Last 10 minutes Doom Falcons in Shadow of Dome

So, just some quick notes on the BG-Notre Dame game, which I only saw out of the corner of my eye.

BG kept the game within reach for the first 30 minutes or so.  The Irish lead was only 2 at the half and BG actually led by 1 point with about 11 minutes left to play. It was tied at 61 with 10 minutes left.  From there, the laughter turned to sadness, as the Irish closed the game on a 21-5 run to win going away.  Anytime you score 10 points in five minutes, you are going to have a hard time winning.

The game unfolded as exactly expected. The game was played slow, like the Irish like it...at 66 possessions.  BG played only one game slower than that last year. And the Irish played highly efficient offense.  Remember, we are talking 82 points on 66 possessions, which is 1.24 per possession, almost always a winning number. 

BG had an average (by the national average, not their average) night at 1 point per possession.

As you can see, ND had a lethal combo.  They shot very well and they took very good care of the ball.  Very hard to lose when things look this way.  Almost two-thirds of their field goals were 2FGs and they made 67% of those and then made a respectable 35% on 3FGS.  They also made 13 of 16 from the line.

As for BG, they made a season high 51% on 2FGs but continued to struggle from 3FG, making 29%.  Meanwhile, BG lost the turnovers, did not get anything going on the offensive boards and was -5 at the line.

Individually, the first thing is that Sam Towns started ahead of Rashaun Agee.  Curtis led BG was 14 points on 2 of 5 2FG shooting and 2 of 4 from 3FG.  He had 1 assist and 5 turnovers.  Agee came of the bench for 13 in 21 minutes, making 5 of 10 and 0 of 2 and adding 9 rebounds.  Ayers III also had 13, on 6 of 12 and 0-2 shooting.

Notre Dame played their starters 92% of the game.

If it seems like BG isn't getting very many assists, that would be true.  On average in the NCAA, there are assists on 50% of FGs.  BG is at 40%, which is #333 in the country.

So, next up is Southern Indiana.  They lost to ND by 12 and the Bonnies by 14.  Saturday's game has been moved to 4 to give people a chance to watch OSU-MICH and still make it to the game.