RedHawk Preview

BG returns to the Stroh riding a high....a 4-way winning streak, a road win in Muncie and now stand in first place in the Mid-American conference with 6 games left to play.  This has been a surprising and wonderful season and now one of BG's traditional rivals comes into the Stroh.  Let's keep our fingers crossed...it would be fantastic to see a big crowd for the game and get the team the support they have earned with a 9-3 conference record.

Miami is on a rebuilding project.  They were pretty low when Coles left and it has been a long road for a team that is a traditional power in the MAC.  They are 9-16 overall and 4-8 in the MAC with an RPI of 289.  Furthermore, they don't really have a quality MAC win.  They have beaten Ball State, OU and EMU at Millett and won @NIU.  They also lost at home to NIU.  Five of their last 6 games are against Akron, Kent or BG...they are 1-8 on the road overall and 1-5 in MAC play.

Coach Cooper came in to replace Coles and immediately picked the tempo up, running at 66 possessions per game (all stats MAC games only) which is faster though right in the middle of the conference.  The chart below explains the issue...they score 1.05 points per possession, which is 5th in the MAC...and they allow 1.12 which is the worst in the MAC and 315th in D-I.  Meanwhile, BG's defense is #1 in the MAC and #33 in D-I.  BG has consistently been able to shut good offensive teams down of late, and with a weak defensive performance Saturday fresh in their heads, I like the way this match up shapes up for BG.

Miami is a decent offensive team.  They shoot 46% overall from the field which is 2nd in the MAC.  Now, that's a very heavy mix of 2FGs.  They are 10th in the MAC in 3FG attempts.  That leaves them 3rd in EFG%.  They are average at taking care of the ball and don't do much on the offensive boards.  They do get to the line a good amount--5th in the MAC--and 5th in making them.  You can see where there are splits between BG's defense and their offense.  That's where the challenges will come.

Miami simply does not defend the shot well.  They are 11th in overall FG% and 10th in 3FG%.  That leaves them last in the MAC in effective FG% and 339th in the country.  Everything else is pretty normal, except for FTs.  They give up a bunch of FTs, but are playing against a BG team that does not get to the line that much.

If you defend the shot that poorly without getting significant turnovers you are going to have a hard time defending and Miami has.

Individually, they are led by Eric Washington, who might well be the top newcomer in the MAC. He is a 5'10" G who transferred from Presbyterian--moving from the Blue Hose to the Red Hawks.  He is scoring 15 PPG on 51% shooting, which is really high for a guard.  He also has 3.5 rebounds per game and 6.2 assists, the MAC"s leading total.  He's been productive and efficient.

Will Sullivan is the 2nd leading scorer with 11.3 PPG on 55% shooting overall and a ridiculous 49% from 3FG, which is 1st in the MAC, though he is only 14th in attempts.  He also leads the team with 4.9 rebounds.  Geovonie McKnight also scores in double figures at 11.3 PPG and 45% shooting.

Their top four players in minutes are 6'3" or shorter.  They have a couple big guys--one a FR and one a JUCO transfer--but neither of them is playing 20 minutes a game.

For this reason, they are also a good matchup for BG.

Three of the 4 lead teams in the MAC have relatively easy home games tonight and BG needs to convert this one.  A loss makes winning the MAC much harder, but a win--which is what should happen--keeps the good times rolling.