BG thrilled their fans last night with a quarterfinal win over Ball State. Coupled with UT's defeat, there's a clear path to the finals and I think the nation is pretty excited.
A couple thoughts about the game.
First, it was the fastest pace game BG has played all year at 82 possessions.
So, when you see that Ball State scored 86, you have to take that in context. At 1.05 points per possession, it was BG's best defensive game since the Akron win.
That was better in the 2nd half, when BG held the Cards to 35 points.
Meanwhile, BG shot the lights out. It was their best offensive game and shooting game since the NIU game in DeKalb. Had BG shot free throws even marginally well they would have broken 100.
I don't know if BG's strategy to winning the tournament is to run and gun. We shall see.
Both teams had a significant player missing. KJ Walton was injured in the first half, missed time and never seemed like himself. Meanwhile, Justin Turner had 2 fouls, missed most of the first half and finished with 10 points and BG still scored 99.
Side note. When it comes to playing guys with 2 fouls in the first half, Coach Huger is one of the most conservative in the country. Of the 351 coaches, only about 40 are more conservative.
Demajeo Wiggins had his best game in a while. He tied his season high in points with 22 and had 11 rebounds. He made 9 of 11 shots. First time around, he struggled with Ball State, so it was great to see him step up and play the game we need him to.
Dylan Frye, who has really struggled, had his best game in a while, scoring 20 on 5 of 7 and 2 of 3 shooting. Raise your hand if you expected Frye to score 20 with only 3 3FGA. Me either.
Anyway, it wasn't perfect but it was good enough and there's only two things in tournament basketball...survive or don't survive.
NIU is next in the late game tonight. They shocked Toledo last night....check out the video of the post-game presser if you want to see David Briggs get ALL THE WAY under Kowalcyk's skin.
BG played NIU once this year, beating them by 20 in DeKalb on a game where all the shots went in the basket. After the UT win, Coach Montgomery noted the difference in his team over the last few games, when they are 5-1. Those were all MAC West games except for the OU tournament game on Monday. They beat CMU and Ball State on the road and then OU and UT in the tournament.
Obviously, we all know BG can't sleep on anyone. Hopefully, the situation itself will keep that from happening. NIU is going to be riding some momentum, to be sure. On the other hand, it doesn't get easier. Eugene German--who would have been on my All-MAC first team--had a big night against UT, making some (in Kowalcyk's words) "unguardable" shots. Levi Bradley had a good game against UT and has been playing well through this run for the Huskies.
Tempo will be key. NIU plays at the 11th ranked pace in the MAC. If BG can force misses and get the tempo going, I think they should be able to get this one. If BG plays with energy and tenacity, I think they should get this one. Even as relieved (let's be honest) as we are not to be playing UT, the Huskies are playing well and are not the same team we saw in February. We don't want to fall victim to the same thing UT did.
Survive and advance.
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