Falcon MBB Lets Victory Slip Away

So, I think it's fair to say we don't know what we really have with BG's MBB team right now.  They actually played a pretty solid game for a road contest off a long layoff.  They led Ball State most of the way...they were just unable to close the door...in classic fashion.

BG led by 6 with :43 left to play.  At that point, the metrics say you have a 97.5% chance of winning.  The mere fact I am mentioning that is what my BG English professors would have called foreshadowing.  BSU got a basket to cut it to 4 and then Samari Curtis was fouled with :31.  He hits the first FT to make it 5. He misses the second one.  Bumbalough was fouled on a 3FG and made two of the 3 to get it to 3.  He missed the last one, but Miryne Thomas got the rebound and put it back to cut the lead to 1 with :23 to play.  Before BSU needed to foul they turned Gordon over and then Thomas hit another to put BSU up 1.  BG missed a buzzer beater and BSU had the win.

It is #25 this year for lowest win probability in a game the team actually won.

Ball State is a poor defensive team and BG hit them right about at their average--1.08 points per possession.  BG took 44% of their FGS from 3FG and made 43%, which is really good.  They only made 33% of their 2FGs however, worst this year.  They had 19% turnovers, which is high for us, but had a huge game on the offensive boards and got to the line and made 20 out of 25.

The larger issue was on the defensive end.  BSU scored 1.09 points per possession, They came in a 3FG shooting team and they took 45% from beyond the arc, making only 26%.  However, they made 60% of their 2FGs, had a good game on the offensive boards and got to the line and made 20 of 26, which is really good for them.  They did turn the ball over.

Trey Diggs scored 18 for BG on 6 of 10 3FG shooting.  He's just a weapon when he gets in a groove.  He also had 5 rebounds.  Plowden scored 15 on 5 of 12 overall shooting and had 3 rebounds.  Samari Curtis had 13 on 4 of 6 shooting and rebounds, although he turned the ball over 4 times.  Joe Reece had 10 in 14 minutes (foul trouble), shooting 1 of 5 from the field but 8-8 from the line.  Gabe O'Neal added 6 rebounds in 12 minutes.

Rotation wise, Josiah Fulcher played 5 minutes and Cam Young played 4.

Next up is Miami.  They were actually postponed yesterday--I'm not sure which team had the issue--but if it happens it will be Tuesday at the Stroh.