Bronco Preview

Last year's MAC Champs...the WMU Broncos...head into the Stroh.  They are a couple games out of first and BG is tied for first, but with 8 games left in MAC play a lot can happen.

BG has won the last 3 in the series...WMU won the four before that.  BG's win @WMU last year was one of the season's highlights.  WMU is 14-9 and 5-5 in MAC play.  They are not playing well.  They have lost 4 of the last 5 (all without Austin Richie), though they lost @Akron and @CMU...and at home to Buffalo.  They lost @EMU--probably one they'd like back--but they did beat Kent in KZoo.  They are 2-4 in MAC play on the road.

WMU is on the high offense low defense model.  They are scoring 1.06 points per possession, which is 5th in the MAC.  On the other hand, they are allowing 1.08, which is the 10th worst defense in the MAC.  One of the things that should make the game interesting is that there are good spreads between the two teams....WMU is used to scoring more than BG allows and allowing more than BG scores.

So what makes WMU good at scoring?  Well, they are good at shooting it and taking care of it.  They are 3rd in the MAC in FG% and 2nd in 3FG%.  They don't take a ton of treys but they are effective when they do.  They are 3rd in the MAC in not turning the ball over.  That's a pretty good combination.  Unlike past Bronco teams, they are not great on the offensive boards and just average getting to the line.  Also, they only shoot 67% from the line.

On the other side, we can see that WMU and BG are pretty evenly matched on the stats, which is weird since the shooting numbers are so similar.  They don't force many turnovers at all and while they don't give up that many free throws, their opponents are shooting FTs very effectively against them, which costs them points even if there isn't anything they can do about it.

They are led by David Brown, who is in his 11th year of collegiate competition.  He is scoring 18.5 PPG in MAC play.  He's not efficient.....shooting 42% and 36%.  Dude is a 3-bomber man, leading the MAC in attempts and made.  Connor Tava is scoring 12.5 PPG on 50% and a team-high 6.8 RPG and also a team high 4 assists.  6'6" SO Tucker Haymond is scoring 12.6 on 48% shooting.  They have been playing without injured Austin Richie for 5 games and he is scoring 12.8 PPG. Last I saw he was day-to-day.  Drake LaMont, a 6'10" freshman gets 5.5 RPG.

WMU is always dangerous.  This is a game BG should be able to win, but WMU has good size and inside guys and therefore presents a challenge for BG.  Expect Josh Gomez to continue to get minutes.  In a tight race, you gotta hold serve at home and that's the Falcon challenge.