OU Preview....

 BG's next game--COVID willing--will be down at the Convo in Athens with BG playing Ohio U.  

The Bobcats have the second-ranked Kenpom in the MAC right now, (behind Toledo), but for my money they've had the best pre-season to date and I think will be a favorite in Cleveland.

Of course, Ohio did the MAC proud the year before, entering the MAC tournament as a #6 seed and then running the table, including a 15-point win over UB in the final.  They accessorized that with a first-round win over the defending NCAA Champs before falling in the second round.

From that team the only starter they lost was...Jason Preston...first-team All-MAC and draft pick.  He's with the Clippers but had foot surgery and is out for a significant period of time.

Ohio was picked #2 in the MAC for this year.  They are 11-2 in D1 games.  Their only losses are @ KY and @ LSU.  Many of their wins are not great in non-conference....they did beat #452 Belmont.  They are 3-0 in the MAC this year with 2 road wins

This is the 150th matchup between BG and OU.  Oddly, BG has beaten OU four of the last 5, including the last 2 at the Convo.

This is a strong tempo contrast.  BG plays at 73 possessions a game and OU plays at 68, which is a pretty good spread.

The key calling card is defense.  OU is playing great defense at .95 points per possession, which is top-60 in the country.  They also socre the ball well, about where Bowling Green goes.  The difference is that BG has played poor defense so far...#239 in the country.

So that will be one test...can BG score against OU?

This actually promises to be pretty evenly matched...most of hte numbers are pretty even.  Much like Miami, OU doesn't get to the line that much, but they do make 80% (#8) when they do get there. They take a lot of 3s--43% of their overall FGA.  They make 34% of those 3FGs--just slightly above average.  They make 49% of their 2FGs, just below average.

When BG has the ball against OU's key defense. they will face a team that is a little tough to shoot against but has forced a ton of turnovers, #44 in the country.  They also also very good on the boards and they don't give up many FTs.  They allow only 30% against 3FGs, which is really good, but allow 50% on 2FGs.

BG has a tendency to fire up 3FGs and that could be a difficult here.  For sure, their model requires taking good care of the ball and they will absolutely have to do that against the Bobcats to have a shot.

They are led by Mark Sears, the MAC POW this week and the leading scorer in the conference at 19.7 PPG.  He shoots 52% on 2FG and 45% on 3FG, so he was very efficient.  He adds 4.9 RPG and a team-high 49 assists and 25 steals.  He's probably the top player to date in the MAC.  He's score 24, 33, 21, 24 and 28 in his last five games. He was all-Freshman last year.

Their second-leading scorer is Jason Carter.  He played at Ohio before, transferred to Xavier and then transferred BACK to OU for his graduate season.  That's an angle of the portal I didn't anticipate.  He's a good player.  He scores 14 PPG, not very efficient at 44% and 24%.  Leads the team with 7.1 RPG and has 17 blocks.

Ben Vander Plas is scoring 12.6 PPG, shooting 44% and 36%, the latter being pretty good.  He also has 6.1 RPG and 20 steals.  He also has 42 assists.

Miles Brown started every game but the last one...where he was DNP.  No idea about his status.

So here we go.  This is a real test for BG, particularly on the road.  We have played well in Athens.  UT is next so I hope to see BG play well there again.