MAC Play Begins...EMU first on Deck for MBB

 So, the MAC year begins.

The Falcons open with EMU at the Stroh.

EMU made big headlines last year when Emoni Bates returned home to Ypsi.  He was 3rd-team All-MAC and then left for the NBA where he plays for the Cavs.  Noah Farrakhan left for WVU as well.

EMU's program is struggling.  For the meat of Rob Murphy's tenure, they were respectable, with kenpom's in the 150s.  They were 16-16 in 2020, but since then are 31-61.  During that one, Stan Heath, an alum, took over, and they have struggled to get going. They were picked 11th by the MAC and Blue Ribbon and are 8th from the pre-MAC play with a kenpom of 303.

They are 7-5 and 5-5 in D1 games. They beat a decent Cleveland State team (163) but all their other wins are teams over 300, including Hampton who BG also beat. They lost to Oakland, who also beat BG, and North Dakota on a neutral floor (287), along with good Butler, Florida Atlantic and Michigan teams.  They needed a stop in the last seconds to win their last game against DII Northwood.

BG has beaten them 9 of the last 10 meetings and 8 straight.  BG won last year's games by 26 and 20 points.  

The Eagles like to play slow--66 possessions per game.  For all the talk about tempo, BG is playing at 69, the national average. As you can see here, EMU struggles on both sides of the ball.  BG is probably not going to turn out to be as good on defense as that looks. However, it doesn't look like they will be getting a big test in this one from the EMU offense.  On the other end, BG has struggled, but as we will see in a minute, this one has the potential to be a good match-up for the Falcons.

On offense, EMU only takes 33% from 3FG (average is 37%).  They are selective but good, making 35%. They are average on 2FGs.  Overall, they shoot well, are average on turnovers and getting to the line and terrible on the offensive boards. As you can see, BG is looking good on defense. BG is defending the shot well, and #42 in the country against the 2FG, which I believe is one of our goals. We don't go for turnovers, but other than that, the BG defense has put up good numbers to date.  It will be interesting to see how that translates.

In Coach Heath's words, EMU was "atrocious" least year defending inside and rebounding.  They are still struggling at that, allowing 56% on 2FGs and 32% on the defensive boards. Other than not fouling, they are not very good at any aspect of defense.  They do defend the 3FG well.  This is a good matchup for BG, which has excelled on 2FGs and struggled from 3FG. 

EMU is led by Tyson Acuff, the leading scorer in the MAC and #5 in the nation.  FWIW, he did not play in the last game against Northwood.  No words on what happened or if he will be available tomorrow. He's pretty efficient, shooting 58% from 2FG and 32% from 3FG.  Also really good at the line and has 15 steals.

He's their only double-figure scorer. Orlando Lovejoy is scoring 9.8, although he has missed most of the season.  He shoots 57% from 2FG. Yusaf Jihad scores 9.3.

They have a 6'7" JUCO transfer named Julius Ellerbe who leads the team with about 5 RPG and also leads in assists. There was a lot of talk about 7'0" Cyril Martynov, a transfer from Georgia Tech. He is averaging 16 minutes a game.

One last question will be BG's health. DJ Smith and Sam Towns haven't played since December 2. Humphrey and Phillip missed the last game.  BG has certainly played well and has yet to play a game where everyone was available.