No Muss, No Fuss in DeKalb

The Falcon MBB team was in DeKalb and needed to take care of business, on the road against a team in the middle of the standings who is playing poorly.  Still, it's on the road and you're in first place and people want to beat you...as NIU did to Buffalo...and it's just something that has to be done.

And it was.  BG was never in danger and controlled the game almost the entire way to cruise to a no-muss, no-fuss victory to remain in first place of the MAC. 

Ten minutes in, BG was up 10.  There was some technical foul nonsense with Sierra and NIU got the lead to 4, but with 5 minutes left it was back up to 9, with 3 minutes left it was back in double digits and with 2 minutes left it was in double digits to stay for the remainder of the game.

BG led by 13 at halftime and did what they have done so well with leads this year, which is to come out hot in the second half, scoring the first five points and popping the lead to 18....a huge psychological blow to a team trying to make a comeback.  BG got the lead as high as 24 before an NIU run got it as low as 12 with about 5 minutes left to play but BG responded with an 8-0 to quash any hopes of a comeback.  The Falcons eventually won 87-67.

BG played great on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, BG had an EFG% of 71%.  That's their best shooting game since 2012 against Morehead State.  They made 60% of the 2FGs, highest against MAC competition this year, and 57% on 3FG, their highest since the double OT win over UT a couple years ago.  We only tried 12 in that game, though.  Anyway, all that shooting helped with a game where BG had more turnovers than usual...as did have a good day on the boards and getting to the line at the highest rate this season as well.

So that's an essentially unloseable performance on offense.

Meanwhile, BG held NIU to .99 points per possession, also a winnable total.  NIU shot 42% EFG, which is 45% on 2FG and 24% on 3FG.  BG did not force many turnovers, but dominated the glass, as expected, and kept the Huskies off the line.  BG was 21 of 32 at the line and NIU was 17 of 18.

So, that's a winning performance on defense as well.

Individually, Justin Turner had a career night.  He scored 34 points on 10 of 14 shooting...3 of 4 from beyond the arc...so that's about as good an offensive game as you can have.  He also made 10 of 14 at the line, adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists. That was the fifth best stat line in the country last night, according to kenpom. 

Dylan Frye scored 13 on 4 of 9 and 2 of 6 shooting, so he cooled off a little.  He had 5 assists over 1 turnover, though, and frankly seems to me to be a calming presence on the floor...great when he needs to push it and strong in halfcourt sets.  He's not a playmaker PG, but he keeps the team organized and distributes the ball.  And, even as a shooter, he doesn't force shots anymore.  He takes what's there.  For my money, he's rounded into a high-quality performer.

Lillard had 10 on 4 of 7 and 2 of 4 shooting.   Marlon Sierra had a highly-efficient 9 off the bench and Fields nailed a couple 3s in key moments.

Wiggins had an interesting line, which is to say he didn't generate any stats.  He scored 8 with 2 FGs and 4 FTs and had only 3 rebounds.  But, Todd Walker mentioned after the game that BG was +16 when Wiggins was in the game, which is really important.  Coach praised his play even without the stats.

On we go.  Akron is next at the Stroh.  Akron is #5 and that's the spot BG has to stay in front of to end up with a bye, so this game remains important.  Beyond that, of course, we can look higher.  BG's in first place and has a shot to win it all, and to do that, they're all vital.