Big Game! MBB plays CMU.

The two biggest surprise teams in the MAC will go head to head at the Stroh on Saturday.

BG was picked 6th and they are in 4th.  CMU was picked absolutely LAST and they are #3.

Should be a good one.

CMU made the tournament last in 2003--when coached by one-time Falcon Jay Smith.  They had Chris Kaman, a 7'0" giant who played 13 years in the NBA.  After Smith, they brought Ernie Zeigler in, along with his 5-star recruit son Trey. Keno Davis coached for 9 seasons and now Tony Barbee is in his 3rd year.

Since 2003, CMU has only had 4 winning seasons in MAC play.  (You can't judge by their overall record because under Davis, CMU played four NAIA teams per year.

They lost their MAC opener to Buffalo in Mt. Pleasant, UB's only D1 win this year. Since then, they have won 7 of 8, winning @BSU, @EMU, KSU, UT, MU, @NIU and CMU.  Their only loss was @OU.

The teams have split the last 10, with BG winning 3 of the last 5. They split the games last year, each team winning on the road.

Key note is that their leading scorer, Anthony Pritchard, and Markus Harding, their third-leading scorer, were both injured in the last game, a 2-OT win over NIU.  We will have to see if they play.  It's a different game if they don't.

So what has improved for the Chips?  It's a remarkable story.  Kevin Miller transferred from last year's team and is at Wake Forest.  Jesse Zarzuela went to Oregon.  MAC FOY Reggie Bass went to Kent.

They were terrible last year, finishing #343 in the nation based on kenpom. They were the worst offensive team in the MAC and one of the 12 worst in the country.  They were last in the MAC in shooting and turnovers.  The defense wasn't much better, #9 in the MAC. 

This year, the offense is better....up to #9 in the MAC...but the defense is elite, #2 in the MAC overall.

To see how that plays out, you have a poor offensive team against a poor defensive team, and a good offensive team against a very good defensive team.  Makes for an interesting game.

CMU has really improved on turnovers, moving up to #4 in the MAC.  The rest is poor. They take a low amount of 3FGs.  They are #7 on 2FG shooting and #10 from 3FG, leaving them #10 in #EFG.  They are 8th on offensive rebounding and #9 in getting to the line.  Most of these are pretty similar to BG's defense, except for field goal shooting.  If they start to make shots, we have a problem.

Here things are more interesting.  CMU is the toughest team to shoot against in the MAC, with 27% from 3FG and 47% from 3FG. They don't force a lot of turnovers, but they are really good on the defensive boards and keeping teams off the line.  BG faced something similar at BSU and they will need to excel again on the boards, especially if there are a lot of missed shots.

Anthony Pritchard is their leading scorer at 16.6 PPG, at 54% 2FG shooting and 21% 3FG shooting. He also averages 5.1 RPG and about 2 steals a game and 41 assists.  He's a transfer from Tulsa.  He was last seen with an ice pack on his shoulder.

Brian Taylor is the 2nd leading scorer.  He's scoring 12.3 PPG on 56% and 18% shooting.  Has missed all 14 3FGs in MAC play.  He also leads the team with 8.4 RPG. 

Their 3rd leading scorer is Markus Harding at 11 PPG.  He has missed all 14 of his 3FGs in MAC play. Watch out for Aidan Rubio, the 2nd best 3FG shooter in the MAC.  Had an offer from Southern Utah.

So one we go.  Should be a very interesting game.  BG needs to defend home court.