Gesundheit II

So, last year, when I found out we were playing Canisius in the Bracket Buster, all I could think was "Gesundheit."

10 months later, I still have the same juvenile sense of humor...so...

"Gesundheit."  Again.

I have said before that I like the Bracket Buster.  The part I like best is the required return trip.  It just gets some variety in our schedule that, for a long time, was sorely lacking.  And, I see in the official game notes that BG is 5-1 in Bracket Buster return games.  Dominance.

Last year, the Golden Griffins (Gesunndheit) were the only non-MAC team to win a game at Anderson Arena, as they headed in on a snowy February day and beat BG 71-66 in OT.  BG had a furious rally to force OT in the first place, but ultimately BG's inability to keep them off the offensive boards or the free throw line cost the Falcons the game.

That team now returns all its starters and it six top scorers.  In particular, little (not Jordan Crawford little, but little) Frank Turner appears to be a really special player.  They are 4-3 to date, with a win over Buffalo and a loss to an EMU team that might really surprise some people this year.  They are a small team that also does not shoot the 3 well.  In fact, they do not shoot especially well at all, and allow over 50% shooting (effective field goal percentage) against them.

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

Based on that, I just think that if BG can play its fundamental defense and make a poor shooting team even worse, and then do enough on the offensive end, we could grind this win out.  It is on the road, and they still are strong at the free throw line, so we will need to watch our fouls, but on paper this appears to be a good matchup for us.