MBB Preview: The Road to Mt. Pleasant

In 2003, CMU was led by 7'0" Chris Kamen and coached by one-time BG player Jay Smith...and they won the MAC and made the NCAAs.  In the 20 years since, they have finished over .500 only 3 times.  They ran through Smith, Ernie "Trey is my kid" Zeigler (a former BG assistant), and then an ill-advised 9 years (can you believe it was that long) Keno Davis run.

They brought in Tony Barbee, a Calipari guy--as a player and assistant--and took UTEP to the NCAAs before a not-so-great time at Auburn, with point-shaving and rampant dismissals and transfers of players...on top of a 40% winning %.  He went back to being an assistant at Kentucky.

In his second year, he is 6-16 in MAC play.

Blue Ribbon picked them 8th this year and 10th in the official poll.  They are currently 2-4 in MAC play and 5-12 overall in D1 games.  They did pick up a marquee win over UM at Crisler.  They beat Miami and Buffalo at home, lost at home to Akron, and lost on the road to EMU, NIU, and OU.

Reminder that to date the MAC is the second-hardest conference to win on the road this year.

The teams are 5-5 over the last 10. BG has won 4 of 6 but has lost and is 2-3 over the last 5 at McGuirk.

They have struggled with injuries.  Pre-season second-team All-MAC Kevin Miller has played only 4 games, Coppin State transfer Jesse Zarzuela has battled injuries, was a big contributor in the UB and UA games, but did not play in their last game. Emil Skyyta, a FR from Finland has also missed most of the season. JUCO Carrington McCaskill also missed their last game.  Going by who has played their minutes, they are one of the youngest teams in the country.

So, we see BG, now 2nd in the MAC in offensive efficiency with a struggling D.  CMU is last in the MAC in offense.  On the other hand, they are playing good defense--so this represents an interesting contrast on both sides.  Seems to me the key will be scoring for BG.

They are 11th in shooting and 12th in turnovers. They are actually pretty good on the defensive boards and they get to the line a lot, 

They are 2nd in the MAC in the percentage of 3FGs attempted. They are 10th at making them and last at 2FGs.  They are also 10th at the line.

To me, this is they key.  CMU is #2 defending the shot and BG is #2 at shooting. The Chips are #4 defending the 3FG and #6 at 2FG.  BG has shown they need to shoot well to win, and you hope it continues on the road.   BG also has to get back to protecting the ball...they are about average at forcing turnovers. They do foul a lot.

Also, one thing they have benefited from.  CMU leads the MAC in lowest FT% against...something that is total luck.

Zarzuela is their leading scorer.  He is scoring 22.7 in MAC games, on 43% and 36% shooting. Brian Taylor is scoring 14.8 PPG and a team-high 8.3 RPG.  At 6'6" he's in his second year at CMU after transferring from Illinois-Chicago. He shoots 47% and 28%. Markus Harding is a 6'10" JUCO and Canadian scoring 12.2 PPG on 59% and 29% shooting and 5.4 RPG.  He plays only 24 minutes per game.

Also, a young man named Max Maejrle is playing 25 minutes a game.  A FR, his dad is named Dan.