2013 NCAA tournament run under Andy Enfield when FGCU became the first -- and still only -- No. 15 seed to make the Sweet 16. 

Eye on the Eagles: FGCU's Joe Dooley didn't come that close to leaving

Middle Tennessee has been considered the best mid-major not called Gonzaga for the past five seasons, all of which included 24 or more wins. The Blue Raiders, under 16th-season coach Kermit Davis, have won back-to-back Conference USA titles and NCAA first-round games.

Last season they went 17-1 in Conference USA play, setting the C-USA record for wins. They also set a program record with 31 wins against just five losses. As a 12 seed they upset fifth-seeded Minnesota, 81-72, in an NCAA tournament opener in Milwaukee before falling, 74-65, against fourth-seeded Butler. 

"You look at the NCAA tournament victories, but also their conference record," Dooley said. "They've got experience back. Kermit is a terrific coach. They vary their defenses. They mix up their offensive stuff. They're really, really good."

FGCU senior guard Brandon Goodwin, the unanimous pick as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year who leads the Eagles with 18 points per game, can hardly wait. 

"They're a program that we kind of look up to as far as where we want to be and how we want people to see us," Goodwin said.

College basketball: Offensive-minded FGCU men finally blow past Illinois State in opener

Prior to Saturday's loss at Bowling Green, where the Eagles shot just 42.3 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from behind the 3-point line, FGCU rolled Illinois State at home and Siena in New York by a combined margin of 44 points. 

At Bowling Green, the Eagles were, shockingly, outrebounded 46-42 by a smaller team, and the Falcons outscored them 16-11 on points off turnovers. Dylan Frye's 3-pointer from up top with 0.9 left won it, despite 18 points from FGCU senior guard Christian Terrell, who was 8 of 11 from the field. 

 

FGCU senior guard Brandon Goodwin and his Eagles teammates look to again pick up steam at Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday night after Saturday's surprising 83-80 last second loss at Bowling Green.

 

Middle Tennessee mauled Trevecca at home before winning at Murray State. The Blue Raiders then did what FGCU hopes to do in Murfreesboro -- get past an aggravating loss. Middle Tennessee State lost, 69-63, at home against Belmont on Thursday before rebounding for a 75-65 win at Tennessee State on Saturday.  

"The Belmont game was a hard-fought game and we were disappointed, but I thought our preparation was good the last two days," Davis said. "The best thing about college basketball is you don't have to wait seven days like in football. In about 48 hours you can get the taste out of your mouth.

"I thought we guarded the ball better, and I thought our (1-3-1 zone) was much better. That's been a staple mark of Middle Tennessee basketball … and that was a big part of us guarding better."

Like FGCU, Middle Tennessee graduated just two starters. But 6-foot-8 forwards JoCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw combined to average 31.8 points and 14.1 rebounds. FGCU's -- Demetris Morant and Marc Eddy Norelia -- averaged 19.4 points and 12.7 boards. 

Both teams have big-time first-season starters from power conference programs. 

Center Ricky Doyle (6-10), a transfer from Michigan, averages 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds for FGCU. 

College basketball: FGCU's Brandon Goodwin, Zach Johnson already getting rave reviews

Fifth-year left-handed senior guard Nick King, who played at Memphis and then Alabama before transferring to Middle Tennessee, leads the Blue Raiders with 22.3 points per game. 

"We recruited him a little bit when I was at KU," said Dooley, who was a Kansas assistant for a decade before taking over the Eagles. "He's a handful. He can shoot it. He can drive it."

But the Blue Raiders are best known for super-aggressive, ball-hawking defense. They've already forced an average of 17 turnovers this season, one more than the Eagles had at Bowling Green. 

"They play a high 1-3-1 that's really active," said FGCU junior guard Zach Johnson, who averages 16 points. "They try to turn over the ball. It's a little of everything defense. Sometimes the 1-3-1 turns into a 2-3. Sometimes it turns into a man. They've been turning a lot of people over."

Handling that in front of will certainly be a really loud and hostile crowd will be critical. The keys to doing that?

"Moving the ball, taking open shots and not being hesitant to make a play," Johnson said. 

Men's basketball

Florida Gulf Coast University (2-1) at Middle Tennessee (3-1)

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Tennessee Miller Coliseum, Murfreesboro 
Online: ESPN3 
Series: First meeting
3-Point Shots
1) Shake it off. The Eagles are coming off a really surprising 83-80, last-second loss at Bowling Green, where they shot poorly and were uncharacteristically out-rebounded and outscored on points off turnovers. How they respond after their first setback will be crucial here. 
2) Dethrone King. Fifth-year senior guard Nick King, a transfer who played at Memphis and Alabama, leads Middle Tennessee State with a 22.3-point average. He's shooting a gaudy 63.4 percent from the field and has made half his 10 3-point attempts. The Eagles -- most likely chiefly junior Zach Johnson -- must stop him from absolutely taking over. 
3) Get hot from behind the arc. A huge focus heading into this season was to take and make more 3-pointers. Thus far, FGCU has made just 19 of only 66 attempts (28.8 percent). At Bowling Green the Eagles went 6 of 23 tries (26.1 percent). The Eagles' top two scorers, senior guard Brandon Goodwin and Johnson, have combined to make only 5 of 32 3-pointers. That obviously must all change and this would be an important place to start doing that. 

-- Dana Caldwell