Falcons to Meet OU in Suspension

So, with a slight pall on the season, BG heads to the floor of the Stroh Center to take on the Ohio U. Bobcats.  They will do so without their leading scorer and their PG, along with the 4th leading scorer and a reserve big man.

Now, OU has an issue, too, which is that they are playing without MAC POTY Antonio Campbell, who is out for the season.  Despite being 12-6 and the #110 team in the country, they are 4-3 in MAC play.  They have lost 2 out of 3 since Campbell went out.  And, you'd think BG might have had a shot given that, at home, but with the suspensions that looks a lot more difficult.

On the other hand, if you read the book on the '84 hockey team you see that Coach York suspended half the team before a tournament game and BG won...and got the stools...but, you know, '84 Falcons.

We'll forgo the usual charts, since they describe teams that will more or less not be on the court Saturday.  Let's look at OU without Cambell.

First, OU continues to have some very good players.  PG Jaaron Simmons is now their leading scorer at 13 ppg to go with 6 assists per game.  The latter figure is first in the MAC.  He shoots 43% overall and is not a 3FG threat.  He's a good player.  Some of the numbers also need to be adjusted because he never comes off the court.  He averages 36.6 minutes per game in MAC play.  (Also, like most top players in the MAC, he is a transfer...in this case from Houston).

So G Jordan Dartis scores 12.6 PPG on 49% shooting and 45% from 3FG.  He also plays big minutes with 34 per game.

Their third leading scorer is MSU transfer Kenny Kaminski, scoring an inefficient 10.9 PPG on 37% and 42% shooting.

Fourth leading scorer is Jason Carter, who has moved into the starting lineup with Campbell out.  He's a 6'8" FR who scores 10.6 PPG on 48% shooting with 7 rebounds per game, which is pretty good.  Mike Laster, a 6'5" JR from Cass Tech has also gotten more minutes and had 14 points in the NIU game but was not a factor in the other 2.

OU is second in the MAC in defensive efficiency, so that's where BG is going to have to get some traction.  They force turnovers and are tough to shoot again.  BG will need to do it without its leading scorer and starting PG.  With those four guys, I don't think this game was out of reach, but it is going to be very difficult with a short bench and OU being a pretty good team.