After Tuesday night’s fight to the finish against Kansas, it is not a far-fetched expectation that tonight’s matchup against Tennessee Tech will show early signs of an “emotional hangover” from fans and players. Whether Tuesday night is counted as a moral victory or not, it was most definitely draining, both physically and emotionally. After a return trip home and a day off, the Tigers got back to work yesterday in preparation of tonight’s home contest against the Golden Eagles.
“It’s great that they are saying our praises, but you’re only as good as your last game,” said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. “Kansas is done. Our focus now is turned to Tennessee Tech and the challenge that we will have for the remainder of the year, can we play as hard as we did against Kansas?”
Looking to rebound from an off night offensively, the Tigers hope to rebound with a win by continuing to play hard, fight and play defense at a high level. Additionally, both Pastner and the Memphis players feel confident that their shooting woes are not a concern going forward.
For Tennessee Tech and head coach Mike Sutton, the turn-around is much more dramatic. Having already played twice this week (Monday night and last night), the Golden Eagles will play their third game in five days, all a part of their four-game season-opening road trip. Last night against Lipscomb, the Golden Eagles fought back from a large first-half deficit and came up with some big plays down the stretch to pull out a 92-89 victory, bringing their record to 2-1.
Entering the 2009-10 basketball season, the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Golden Eagles return four starters from last year’s squad that finished eighth in the league and advanced to the OVC tournament.
Eighth year head coach Mike Sutton has backcourt mates Frank Davis (10.0 points/game, 76 made 3-pointers), Will Barnes (9.8 points, 2.7 assists/game) and forward Kevin Murphy (9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds/game) among the returnees. The Golden Eagles bring in new faces like freshmen Chase Dunn, Terrell Barnes and Jud Dillard along with junior transfer Byron Pickens will be available right away for the Golden Eagles.
Prior to their win against Lipscomb last night, the Golden Eagles suffered a loss to Minnesota, 87-50, and tallied a win at Central Arkansas 71-67. The Golden Eagles committed 27 turnovers in the loss at Minnesota and had 17 turnovers in the Central Arkansas win. Tired legs and a propensity for turnovers probably mean that the Golden Eagles will struggle against the Memphis pressure defense.
ABOUT MIKE SUTTON
Mike Sutton, head coach at Tennessee Tech has guided the Golden Eagles to an overall 114-100 record in his seven years as the head coach. Sutton was a former assistant at Kentucky under Tubby Smith. Sutton was chosen as coach of the year after the 2005 season. Tragically that summer, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). He spent most of the summer paralyzed and clinging to life. He was able to recover from the illness and was back coaching Tennessee Tech the following year.
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