Buffalo destorys BG MBB

There's not too much to say or write about it.  Buffalo is just a much better team than BG is and they showed it with a total dismantling of the Falcons at the Stroh--much worse than the game played in Buffalo in fact.  So BG is either the 8th or 9th best team in the MAC this year and UB is #1 and that's how good you have to get.  Their execution is great, they stifled the Falcons' offense, they run the ball and they make open shots.  They are big, physical and athletic.  They are much better and it shows.

They scored 1.39 points per possession.  UT had 1.44 in that game and NIU had 1.39. Those are the 3 worst defensive games BG has played this year.  Thing is, in both the UT and UB case, it could have been much worse.  I shudder to think what their PPP was heading into the 4 minute timeout.

They shot 68% on 2FGs and 39% on 3FGs.  They also hardly turned the ball over at all.  That's a team that just sliced BG up.  So many layups.  Oh and to top it off, they had a pretty good game on the offensive boards.

Meanwhile, BG was inconsistent at best on offense.  They had .97 points per possession.  BG shot awfully...43% on their 2FGs and 21% on 2FGs.  As Todd Walker pointed out after the game, in the 5-game losing streak BG is 23-102 from beyond the arc.  BG had a decent game with turnovers, good on the boards and did get to the line a lot, but all that couldn't overcome the poor shooting.

Justin Turner had 21 points on a tough 6 of 17 shooting night.  Demajeo Wiggins had 15 and 10 in only 25 minutes of play.  He made 9 of 11 FTs.  UB heavily concentrated on the post.  No other player had 10 points.

Rod Caldwell played 24 minutes, his most since the first Kent game.  His minutes have been less since he missed that game with an injury, so I am not sure if he is 100% healthy.  Anyway, he had a good game with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 TO. 

If you wonder if BG is a little worn out right now (and I do wonder that), you also have to look at the player rotation.  BG has tightened the rotation more and more as the season has gone on.  Plowden played 1 minutes and Cummings 4 minutes last night.

Joniya Gadson got 12 minutes in, his most since the ODU game.  He didn't produce much, but I think Coach was frustrated with our interior defense.  Wiggins is a scorer and a rebounder, but there's no rim protection going on.

So, the WMU-CMU game will take place at Northwood College in an empty gym at 11 AM.  If CMU wins, BG heads up to Mt. Pleasant Monday.  If WMU wins, then OU travels to BG on Monday.

It has been a disappointing end to a season that a month ago appeared to be well ahead of what was expected.  I wouldn't lose sight of the big picture, even while sharing the disappointment.  Almost everyone is back and a new recruit will be added in.  The key is player development.  There's a saying that the biggest improvement is after the freshman year, and BG needs to make that happen.  More to come when the season's over.