Sports

Sports  BLUE RAIDERS

MTSU vs. UT

PHOTO BY NATHAN WALLACH

Lady Raiders Fall to Lady Vols in NCAA Tournament

THE MTSU LADY RAIDERS earned a spot in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament after a 17–8 regular season, and the team put a scare into the Tennessee Lady Vols in the opening round, but a strong third-quarter push by the Lady Vols carried them to an 87–62 win.

The teams were knotted 39–39 at the half and the Lady Raiders had visions of becoming the first No. 14 seed to upset a No. 3 in tournament history, however Tennessee had different plans coming out of intermission.

The Lady Vols used a 23–10 thirdquarter run to carry them to victory.

Middle Tennessee was 0-of-4 with two turnovers on its first six possessions of the third quarter, while Tennessee was 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line on its first six possessions to turn the tide.

Tennessee used that strong third quarter start to build the game’s first doubledigit lead, 56–44.

Anastasia Hayes capped a remarkable junior campaign with a game-high 26 points, five assists and three steals. Aislynn Hayes was also in double figures for the Lady Raiders with 15 points, while adding two assists and one steal. She played all 40 minutes without a turnover.

The first half provided an exciting brand of basketball and hope for a firstround upset for Middle Tennessee. The Lady Vols raced out to a 16–9 lead, but Middle Tennessee closed the quarter strong. Aislynn Hayes’ long 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining pulled the Lady Raiders to within 21–18 at the end of the first quarter.

Alexis Whittington, Anastasia Hayes, Aislynn Hayes and Deja Cage all converted field goals during MTSU’s first-quarter run.

The Lady Raiders won the second quarter 21–18 to pull even. Middle Tennessee was 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the quarter.

“We felt good about things at halftime,” Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. “We were able to battle on the boards and we hit shots in the first half. Hitting shots is what we are about. We weren’t able to knock down some shots to start the third quarter, and Tennessee took advantage.”

In the end, Tennessee’s size was too much. The Lady Vols had a decisive advantage on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 56–21. Of those 56 rebounds, 20 were on the offensive glass as Tennessee piled up 21 second-chance points. The team also scored 48 of its 87 points in the paint.

“Their size was a difference,” Insell said. “We haven’t been outrebounded like that all season. We knew we were going to have to keep them off of the offensive boards to have a chance and we were not able to do that in the second half.”

Jayon Brown

Bud Dupree Janoris Jenkins

Titans Overhaul Defense

Add Dupree; Autry, Jenkins; Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith move on

THE TRAIN DADDY IS BACK with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!

I am extremely excited for summer to begin, so let me say this one time! I do not care about COVID or your feelings or lockdowns or your opinion on anything involving COVID-19. I am done with it. My focus this summer is on work, making money and taking care of my family. I am thankful to live in a state like Tennessee that, for the most part, has stood by its citizens and their constitutional rights.

It’s scary thinking some people in this country now want a “vaccine passport” as a necessary thing to be able to attend events. No thank you! I will hold to my convictions. It is simple, if you want the vaccine, take it. If you don’t want it, don’t take it. On that note, I will shut up about COVID for the remainder of 2021. Thank God!

Alright, let us talk Titans football since it has been a remarkably interesting and busy off-season so far. The Titans ended 2020 with some serious questions regarding players set to become free agents. As of April 1, I believe this 2021 Titans team has become night-andday more balanced. And that is a great thing for a team that had one of the most productive offenses in the NFL in 2020 to go alongside a historically bad defense. The thirddown defensive woes still give me nightmares.

Yes, the Titans lost some valuable pieces to accomplish this, but they also added some new talent. The foundation of the last two seasons is still in Titans blue. Ryan Tannehill, King Henry and A.J. headed-towards-top-10-WR-talent Brown.

The Titans had to let wideout Corey Davis and tight end Jonnu Smith walk. The haters say losing these two will be too much for Tennessee to overcome on offense, but I disagree. I love the recent signing of Josh Reynolds. This 6-foot, 3-inch receiver is young (26) and excelled as a WR3 for a top-heavy Rams team. With that said, the receiver position is still one of the team’s biggest needs and I honestly expect them to go get a receiver like DeVonta Smith or Rashod Bateman in the fi rst round of the April 29 NFL Draft—or maybe work magic a little later and grab a guy like A.J. Brown’s old teammate and do-it-all receiver Elijah Moore. After a spectacular pro day for Moore, Brown publicly made it known he wants the Titans to draft Elijah, a slot guy who has speed and can contribute on special teams. The only fl aw I see regarding Elijah is his size: 5 feet, 9 inches.

The tight end spot is a little trickier to predict after losing Jonnu, and I think the Titans will be content to roll with the fourth-year TE Anthony Firsker. I have seen a few mock drafts showing the Titans grabbing TE Hunter Long in the second round. I think the Titans have enough issues at WR and CB to even entertain a TE that early in the draft, a position hard to fi ll. I will say that having a quality TE with hands is extremely underrated. I am willing to give Anthony a shot. He may not be Kelce, Kittle or Waller, but he put up numbers when called upon. Firsker is not a blocking TE but he excels at being a big slot guy and he proved that when Adam Humphries went down. Is he a true No. 1 TE? I don’t think so, but he can catch on passing downs and be a security blanket for Tannehill.

I think the Titans will regress a little on offense, but I fully expect this unit to be productive. That production is almost guaranteed when you lock up your star QB and running back and were fortunate enough to draft one of the most talented young receivers in that class. If you have not seen the workout videos King Henry releases, check them out! I have no doubt he is looking forward to possibly a third straight crown or even what seems improbable: two straight seasons at 2K-plus rushing yards!

I spent a lot of time talking about the offense when it was in fact the defense that had the biggest overhaul and has many Titans fans excited! I have seen some mixed reviews regarding this 2021 defense, and it baffl es me. I only have one worry right now when looking at this group—they need some more talent at the cornerback position. The Titans brought in Jackrabbit Jenkins and we have Kristian Fulton, a young player on the rise, and the addition of the underwhelming Kevin Johnson. The Titans need to sign another guy, and there remain a few good options available.

The Titans desperately need (let’s be honest, overpaid) safety Kevin Byard to step up. Last year was a rough year for Byard, and he needs to be that guy that snagged 17 balls out of the air between 2017 and ’19. I also have high hopes for safety Amani Hooker. He is a player to watch grow after fi nishing 2020 strong. It’s huge that these two guys pick up the slack in the secondary.

Take a moment and forget about everything I have said. Who cares if the secondary for the Titans might be problematic. Mark my words! The Tennessee Titans’ pass rush will be the most improved group in the entire NFL. The Titans 2020 defense fi nished the season with 19 sacks and, in case you were wondering, that’s historically bad. Let us not even mention how bad this defense was at third-down stops. It was atrocious.

Do the Titans get media love for moves made? Nope, I see a lot of articles about how they spent too much on superstar linebacker Bud Dupree. Maybe they did overpay, but we have a general in the middle of the fi eld now and he has the potential, if healthy, to be a one-man wrecking crew.

The Titans stealing Denico Autry away from the Colts was huge. The 7.5-sack machine last season is now ready to pound that sorry Wentz two times a year. With the addition of Bud and Denico it’s going to be a fi eld day for Harold Landry, and I truly feel like Big Jeff Simmons is primed to be a potential breakout player for the entire league.

At the end of the day, I think one of the most exciting moves was the Titans re-signing inside linebacker Jayon Brown. One of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL surprised us all after he signed a one-year deal with the Titans for literally less than half the price he could have demanded elsewhere. I had predicted he would sign with Cleveland. He publicly said he likes the direction this defense is heading, and he wants to reset his market value after a nasty season ending injury versus the Ravens last season.

With all that said, I think Titans fans should be overly excited for a group that will spit in the face of 2020. If this unit stays healthy, I think they have a chance to be dominant, making life a lot easier for the secondary that all the experts seem to have concerns about.

Alright my friends, the Train is rolling into the station. Choo-choo!