MBB Woes Continue

Ouch.  BG's MBB team continued to struggle last night, losing on the road to a team that came in 3-13.  And CMU was in control for much of the game, holding the lead for 22 minutes as opposed to 11 for BG. 

Nine minutes into the game, BG had a 9 point lead, at 23-14.  The lead was still 8 with 8 minutes left and then CMU got back into the game with a 22-8 run to close the half with a 6-point lead.  It was 9 with less than a minute in the half.  BG had 5 turnovers in that 8-minute run.

Coming out in the second half, BG rallied back and had the lead before the first media timeout. It was 51-51 with 11 minutes left and then CMU went on a 10-0 run (3 BG turnovers) to take a 10 point lead with 8 to play.  BG did rally, cutting the lead to 1 with 3:44 to play and then took a 1-point lead with 1:08 to play.

It didn't last as Miller his a layup (what else) to put CMU up 1 with :51 to play. BG missed their shot and fouled the rebounder, who split the pair for a 2-point lead with :33 to play. Turner tied the game back up with :24 to play and had a chance to put BG ahead with the and-one, but he missed the FT. 

So it's a tie game with the shot clock off.  CMU holds the ball for the last shot.  Bissainthe was fouled with :04 left.  He makes them both, BG sets up a desperate play that ends in a turnover and that was it.  CMU won 78-74.

BG had another poor game on defense.  It might not appear so, allowing 1.06 points per possession, which might not appear too bad, but CMU game in scoring .93 points per possession in MAC games.  Meanwhile, BG really struggled on offense, scoring only 1.01, second-worst in MAC play.  BG shot the ball OK but had a terrible night with turnovers--worst in MAC play.  The Falcons were strong on the offensive boards but did not get to the line and when they did they made only 50%.  BG made 40% of its 3FGs, which is good, but 47% of their 2FGs, which is OK but not great.  We simply don't shoot well enough to turn the ball over that much and we are normally a really good FT shooting team.

Meanwhile, CMU outshot BG and had big advantages in turnovers and free throws.  They had an EFG% of 54% against their average of 45%.  They were 16 of 22 at the line.

Myron Gordon had a big night on the offensive end, at least. He scored 24 points on 4 of 6 and 3 of 5 shooting. He was 7 of 9 at the line and had 3 steals.  Plowden had 11 on 5 of 9 and 0 of 3 shooting and 8 rebounds.  Diggs continued to struggle with his shot but had 9 rebounds.  Curtis had 4 assists and 5 turnovers.  Joe Reece did not play.

It is rapidly turning into a very disappointing season.  Coach said we have to play a full 40 minutes to win, which is obviously true.  He seems to say that a lot and you just worry it starts to be a systemic problem when it keeps happening.

The biggest issue is defense.  I'll have a post coming on this soon, but this is a historically bad BG defense.

In fairness, BG played down 2 starters--Matheny and Reece, and a reserve in Cam Young.  As an aside, we beat EMU without their leading scorer, so these things go both ways.

Here are the standings.  BG is in 8th, which would earn them the Rockets at the MAC tourney in the first round.  Note that CMU has played 5 fewer games than BG, so a busy month is ahead for them.  

It would certainly appear that 9 wins would get you there, probably 8.  If you look below and figure WMU is not going to make it, that leaves 3 more you need to beat.  Miami, EMU and NIU are all 3-6.  So with 11 left (assume they all get played), they would need to be 6-5 to get to 9 wins.

The question is, does how many wins does BG get.  They have 9 left.  Playing the way they are now, the question is irrelevant because we have seen nothing to indicate the "make Cleveland and get hot scenario" is in the cards. BG has NIU and WMU on the docket--and both at home--so that gets you to 6 wins.  Can you beat BSU and UB at home?  That would be 8.  Can you win @Miami?  That would be 9. Your others games are @KSU, @UA, OU and @UT.

We might make it.  Unless things change, though, it's looking like a first round exit.