UC Delivers Expected Blow Out

It was what we expected.  The UC Bearcats are just too much for BG to handle.  The Falcons did 1 point better than they did last year at the Stroh, which means they lost by 29, 85-56.  The game was close for the first few minutes, but then UC blew the lead open and the game was never in question for almost the entire way.

The preview mentioned that UC likes a slow pace, and this one had a slow pace, too, ending at 64 possessions.  So, you score 85 points in a 64 possession game...yeah, that's not a good story for the BG defense.  UC had 1.33 points per possession, which is crazy high.  They made 61% of their 2FGs and 40% of their 3FGs...while getting rebounds on 35% of their already rare missed shots.  They had only 8 turnovers and while they got to the line only 14 times, they made 11 of them.  That's a blueprint for having a big offensive night.

BG's offense was poor, though not as bad as it might have looked given the game pace.  BG had .88 points per possession.  They shot 38% on 2FGs (!!) and 35% on 3FGs.  For all those missed shots, BG only got offensive rebounds 24% of the time.  The Falcons did take good care of the ball with 14% turnovers and made 8 of 12 free throws.  Still, the scope of the blow out can be seen here.

Just for perspective, BG allowed a 61% EFG or higher 6 times last year and lost 5 of the games.  The OU game in February is the one exception.

Zack Denny and Wes Alcegaire both scored 16 for BG.  Denny shot 6 of 12 and Alcegaire shot 6 of 11...and he also added a team-high 5 rebounds.  No other Falcon scored in double figures, with Lillard, Ali, and Wiggins all having tough shooting nights.  Ali had 6 assists and 4 turnovers.

Anyway, no surprises and no mystery here.  UC is just a lot better than the Falcons are.  BG heads over to Evansville for a game on Tuesday and a chance to try and get a win in tough circumstances, though not this tough.