Rough Afternoon at the Stroh for MBB

 It is tough to imagine a rougher start for BG's MBB team.  They are now 2-4 and on a 4-game losing streak where no game was closer than 9.

I talked about Southern Indiana in the preview.  This is a decent team, would be competitive in the MAC etc.  I just didn't want people to think that it was a walk-over.

Having said that...big picture, our program should have a team that beats them in our arena.  That this team lost to them was not a surprise, but we should have a team that beats Southern Indiana at home.

The first half wasn't too bad.  BG led for 11 minutes and trailed by 3 at the break, with the Falcon's largest lead at 7.

USI bolted out on an 11-4 run to build the lead to 10.  From there, it was never close again. BG got it to 7 once but most of the time it wavered between 8 and 12 points and BG never made a serious run at the Screaming Eagles.

It was a tough watch.  BG scored .8 points per possession, which was what they did against OSU this year.   Since 2002, BG has won once when scoring at this level. (2013, EMU).  It is BG's worst offensive game in the losing streak, during which we have been at our below 1 point per possession in each game.

BG shot the ball terribly. They took 40% of their shots from 3FG and made 29%--their best 3FG shooting game during the losing streak.  They made 39% from 2FG, worst of the season.  Then, add in a poor turnover game, below average offensive rebounding and not getting to the line much and then only making 62%, and you have a terrible offensive performance.

We are #243 out of 357 in offensive efficiency.  We are #306 in shooting, with #274 in 2FG and #295 in 3FG. We are #319 in getting to the line.  All of which are no surprise.

USI didn't have a great game, at .97 points per possession.  They outshot BG by a lot and made 47% of their 2FGs, which while not great was good enough.  THey also took better care of the ball, neutralized rebounding and FTs ended even.

Chandler Turner led BG with 12 points. He was 2 of 5 from 2FG and 2 of 4 from 3FG.  He also added 7 rebounds. Sam Towns had 10 on 5 of 6 shooting and 5 rebounds in a head-scratching 24 minutes. Ayers had 10 on 3 of 7 and 1 of 4 shooting.

Agee, who had been starting, had 7 rebounds in 14 minutes but missed all 6 of his shots. Curtis and Metheny struggled with their shots as well.

Just a rough effort.  BG just doesn't seem to have enough good players and lacks a strategy for putting them in a position to succeed.  Let's hope things improve or it will be a long season.