Frack Tournament Preview...UMKC

So BG will play at home for three straight days....UMKC, Green Bay and Murray State.

I'm going to preview the teams leading up to the tournament.  This is a good chance to see the new Falcons and they will get good tests this weekend that I think we will learn from.

The first opponent is the University of Missouri-Kansas City, easily the softest of the 3 teams we will face.  They are in the WAC...a once great conference that is now pretty weak.  Anyway, UMKC is picked by Blue Ribbon to finish 3rd in their conference, but 5th by their coaches and 6th by their media.  Kenpom has them ranked #27 out of 32 D1 conferences.

They were 12-19 and 4-10 last year, and lost 2 starters from that team.  They are 1-1 this year, with a loss @ Creighton , 89-82.  That's kind of deceiving if you look at it.  They were down 76-58 with about 13 minutes left and finished 24-11 over the last 10 minutes, but it wasn't a 7-point game the whole way.  And then they beat Drake, which South Dakota also did.

Their big calling card is their guard play.  They are led by 5'11 SR. Martez Harrison, who is a consensus all-WAC pick.  He's scoring 19 PPG on 52% shooting, 57% on 3FG and 8 steals.  Senior G LaVell Boyd is scoring 13 PPG on 41% and 50% shooting.  That's a formidable duo for BG to face...and senior guards on top of it.

Kyle Steward is their leading front court player, with 7 PPG and 6.5 RPG.  For a big man, he's a poor shooter, at 35%.

They play a pressure defense, which is a worry for BG, which has traditionally struggled against teams that play like that.  To date, they are forcing turnovers on nearly 27% of their defensive possessions, which is #19 in the country.  You can do almost anything else...they have defended the shot poorly, don't rebound well and foul a lot, which is typical of a pressure defense.

On offense, they like to bomb.  They get 40% of their points from 3FGs, which is compared to the D1 average of 29%.  They make 43.5% of their 3FGS, which is compared to the national average of 33%.

Beyond that...they don't take great care of the ball, they don't rebound especially well and they don't get to the line a lot, though they are very effective when they do.

They have 10 guys playing 10 minutes or more a game, but rely on Harrison, Boyd, Steward and Broderick Robinson (3rd G) for most of their minutes.

They also have three players named Broderick, the first time that has ever happened to BG...which I just made up.  Not the Broderick part.  But it is probably true.

So, this is an interesting matchup.  BG is playing a team without big inside play, but very good guard play, which I think presents a challenge.  Also, we have not excelled traditionally against pressure.  On paper, however, BG should win this game.  They need to take care of their own house, meaning not turning the ball over and then successfully placing it inside the rim so as to be awarded with points.