Falcon MBB wins by 10 at Convo

Well, how about that. This is beginning to look like it might be something.  Still things to be improved...and the last few minutes were frustrating...but in the end, you win by 10 on the road at the Convo, and you can't be dissatisfied.

It was no fluke.  BG led for 34 minutes.  BG took the lead for good with about 15 minutes left in the first half. The lead bobbed at 3-6 for a few minutes.  With 3 minutes left, BG with on an 8-1 run to head to the locker room with a 13-point lead.  A team has a 92% chance of winning from there, but as a fan, you're still on the edge of your seat.

BG continued to control the game in the 2nd half.  The lead was 19 with 11 left, and it was still 19 with 7 minutes left when Troy Glover scored a dunk.  Sadly, that was the last basket the Falcons would score.  They did not score AT ALL until there was :32 left in the game and the lead had melted to 6.

It was extremely frustrating.  Coach talked about it after the game with Todd Walker.  BG started running clock with 7-8 left.  Coach said it makes total sense with a big lead like that to shorten the game.  He also likes our set for that situation, which is for Campbell to get out by the centerline, everyone else goes low, he dribbles out the clock, drives to the basket, beats his man, gets to the rim and scores or gets fouled.

And no doubt.  It is an absolute dagger to run the clock inside 5 and then score.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Campbell missed from close range, other players missed 3FGs and then BG started to turn the ball over under pressure, something Coach called "uncharacteristic."

BG is #186 in turnovers in the country.

Anyway, the final drama was that BG was still in the 1-1. One reason is that you hate seeing the game get close is when you need to shoot the 1-1.  BG paid off the strategy, going 4-4 on those FTs and eventually winning by 10.

It's a little bit like playing prevent defense in football.  Fans hate it...but you are trying to win the game.  I get it.  And OU, it turned out, couldn't go +19 in 7 minutes (less time BG dribbled out).  Which was the bet all along.  BG might want to add some "trapped on the center line" to their situational awareness practices.  Because they will see that again.

But the win is the win, and it was well earned.  If someone had said we were going to win by 10 @ OU to start the season, I would have asked zero questions.  Zero.

We might very well have something here.

Defense is leading the way.  On kempom, BG is #50 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which means even adjusted for our weak schedule. we are #50.  That showed yesterday.  OU scored .86 points per possession, which is just terrible.  And yet, it was only BG's 5th-best defensive performance in D1 games this year.

The interesting thing was that OU came in a 2FG-focused team.  They shot only 36% from 3FG...and for good reason, since they make only 29%.  Coach said BG focused on doubling the post, which kept them from getting "nice passing angles," forced some shooters out of rhythm, and left others in rhythm.

As a result, OU shot 60% of their FGs from 3FG, which is their most in a couple of seasons.  And they made only 18%.

BG didn't shoot great (45%/33%), but it was an advantage.  Turnovers were close, and BG took advantage of a known OU weakness on the defensive boards, especially once they went to the zone.  BG fouls a lot...in this game, it was 24 fouls.  It was negligible on the board, as BG was 19 of 23 at the line and OU was 19 of 30.

Coach said the strategy was to contain Simmons.  Which they did.  All 4 bigs played--Glover, Goins, Karel and Squires--and they held Simmons to 7 points on 5 total shots,  2 rebounds and 5 fouls, including a technical.

Pavaletzke was their only double-figure scorer, and he was 6-6 from 2FG and 1 of 4 from 3FG.  

For BG, Campbell had 19 on 4 of 12 2FG, 0 of 1 3FG, and 11-11 at the line.  OU was clearly not going to let him get good shots, and he paid it off at the line. Towns had 16 on 3 of 8 2FG shooting and 8 rebounds. 

It felt like BG missed a lot at the rim.  They were 5-8 inside the restricted area, which isn't terrible, but 10 of 25 in the rest of the painted area, which is.

So next up, 12/30, is the undefeated Miami Redhawks at the Stroh.  That will be very interesting.