Falcon MBB Gets First P4 win in 20 years

Well, now.  How about that?  It was a great night to be a Falcon...as BG went on the road to a P4 opponent, double-digit underdog, and led wire-to-wire to beat the Wildcats by 16 on the road.  It was a great performance by our boys that is turning some heads.

The last P4 win was much different.  BG beat Virginia Tech when a Hokie tipped the ball into his own basket in a last second melee at the rim.  Pre-replay, Coach Dakich debuted his strategy of dealing with the close call by getting his team off the floor quickly...which came back to haunt in the even more famous overtime loss in Buffalo years later.  Note:  That team finished 9-21

It was one of those nights.  We showed what we can do.  BG scored the first 5 points and led the entire way. With 8 minutes left, they were up 7. With 5 minutes left, K-State cut the lead to 2, but the Falcons closed on a 16-4 run to lead by 14 heading into the locker room.

That's 49-35, I might add.  The Falcons had 49 first-half points.  

The game was stable early in the second.  BG had the lead to 17 before the first media timeout. K-State hung tough, chipped it to 11, and it stayed in that neighborhood, and then the Wildcats got it to 8 with 8 minutes left, and you figure they are ready to make their run.

But that's not what happened.  BG turned them back.  It never got that close again, and heading into the last media timeout BG was up 11.  And they did what good teams do...they kept extending the lead until it was 17 points with about a minute left and the game was dribbled out.  K-State quit fouling and it was over.  82-66.

It was amazing, if not for nothing else, it was so easy.  Even when K-State pressed, BG handled it with poise every time.  How many times has BG wilted in the last 10 years under pressure?

So how did the game get won?  BG had 1.28 points per possession, their best offensive game of the year.  Since the horrible shooting game against W&M, BG's EFG has been right in the .55 range...solid and effective.  BG made .44 on 2FG and 46% on 3FG, with 41% of their shots from 3FG. This time, BG got the turnovers back under control and continued to have outstanding offensive rebounding.  And BG made 74% of their free throws.

Meanwhile, Kansas State came in #3 in the nation in 3FG%...and made 26% against the Falcons.  Their 2FG shooting was 48%, also not great.  They had a slight lead in turnovers, got a lot of offensive rebounds, and got to the line, though they were 12-22 for 55%.

This is the first game BG has won without forcing over 20% turnovers. 

Coach said they focused hard on guarding the 3FG line, and it certainly showed.  

Individually.....hey Sam Towns!!  Take a bow. Career night, 27 points, 6 of 9 2FG shooting, 3 of 5 3FG shooting, 6-6 at the line, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers...if that might work for you.  In fact, he was "line o' the night" on kempom.

Javon Ruffin is really looking solid...17 on 0 of 3 and 5 of 8 shooting, 2-2 at the line, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  Javonte Campbell had 17 on 5 of 9 and 1 of 2, 4 of 7 at the line, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 turnovers.  He's adapting well to an offense where he isn't the only guy to shoot.  Troy Glover had 8 boards...and man if he converted a zero-footer here and there?

Marcus Johnson played 2 minutes against his old team, as a kind of gift it appears.

Excitement is gathering.  We ran a very tight 7-man rotation last night and this team just seems to gel.  We don't even mention Justin Thomas, who doesn't generate numbers but might be the best player on the team.

Last night was very exciting and a great accomplishment for our team.  Our Kenpom jumped 30 sports to 108.  Our game with Utah Valley--kenpom of 90--will be very interesting Saturday and a good opportunity to see the team play.