Pregame Glance – Tennessee Martin

This has been a great start for the Basketball team this season.  Ohio State sits at 12-0 so far this year, their best start since the ’90-’91 season with a game tomorrow night against Tennessee-Martin before starting Big Ten play.  Of course, we can’t spend too much time looking ahead, we’ve gotta win one game at a time.  Let’s take a look at the Skyhawks.

UTM’s Jason James is the second youngest coach in Division 1 Basketball at age 32.  The youngest is Dane Fife at Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne.  I’ll give you a moment if you want to guess how young he is.

Ok, are you ready?  Fife is 26.  Don’t let that sit in your brain for too long, it could cause damage.

Last year, James led the Skyhawks to a 4-25 record.  Fairly pathetic, but understandable when you consider that his team was crippled with injuries.  It was so bad that he was forced to play players outside of their natural positions.  In fact, all 12 UT Martin players started at least three games last season.  Comparitively, imagine if the Buckeyes had to start Eddie Days, JD Weatherspoon, Jordan Sibert, Lenzelle Smith, and Aaron Craft.  They’re all good in their own right, but that is no where near being a balanced front 5.

The Skyhawks stand in good position to improve on last year’s mark, currently holding a 4-8 record.  Unfortunately, their wins are against teams that you probably haven’t ever heard of.  If you have, you either watch way too much College Basketball (not a bad thing) or you went to a school in their conference.  Their best win is likely a 73-64 decision against the Central Arkansas Bears who currently stand at 4-8 on the season.  Also, the Skyhawks – members of the Ohio Valley Conference – are 0-3 in their conference so far.  Not a good way to start the season.

Martin operates out of a 3 Guard, 2 Forward lineup.  Surprisingly, their top three scorers come off the bench.  The best of these is Senior Guard Benzor Simmons (6-5, 215).  Simmons has the body of a small forward which gives him a fantastic height advantage against your average collegiate guard.  He uses his body well, averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, though he does cough the ball up about 3 times per game as well.  He also averages the second most minutes for the team at 25.1.  It almost makes you wonder why he’s not starting.

Three guards operate out of the backcourt for the Skyhawks.  Freshman Guard Terence Smith (6-3, 175) is the overall leader for the team averaging 28.1 minutes and 2.5 assists per game – the highest on the team by far.  He also averages 11 points and 4 rebounds with less than 2 turnovers a game.  He’s a good player for one so young, and definitely the kind of guy Jason James could hang his hat on for the next few years.

The other two starting guards don’t exactly pull their weight.  Junior Guard Dane Smith (6-3, 185) doesn’t pick up much for his time on the floor, but he is a good shooter – hitting 46.2% from the floor.  He just doesn’t attempt too many shots while out on the floor, attempting only 39 through 11 games so far this season.  His counterpart, Freshman Guard Omari Minor (6-0, 175) has done even less, hitting 7-17 on the season so far.  That’s a single night for William Buford!  Minor averages 2 points on 15 minutes of play – definitely not stats that will make you stand out in the crowd.

On the front court, Tennessee Martin has suffered an injury which could be devistating for their chances to fight through for a win.  Their tallest big man, Sophomore Ron Spencer (6-9, 215) suffered a shoulder injury that has ended his season.  As the article points out, “His 4 points (ranked 8th on the team) and 16 minutes (ranked 7th) will be hard to make up.”  If you have trouble making up 4 points in 16 minutes of play, you’re in trouble – even down on the glass against the big guys.

The guy who hopes to do it is Senior Forward Andres Irarrazabal (6-7, 235).  Irarrazabal is picking up the 4 PPG slack for Spencer, though he’s doing it in 18 minutes of play.  Unfortunately he hasn’t made up for Spencer’s 5 rebounds entirely, though he’s doing a good job in his own right.  Freshman Forward Troy King (6-6, 215) however is doing a much better job scoring, though his shooting average suggests he doesn’t play in the paint much.  King averages 9 points per game and 3 rebounds.  Decent stats for a true freshman small forward.

Let’s be honest, Tennessee Martin is going to be in way over their heads on this one.  They will come into the game hoping to out hustle the Buckeyes and keep up a fast pace.  Their ultimate hope will be to prevent Lauderdale and Sullinger from setting up a defense down low before they can get their points.

Of course, this means it’s going to be a high scoring affair with not a whole lot of defense to be seen.  Exactly the kind of basketball that makes you watch intently – even when it looks like a total train-wreck!  I’m really afraid for poor Irarrazabal, having to take on Lauderdale and/or Sullinger is a tall order for anyone, especially someone not quite equipped height-wise.

The game will be played at Value City Arena on Monday, December 27th at 8:30 PM.  You’ll be able to see that game on the Big Ten Network.