OU Preview #2

 And on we go.

The final MBB game at the Stroh for 2022.  Woof.

So, the last game is the OU Bobcats, one of the top 3 teams in the MAC.  OU is 23-6.  Their only losses are to UK and LSU and UT (twice), Kent and Akron.  The home loss to Akron is the only one remotely falling into a bad category.  The only thing they have is an odd propensity to lose big when they do lose...Kentucky by 18, LSU by 15, UT by 18, UT by 15 and Kent by 23.  The UA game was 8, their closest loss.

OU won the first meeting between the two teams at the Convo by 8.  BG never led, but for most of the game the lead was 8 or less and it was 1 inside of 10 minutes, so it was not a blow out.  BG scored 1.07 points per possession and OU had 1.17, a familiar pattern this year.  The game was relatively evenly matched except for OU having a good day on the offensive boards and getting a lot more free throws.

So, since it has been a while, let's look at the comparisons. OU is #4 in the MAC in offense and BG is last in defense and #341 in the country. When BG has the ball, it is a little better matched, with BG #5 in offensive efficiency and OU is #3 in defense.

\

Breaking that down a little, OU is a good at the two key factors.  They are #3 in shooting and #2 in not turning the ball over. BG is the worst team in defending the shot and only #9 in forcing turnovers.  They are not great on the offensive boards but they are good at getting to the line, although they make only 70% of them, which is #10 in the MAC.

They shoot the highest percentage of 3FGs in the MAC.They are #6 in making them and #3 in making 2FGs.

On the other side, they are a really solid defensive team.  They are #4 in defending the shot, but lead the MAC in forcing turnovers, are #2 on the defensive boards and #3 in keeping their opponents off the line. They defend the 3FG really well.  BG is a below-average shooting team and takes decent care of the ball. 

They are led by Mark Sears, the #3 scorer in the MAC at 19.8 PPG.  He plays 36 minutes a game, and shooting 47% from 2FG and 41% from 3FG, the latter of which is really good.  He gets to the line ALL THE TIME.  He has shot 109 FTs, leading among the MAC's top FT shooters, and make 90%. He is also #4 in assists, #5 in steals and gets 6 RPG.  

They have two other really good players.  On is Ben Vander Plas, who scores 14.5 PPG, shooting 65% from 2FG (4th in MAC) and 32% from 3FG.  Overall, he is the #8 shooter in the MAC. He leads the team with 6.9 RPG.  He leads the MAC in steals.

Then there is Jason Carter, the guy who transferred to Xavier and then transferred back. He's scoring 14.2 PPG and getting 5.8 RPG. He's shooting 57% from 2 FG and 30% from 3FG.

They also have Tommy Schmock, who is scoring 9.1 PPG after transferring from Findlay.

This is a really good team that has not really had a bad loss this year.  Whether this is the first, seems unlikely, but who can ever tell.