Victory in Muncie

 And now it's two in a row, as BG beat Ball State in Muncie.  It's the first two-game winning streak since the two CMU wins created a five-game winning streak which was broken only by losing to...well...Ball State.

The first half was very competitive.  No one led by more than 6 points, there were 13 lead changes and Ball State led by 1 point at the break.

The second half belonged to the Falcons.  BG took the lead with 17 minutes left and led the remainder of the way.  Even then, the game was close, with BG only leading by 4 with 7:42 left.  BG went on a 12-0 run over the next 3 minutes, leading by 16 with 4:40 or so left.  There were 6 points for Matheny and 4 for Turner on the run, while Ball State had four turnovers and a player ejected over the same period.

From there BG ran the game out and took the victory, 75-62.

It was a nice win, and just what the doctor ordered coming off the Rocket win.  To be sure, Ball State is struggling this year, but this was a solid road win.

It was also different from the UT win.  That was a game where BG outscored UT, which had average offense. 

BG was actually outshot "a fair piece" as my Grandpa would say, yet still outscored the Cards. BG finished with 1.05 points per possession and held Ball State to .87 points per possession.  The key difference was turnovers.  Ball State had more than twice as many turnovers as BG, and those lost possessions more than evened out the shooting difference.

It was the most turnovers by a BG opponent since 2017 (Miami).

Coach said BG had looked at tape from the first game and found a place where Ball State could be trapped.  There was also full-court pressure, and while only 9 of the 23 turnovers were steals, Ball State did seem to have their rhythm disrupted.

BG also had an advantage in rebounding and was +5 at the line.  Ball State did not shoot a FT in the second half (and made only one 3FG).

Justin Turner led BG with a very efficient 27 points, making 9 of 12 on 2FG and 2 of 5 on 3FG.  Add 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 turnovers to that total.  Kaden Matheny had a game.  He made 3 of 4 on 2FG and 4 of 9 on 3FG for 21 points, 2 assists and 0 turnovers.  Daeqwon Plowden had a rougher night, with 11 points on 5-11/0-2 shooting and 4 turnovers.  Caleb Fields had 10 rebounds and Fulcher notched 7.

The schedule has filled out a little since the game ended.  BG is off for a week, plays EMU next Tuesday, Akron a week from Friday, Miami the Tuesday after that and OU the last Saturday. 

COVID-pending, of course.  BG remains in six, but is in a much more solid position than two games ago.  If the tournament started today, BG would open with Kent.

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