NCAA Basketball: 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational preview and predictions
By Joe Chambers
Top of Bracket
Villanova Wildcats
Villanova looks to be the top team in this year’s Myrtle Beach Invitational. They enter the Invitational at 2-1 with wins over Army and Ohio. They had a rough game against Ohio State and lost 76-51 on the road at Ohio State. They look to bounce back and get a few wins in the invitational. The Wildcats have a good chance of getting to hoist the trophy come November 24th.
The Wildcats are led by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Saddiq Bey. Both of them are averaging 14.3 points per game playing a key part in their early success. Through 3 games, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is 11-12 at the free throw line, shooting 91.6% and is averaging 10 rebounds per game. The Wildcats will look to Robinson-Earl as their go-to-guy to get things going and help them get things in motion. If Robinson-Earl does not get going for the Wildcats, they will have trouble getting some wins.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
The Blue Raiders are looking to make a statement early on and cause a lot of stress for teams early on. They are 3-1 with wins against Maryville College, Lipscomb, and Mars Hill. Their last game against Coastal Carolina was a tough game for the Blue Raiders, they lost 93-72. In order for them to be successful, they are going to need Antonio Green and CJ Jones to get going.
Middle Tennessee has a tough first contest in Villanova so Green and Jones will need to produce early on for the Blue Raiders. Green is averaging 23.5 ppg and Jones averaged 20 ppg. Having two 20 point scorers really makes the Blue Raiders a threat in this tournament. If one of them can’t get something going, the other one will have to pick it up and get the other teammate going. With a deep roster, this can cause lots of trouble for opponents. They only have one player currently averaging less than 12 minutes per game. Lots of teams only have a few players they use on their bench, so for Middle Tennessee, this can cause them to be very successful in this tournament and give them an upset in their first game.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State is another team that can cause trouble. They start this tournament against Tulane. They enter this season undefeated at 4-0 with wins over Florida International, Sam Houston State, Louisiana-Monroe, and New Orleans. In their first four wins, they never lost a game by more than 8 points (they won by eight to FIU). They’re a consistent team that can score and get stops on the defensive end. Even though all their games were home games, they still got quality wins that were able to show the Bulldogs that they can be a threat and get teams to play catch-up.
The Bulldogs are led by scorers Tyson Carter, averaging 16.5 ppg, and Robert Woodard II with 13.3 ppg. These two are some really good players and have the potential to be on the All-Tournament team at the end of the tournament. They are lengthy and are able to get to the rim and score. They both shoot above 43% from the field by taking a minimum of 40 shots in their first few games. The crazy stat about the Bulldogs, in their first four games, they scored 144 points exactly in both halves, totaling 288 points. As a team, they are shooting 49.3% from the field making big shots and taking smart ones as well.
Tulane Green Wave
Tulane plays Mississippi State in their first match-up and looks to put up a good fight against the Bulldogs. They enter the season at 3-0 with wins against Southeastern Louisiana, Jackson State, and Northwestern State. With their first match-up against Mississippi State, they are going to need to execute and score points because Mississippi State can score. Tulane will need to get some big points from Teshaun Hightower and KJ Lawson.
Hightower averaged 19.3 ppg and Lawson averaged 13.7 ppg. These two have put up the most shots and have been able to knock down many of the shots they took. They average above 45% from the field, 75% from the free throw line, and average 5.3 rpg too. These two are difference makers for Tulane and will need to be going in order for Green Wave to be able to be productive early on. Through three games, Hightower has four steals and Lawson has six steals. They also are good at not fouling with averaging a little bit of one foul per game. These two are key components to getting Tulane to get some quality wins in this tournament. If they don’t start out by getting a win against Mississippi State, then they will need to readjust.