Falcons Defeat Malone

It is very difficult to tell much from exhibition games like this one.  So, we'll pick through and try and see what kind of clues we might have gotten.

First, MAC teams have lost a game like this in recent memory, and BG did not, so that's something.  CMU went into OT to beat Lake Superior, and BG won by 27, so that didn't happen either.  BG should have won this game easily and they did.

Look, lots of things happened that we would like to see.  Clarke had 10 assists over 1 turnover, Anthony Henderson shot 50%, Holmes was 6 of 7 shooting, Black was 6 of 10, BG had 5 players in double figures.

As far as these things go, we will get a good idea of where we stand when BG plays South Florida at the Stroh.  The Bulls are picked to finish 2nd to last in the AAC and the game is at home.  It will be a good chance to see whether the Falcons have more to bring to the table.

BG seemed to play a relatively normal rotation.  Clarke played 31 minutes, Henderson and Orr 29, Black 26 and Holmes 23.  Spencer Parker--a player I didn't really mention in my preview but who has shown some ability and length--played 21 minutes.

Zach Denny and Craig Sealey were both injured and DNP.

Among the new comers, all the rest played.   Tisdale went 14 minutes and had 5 rebounds and 3 turnovers.  Mayleben played 10 minutes with 3 fouls and Josh Gomez fouled out in six minutes of play.

Speaking of fouls.  The big thing for college basketball is the priority on calling the hand check.  I'm for it....I think it will do more to open up the offensive style of the game than anything else.  For example, I don't think it makes sense to lower the shot clock until you get rid of hand checking,..in fact, it might make the problem worse.

So, there were 43 fouls called in a game where no one was fouling at the end to try and get back into the game.  We'll be tracking this as things move forward.  Last year, the average MAC game had 36 fouls called.

I will say this...BG had 24 fouls called on them which seems like an awful lot against a team you are a lot better than.  In fact, it is a lot against anyone.  NIU was the worst fouling team in the MAC last year and averaging 21 fouls a game.  BG committed the lowest number of fouls in the conference last year.

I would expect us to see more or less the same thing against Earlham next Saturday, or even with a sharper difference.  Earlham is DIII, not DII and was 4-21 last season.  We will know more once we get a little farther into the schedule.