What's Cooking in Cookeville: Tennessee Tech Basketball (NCAA 09 PS2)

[ShortyDM]

Tennessee Tech Basketball

This will be year two of my dynasty with the Golden Eagles. Year one ended with a surprise OVC Tourney title after finishing in the middle of the pack, but claiming the OVC title with a hard-fought win over Morehead State.

More info to come shortly

[ShortyDM]

2009-10 TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES

HEAD COACH: Mike Sutton (Dynasty record - 24-12)

2009-10 Tennessee Tech Roster
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS
4	Ray Postell	C	6'9"	274	FR
22	Levar Rucker	PF	6'11"	241	FR
33	Tyler McDaniels	SF	6'7"	190	SO
3	Zac Newton	SG	6'1"	170	SO
10	Elijah Muhammad	PG	6'0"	170	SR
15	Riley Hunley	SG	6'4"	193	SO
32	Bassey Inameti	SF	6'8"	215	SO
25	Zach Bailey	SG	6'2"	175	SO
54	Darnell Lindsay	SG	6'4"	180	SR
34	Alfred Jones Jr.	SF	6'6"	193	JR
11	Will Barnes	PG	6'1"	190	SR
53	Chris Hamilton	C	7'0"	255	FR

2009-10 Tennessee Tech Schedule (REC: 4-3)
Date	Opponent
Nov 5	vs Delaware St (W, 72-55)
Nov 10	vs Evansville (W, 72-68)
Nov 13	vs #16 St. Joseph's (L, 74-92)
Nov 15	@ Akron (W, 66-52)
Nov 17	@ Davidson (W, 72-63)
Nov 18	vs Northeastern (L, 61-68)
Nov 28	@ UMass (L, 59-65)
Dec 4	@ Vanderbilt
Dec 8	@ #6 UConn
Dec 10	@ Michigan
Dec 11	vs TCU
Dec 16	@ Radford
Dec 23	vs Marshall
Dec 27	vs Loyola College
Jan 7	@ Murray St*
Jan 8	vs Eastern Kentucky*
Jan 10	vs Morehead St*
Jan 15	vs Eastern Illinois*
Jan 19	vs SE Missouri St*
Jan 28	@ Tennessee St*
Jan 31	@ Jacksonville St*
Feb 1	vs Tennessee St*
Feb 6	vs Murray St*
Feb 12	vs UT-Martin*
Feb 13	@ SE Missouri St*
Feb 16	@ UT-Martin*
Feb 17	vs Austin Peay*
Feb 21	vs Jacksonville St*
Feb 22	@ Austin Peay*

[ShortyDM]

SEASON PREVIEW

FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH:
"This is really an exciting time to be a part of the Tennessee Tech basketball family. Last Year we got to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and the expectations are even higher this season.

We did lose two of our bigs from last year's team and that might hurt us a bit. We were not a great 3-point shooting team last season so I think that needs to be something that we capitalize on this year. Our group of backcourt players is pretty good. Elijah Muhammad and Will Barnes do a great job in running the point and you might see both of them out there at the same time this year. Tyler McDaniels and Bassey Inameti have to do most of the dirty work down low and show our young bigs how to play at the NCAA DI level.

Overall, this year's team can compete but it still remains to be seen at how high a level they can play at. I like the mix of experience as well as youngsters which makes it a lot of fun to coach these guys. Should be an exciting year."

WHAT THE MEDIA SAYS:
Like last year, Tennessee Tech is picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the ever-competitive Ohio Valley Conference. Last year, the Golden Eagles might have overachieved a bit so a down year this season would not be too surprising. However, head coach Mike Sutton always has his teams ready to play and that will definitely help with some unproven talent that will have to step up this season.

Tyler McDaniels and Elijah Muhammad are two of the better players in the conference this season and should gain all-conference honors by the end of the year. McDaniels is listed at 6'7" but is probably closer to 6'5", though one would not be able to tell on the court as he can matchup with some of the best bigs in the country on any night. Muhammad is a veteran leader who can either manage the offense or score at will. At times his 3-point shot will fail him as he only connected on 35% of threes last year, but his ability to turn the opponent over leads to several fast break opportunities for himself and others around him.

[ShortyDM]

Tennessee Tech (0-0) vs Delaware St (0-0)
November 5, 2009 - Eblen Center - Cookeville, TN


TENNESSEE TECH 72, DELAWARE STATE 55

Game Story
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 20-point first half lead and cruised to an easy home-opening win over Delaware State 72-55. With Tech holding an 11-10 lead with just over 8 minutes left in the first half, the Golden Eagles rattled off 19 straight points to build their largest lead of the game at 30-10.

Delaware State attempted to make a comeback in the second half as they cut the Tech lead to single digits at 49-40, but a 3-pointer from Will Barnes and a dunk from Ray Postell put the game out of reach.

Tech had just two players in double figures as Barnes posted 14 points off the bench and the freshman Postell collected 10 points and 5 rebounds in his first collegiate action.

Players of the Game
DSU: Marcus Neal (11 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl)
TTU: Will Barnes (14 pts, 4 stl, 2 reb)

UP NEXT: vs Evansville (1-1)

[ShortyDM]

Tennessee Tech (1-0) vs Evansville (1-1)
November 10, 2009 - Eblen Center - Cookeville, TN

TENNESSEE TECH 72, EVANSVILLE 68

Game Story
Tyler McDaniels had 26 points, including two clutch dunks in the final two minutes, as Tennessee Tech defeated the Evansville Purple Aces 72-68. Tech led throughout the first half and clung to a 41-33 lead at the break. But in the second half, Evansville came roaring back and took several leads.

Trailing 65-62 with just under three minutes to play, McDaniels was the recipient of two Elijah Muhammad assists on fast breaks as the Golden Eagles took a 66-65 lead, one they would not relinquish. Muhammad then finished off the win with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

Three players scored in double figures for the Golden Eagles (2-0) with McDaniels leading the way with his 26-point performance. Ray Postell had 12 points and 3 rebounds while Muhammad chipped in with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Players of the Game
EVAN: Pieter van Tongeren (9 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl)
TTU: Tyler McDaniels (26 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast)

UP NEXT: vs #16 Saint Joseph's (2-1)

[ShortyDM]

Once standings and Top 25s become available, I will post those with some regularity.

Enjoy!

[ShortyDM]

Tennessee Tech (2-0) vs Saint Joseph's (2-1)
November 13, 2009 - Eblen Center - Cookeville, TN

SAINT JOSEPH'S 92, TENNESSEE TECH 74

Game Story
#16 Saint Joseph's showed why they are regarded as one of the best teams in the country as they dominated the smaller Tennessee Tech and cruised to a 92-74 win. Tech played the the Hawks for most of the first half, but a late 20-3 run put the Hawks up 53-33 at the intermission.

Tech managed to cut the lead down to 15 on a few occasions, but never threatened the more talented Hawks on the night. Tyler McDaniels led the way again for Tech as he scored 13 points while picking up 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Zach Bailey was the only other Golden Eagle in double figures as he posted 12 points, including 3 3-pointers, and 3 steals in the losing effort.

Players of the Game
SJU: Temi Adebayo (15 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast)
TTU: Tyler McDaniels (13 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl)

UP NEXT: @ Akron (0-2)

[ShortyDM]

Tennessee Tech (2-1) at Akron (0-2)
November 15, 2009 - Rhodes Arena - Akron, OH

TENNESSEE TECH 66, AKRON 52

Players of the Game
TTU: Tyler McDaniels (23 pts, 11 reb)

Tech News...Forward Tyler McDaniels was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week this last week as he averaged 17 points and 5 rebounds in a wins over Akron and Evansville along with a loss to Saint Joseph's.

Tennessee Tech (3-1) at Davidson (1-3)
November 17, 2009 - Belk Arena - Davidson, NC

TENNESSEE TECH 72, DAVIDSON 63

Game Story
Tennessee Tech went on the road for a second straight game and for the second straight time came away with a win as they defeated Davidson 72-63. The Wildcats, led by All-American Stephen Curry and his 19 points, hung with the Golden Eagles but it was Tech that made the run in the second half to put the game away.

Tech got another outstanding game from Tyler McDaniels as he poured in 20 points while grabbing 6 boards. Point guard Elijah Muhammad had a season-high 19 points and 5 assists while Bassey Inameti collected 11 rebounds.

Players of the Game
DAV: Stephen Curry (19 pts, 2 ast, 9 FG)
TTU: Tyler McDaniels (20 pts, 6 reb)

UP NEXT: vs Northeastern (2-0)