Rockets, Part II

College Basketball

Honestly, BG played about as well defensively as they are capable of playing against a UT team that is among the best offensive machines in the county. BG held them to .88 points per possession for the game, coming off a game where they scored .69 against EMU.  In fact, those are the only two times ALL SEASON that UT has been held under 1 point per possession in a game.  For comparison, BG has been below that line 17 times in 26 games.

As you can see on the chart above, BG did the things you need to do to stop Toledo.  They held them to 41% shooting, as opposed to their 47% average.  They kept the off the line, relatively speaking.  BG did a great job on the offensive boards and forced UT into their second-highest turnover% of the season.  UT had 17 turnovers and normally averages 10.

BG defended plenty well enough to win this or any game in the MAC.

On offense, BG did a good job taking care of the ball and on the offensive boards. They were eventually sunk by their shooting.  BG shot only 36% from the field and 27% from 3FG...and only 59% from the line.  In fact, BG had 1 more FG than UT and the same number of 3s, so UT's +4 at the line was decisive, despite BG committing only 14 fouls for the game.  BG missed two key FTs down the stretch...anyway, the difference in the game was that BG's defense did heroic work on UT's attack, the offense was unable to take advantage at even a subsistence level.

Two players really stood out for BG.  Anthony Henderson is playing really well right now.  He had 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.  He is rounding into the shooter we hoped he could be.

The other is Cam Black, who in his finals games is really showing the ability we felt he had.  He had 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting to go with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.  He was a force on the inside defensively.  Cam Black is playing at a very high level right now.

Richaun Holmes had 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks for a very solid game as well.

Jehvon Clarke struggled.  He was 3 of 17 and 1 of 6 from 3 and 2 assists over 4 turnovers.  Also, Spencer Parker was 2-8/0-3, though he did add 10 rebounds.

Anyway, let's remember that all those guys--Clarke and Parker included--were part of BG's outstanding defensive effort as well, even though there are not stats for that.  The Falcons did a great job slowing UT around, and just needed to make a few more shots of their own to get the win in this one.