Falcon MBB Appears Set for MAC Opener

 The Falcon MBB team will see the New Year open in Muncie, assuming that nothing happens to derail the game that will now be the MAC opener.  It will be a rare New Year's game....I don't recall another one.  I thought there was a game against Majerus but when I looked back in was on Janaury 2.

Anyway, New Year's Day it will be against Ball State.

The portal was rough on Ball State.  KJ Walton transferred to Akron (and then left the team), Ishmael El-Amin went to Rhode Island, Jarron Coleman went to Missouri and Brachen Hazen was forced to retire due to injury. That's what would have been their top 4 returning scorers.

They were picked #8 in the MAC.  Their current ken pom is 263, their lowest ranking since Whitford's first two years, when they had single-digit wins.

They are 5-6 with 4-6 against D1.  Their best win is UMass (133) on a neutral floor.  Two of their wins are against teams ranked in the 300s.  They lost @Georgia Southern (226) and to #242 FIU on a neutral floor.  They have not lost at home this year.

Last year, we split our two games, each team winning on the road.  BG has won 6 of the last 7 at Worthen.

The Cardinals are a decent offensive team.  They score 1.01 points per possession, a touch above average. What they do is shoot the 3FG well.  We have played some good 3FG%/low volume teams, but this is a good 3FG% team with high volume.  They take 42% of their FGA from 3FG and they make 38%, the latter being #28 in the nation.  They also get to the line a lot--#28 in the country, but don't shoot the FT well.  Their offense comes back to the mean with poor 2FG shooting and offensive rebounding and below average turnovers.

Defense is not a strong suit. They allow 1.09 points per possession, which is #313 in the nation.  They do not defend the shot well...in fact, they are ranked #326 overall and #336 against the 3FG--they allow worse 3FG shooting than the produce.  They don't force turnovers and they give up a ton of FTs...their best stat is being slightly above average on the defensive boards.

Luke Bumbalough is their leading scorer at 12.5 PPG on 40% 3FG shooting.  He also leads the team with about 3.5 APG.  Tyler Cochran is scoring 10.5 PPG on 49% shooting and 5.5 RPG--he transferred from NIU. Freshman Payton Sparks is a guy to keep an eye on....9.5 PPG, 50% shooting at 5.7 RPG.  Came from a super-small HS but was compared to a Zack Randolph type player at 6'9" and 260.  Miryne Thomas also scores 9.5 PPG on 38% 3FG shooting.  

This will be interesting.  The road is always tough, but this is a team that's in the running to be in the final 8 but one you'd like to think a team on the road to a title run would beat.  Let' see how it plays out.