Falcons Get Big Win at Home

Reasonably speaking, I think most Falcon fans thought we were dead meat against OU. We've been playing poorly, and this is a good team with an ACC win and a Big East win already this season. Further, they have been beating us like a drum lately, and have a strong inside game with Leon Williams that figured to give our big men fits.

As my Father used to say, that's why we play the game. BG brought a disciplined, defensive game and beat OU 62-59 in front of a small crowd (and strong OU contingent) at Anderson Arena. It was a thriller, with the hated Bubba Walther missing two (oh yes) good looks from 3 that could have tied the game, and then falling more or less at our feet at the corner of the Anderson Arena floor.

It was a pretty ugly game. We shot 30% and they shot about 39%. Further, BG was clearly taking the air out of the ball, running the clock inside 10 time and time again. The keys to victory were:

• We only made 16 turnovers. They pressed us the whole game, and while it wasn't always pretty, we handled it pretty well. (Joe Jakubowski might not be the greatest player ever, but we'd be dead meat this season without him). We got the ball up floor, and didn't care we had lost time on the shot clock, since we were going to hold it anyway.
• We shot 22 free throws, and they only shot 9. I cannot remember the last time I saw a Falcon game when the opponent only shot 9 free throws. Amazing. (we had sixteen fouls). Further, we hit 73%, much higher than normal. Coach Jackson said on the post game that players have been in the arena shooting hundreds of free throws on their off days to bring these numbers back up.
• We held Leon Williams to 14 points and 9 boards, well below his average. His partner, Jerome Tillman, had only two points. Credit here, Otis and Marc Larson on the inside D.
• Nate Miller was on Bubba Walther, and we held him to 3-10 from beyond the arc. Also a big help. (Nate had a 13/10 double-double).
• Most importantly, we out-rebounded them 39-33, and 22-10 on our defensive boards. This is something Coach Orr has emphasized, and the rebounding has improved a lot in recent weeks. Nice to see it in a MAC game. (Miller 10 boards, Otis 9, Knight 6).
• We had balanced scoring, putting four players in double figures. (Miller 13, Knight 11, Clements 10 and Moten 10).
• OU had 20 turnovers.
  

I have to confess that as the game started, and the sizable OU contingent was showing some energy, I was pretty depressed at the state of our program. And, when Williams got the ball inside right off the bat, I just had the feeling that we might have a long day.

But, our guys really rallied. Played well enough to win. Coach preaches you have to win even when you don't shoot well (we missed about 10 shots from two inches away from the basket), and that was certainly the case.

I cannot express in words how good it makes me feel to walk out of that place with a win.

We have to be careful with our expectations. Earlier in the year, we had a little success, and we thought we were going to have one of those "new coach-instant turnaround" deals. This will be a touch MAC season, we only have 9 games and we will have to scrap for everything we get.

Here is what Coach Orr said in the post-game.

Opening statement
"Somebody asked me after the Duquesne game, what could we take away from that game. I said 'let's wait and see,' and that I could answer that after this game. The reality of it is that we are learning to scrap, claw and fight for everything we get. We are learning the value of defense. In two of our last three games, we have held teams to thirty-some percent shooting, and we won both of those games. We have outrebounded our opponents in those three games. We've had 18, 18 and 17 offensive rebounds, and we went to the free-throw line over 20 times in each of those games. And in (the two wins), we probably shot around 30 percent."

"Nate was right. Our foundation is that we are going to compete, we're going to defend, we're going to rebound, and we're going to be tough. Offense may come and go -- and hopefully we will have better shooting nights. I'm sure we will. But, when you defend, rebound, get to the free-throw line, you play together, you play with a resolve and a determination, and you have faith, a lot of great things can happen. So, to God be the glory."