And the Beat Goes On: BG Romps Over OU

Who would think we would be here right now?

BG beat OU 82-63 last night at the Stroh.  That's the team picked to finish last in the MAC at 2-0 with wins over Kent and OU in the East Division.  Not to be that guy, but it's just a start, but...it is also a start, and you can't have a middle and a finish until you have a start.

A few superlatives from BGSUFalcons.com:

• BG has won six-straight games by double digits for the first time since the 48-49 team.  That team was coached by Harold Anderson, featuring Charlie Share, Mac Otten, and captained by Leo Kubiak.  All played professionally.  (I added the last part).
• The six-game winning streak matches its longest of the Michael Huger Era. 
• The Orange and Brown are 8-0 at home for the first time since 1999-2000. Prior to this season, the Falcons had never started a season 8-0 inside the Stroh Center.
• BGSU has won eight-straight home games by 10-plus points for the first time since 1997. 
• Bowling Green is 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 2014-15. 
• For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Bowling Green has opened Mid-American Conference play with two-straight wins by double digits.
• The 19-point win for Bowling Green marks the program's largest margin of victory over Ohio since a 75-41 triumph on March 8, 2009 at Anderson Arena. The win, which came on the last day of the 2008-09 regular season, clinched a regular-season MAC title for the Falcons.

All right, then.  We're on a good run.

This game was VERY interesting.  Going to spend some time on it.

Here's the thing.  OU came out and was taking it to the Falcons.  Bobcats led 13-4 heading into the first media timeout.  You sort of felt that the same old thing was happening.

What did Coach do?  He took four of the starters straight out of the game.  He put Lillard, Laster, Uju and Sierra in and he took Frye, Wiggins, Plowden and Fields out.  Only Turner stayed in.

And what happened?  Well, six minutes later, when Plowden and Wiggins checked back in, BG was down 21-20, so a 16-8 run for the reserves.  BG up was up 9 with 6 minutes left in the first half, but did not score for the remainder of the half while OU nailed 3 treys in that time to tie the game at halftime.

So, the second half starts tied.  It's a battle.  The first 10 minutes are what you expect of a MAC game...close score, tough possessions, leading by one possession or so.  With 9 minutes or so left, BG was up 3.  Then, the Falcons took the game over.  Lillard 3, Sierra steal from Carter, Lillard 3, BG stop, teams trade stops, Frye 3, BG stop, UJU fastbreak layup.  In 2:30, BG goes 11-0 and up 14.  And, 14 points was as close as it ever got, as BG closed the deal and got the lead as high as 20 and won by 18.

First, the game was played at a slow pace for BG, at 68 possessions per game.  So, you need to filter all the game stats with that knowledge.  BG had a very good offensive game, scoring 1.21 points per possession.  That's second best this year, and BG had that efficiency only one in a MAC game last year.  It isn't hard to tell why.  BG's shooting equalled its shooting against Green Bay for season-best...BG was 57% from 2FG and 48% from 3.  They only shot better in one MAC game last year.

BG held OU to .93 points per possessions, which is a little more than at Kent but a winnable total.  BG is 15-1 over the last two years when opponents score .93 points per possession.  OU had average shooting, with 50% on 2 FG and 35% on 3FG.  Their turnovers weren't too bad.  However, much of their game has been built on offensive rebounds and getting to the line, and you can see here BG allowed neither to happen.  OU shot only 4 FTs, while BG was 9 of 11.

Individually, as noted, this was the night when the reserves ruled the floor, more or less.

Except Justin Turner.  Turner had kind of a quiet 20, 7 of 13 shooting and 2 of 4 from 3FG.  Also 3 assists and 2 steals.

Micheal Laster had 15 points.  He's a JUCO player who really seems to be finding his form at the point.  He shot 5 of 8 and 2 of 2, added 4 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers.  Todd Walker says it is 18 assists over 2 TOs in the last 5 games.

Antwon Lillard is hot.  He scored 13 on 5 of 8 and 3 of 5 shooting.

Dylan Frye also had 13, on 5 of 9 and 2 of 5 shooting.  He had 4 assists and 1 steal over 3 TOs.

Jeffrey Uju played a fantastic game filling in while Wiggins was ineffective.  He had 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting (5 of 5 from 2FG) and a team-high 6 rebounds.

Marlon Sierra didn't do a ton with the numbers, but he also played a huge role in the win.  In the second half, he guarded Jason Carter, who torched BG in the first half.  He had 14 first half points on 5 of 9 shooting and 4 of 4 from beyond the arc.  In the second, he shot 3 of 8 and 1 of 3 and looked exhausted when the game ended.  Exhausted.  That's going to go on tape and I think you will see teams try to make him work like Sierra did, because OU runs through him.  BG outscored them 52-33 in the second half, partly on Sierra's back.

Lastly, Daeqwon Plowden found his way onto ESPN with another poster block...

SHUT. IT. DOWN. 😤 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/HdlIJiH6ph

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 9, 2019

OK. We might have something here. One thing at a time. CMU is next in Mt. Pleasant, at 2-0 in MAC play.