BG Men's Hoops Opponents....where are they now?

Earlham College

Earlham is 5-18, not counting the BG game, which was an exhibition for them.

South Florida (12-14, 3-10 in AAC, RPI 174)

Lost at home to Detroit.  Lost 8 of last 10.  Big win over SMU.

Wisconsin (21-5, 8-5, 4th in Big 10 RPI 6)

 Back on right track.  Won 4 in a row over @Illinois, MSU, Minnesota and @Michigan.

Saint Louis (23-2, 10-0.  1st in A-10 RPI 11)

Only losses to Wisconsin and Wichita State.  Won 17 straight games.

Presbyterian (6-21, 2-10 in Big South, RPI 350)

One of the five worst teams in D1, RPI-wise.  Only 3 D1 wins and the best was over a team with a 239 RPI.

Oral Roberts (13-13, 7-6, RPI 183)

When we last did this review, we thought their RPI was a little high and it was.  Based on their RPI, the win over BG was their 2nd best of the year.

WKU (17-9, 9-4 Sun Belt (2nd place) RPI 140)

This win looks really nice for BG.

Xavier (17-8, 7-5 (3rd in  Big East), RPI 48)

This loss will join several heartbreakers for the Falcons.  Beat Providence and Georgetown, but lost 5 of last 9.

North Dakota (11-13, 8-6. Tied 3rd in Big Sky, RPI 234)

Have lost 3 of their last 5.

Morehead State (18-9, 9-3, T-3 in OVC, RPI 119)

This win--on the road--is BG's best non-conference win.  They have won 7 out of their last 9, with the only losses being to Belmont.

Detroit (12-15, 5-7 T-6 in Horizon RPI 198)

Playing better, won 4 out of last, including winning @Milwaukee and @Valpo.

Wright State 15-13, 7-8 , 4th in Horizon RPI 207)

Big win is @Cleveland State.  Lost 4 of last 6.

Which means....

BG's best non-conference win...Morehead State
Worst non-conference loss...Wright State
Biggest missed opportunity non-conference...Xavier and it isn't close.

MAC Standings...

Monday morning.  Here is how it looks.  WMU is now first based on tie- breakers but Akron still has the best schedule coming home.  I would still expect the top two byes to go to Akron and Toledo, but who can tell.  Yes, BG is 10th...and yes, there is a four-way tie.  Problem is, BG has lost to all 3 of the teams they are tied with.  Get second shots at Miami and Kent, though.  Anyway, BG can still get a home berth, but I'd say they are a slight longshot.

Win over Toledo would be huge.  If BG splits with Miami or Kent, the next tie breaker is how you do against the top teams...so a win over UT would be good.  If things ended today, BG would be heading to DeKalb.

Falcons WIN Close one

The Cardiac Kids were back again in Muncie as the Falcons played a game that once again came down to the final possession, but this time Ball State was unable to get a shot off, no foul was called and BG had pulled out a badly needed victory.

Yes, Ball State is not very good.  Yes, it was a struggle.  BG is in no position to be picky.  They badly needed a win and got it.  They remain in 10th place, however, and play at home against Toledo Thursday and then @Miami on Sunday.

BG got out to another fast start, leading 8-0, but a couple minutes later the Cardinals had the lead down to 3.  Still, BG was controlling the play, leading by 10 with about 8 minutes left.  From there Ball State took control again, getting the lead down to 3 points with about 4 minutes left and 2 with 2:21 left.  At the half, BG led by 4.

The second half was closely contested the entire way.  BG led for the first 8 minutes of the half, but always by 5 or less.  Ball State took the lead with 11 minutes left and popped the lead to 5 with 8 minutes left. You really start to worry at this point.  I heard Charlie Coles once say that you don't want to play a desperate team at home, because they will do anything to win (he was describing the Cole Magner game), and that was how it was starting to feel.

Ball State led until there were 3 minutes left, when Holmes nailed a 3 to tie the game.  The teams traded layups and then went into a pretty stagnant offensive period.  With 1:20 left, Ball State's FR PG Zavier Turner made a ridiculous 3FG to put the Falcons down 3.  Things were looking bad again.

As it turned out--and in perhaps a triumph of justice or karma or good defense--Ball State would not score again.

BG rallied though.  Parker was fouled and made both ends and then BG got a stop and Clarke fed Henderson for a layup and BG was up 1 with :44 left.  From there on in, it wasn't pretty.

Ball State missed a shot, Majok got the board but BG fouled him trying to strip the ball.  He missed the front end of a 1-1.

Richaun Holmes was fouled.  Missed the shot (still just in bonus).  Ball State comes down.  Turner (the PG) is only 5'9" and he drove right into the middle of the big guys, had nowhere to go with the ball, and Holmes blocked the shot and was fouled.

BG still up 1, :04 left.  He made the first and missed the second and then Turner came down and launched a 3FG where he was mostly worried about trying to lean in and draw contact, he did not get bailed out and BG had the win.

College Basketball

We had noted that Ball State is one of the worst defensive teams in the country.  For all that, they were well above their average against the Falcons.  Their MAC average was .89 points per possession and they got .95 against the Falcons.  Their defense has struggled, though, and while BG did not have a great offensive game, their .99 points per possession is above their average as well.

The big difference for Ball State was 3FG shooting. Their overall % was only 39%, which is pretty bad.  I had noted pre-game that they liked to shoot the 3FG but were not accurate.  Yesterday, they were.  They made 10 of 21 from beyond the arc while BG was 2 of 9.  So, you have 8 more 3FGs which is 24 points.

Free throws were exactly even, however.  We had also noted that Ball State is a terrible team for turnovers, and while they were a little below their average---23% as opposed to 27%--BG was very good and those extra possessions made a big difference.

Ball State had 10 3s and they only had 13 2s.    They shot only 34% on 2FGs while BG shot 47%.

College Basketball Stats

Individually, Spencer Parker had 22 for BG on 9 of 14 shooting and 4 of 5 at the line.  Also, only 1 turnover, so a very solid game for Parker.  Richaun Holmes also came out of a slump, scoring 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting and added 11 rebounds.  Jehvon Clarke had a tough night...11 points, 5 of 15 shooting...6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, but 6 turnovers.  Cam Black had 12 rebounds.

BG is now 5-7 in the MAC and remains in 10th place, based on tiebreakers.  However, three other teams have the same record so BG is still competitive for a home court berth.  Downside is that BG has lost to all three of them, so tiebreakers are not pretty.

Next up is UT, late on Thursday.  They were smoked by EMU on Saturday...not exactly the lead-in I would have hoped for.  Still, BG was competitive with them at Savage and now that the game is being played down at the Stroh, so perhaps BG can pull what would be a pretty major upset.

Rock Bottom in Muncie

BG heads into Worthern Arena today to play Ball State.  When they will do, they will be playing a team that is simply have a nightmare season.   Say what you want about our current regime...we have not been subjected to a year like this.

Ball State is 4-18.  They are 2-18 in D1 games.  They are 1-10 in the MAC and 1-5 on their home floor in conference.  Their RPI is 285.  Their BPI is 291.  There are 351 teams.

Just a very long season for a school with a great basketball tradition.  They made at least a couple bad coaching decisions and they are paying the price.  I think they have a coach who will turn it around, but they are paying the price this year.

Before we get too crazy, BG has lost 5 of its last 6 games.  As I mentioned after the Kent game, the unnerving thought it that while BG looks at Ball State as a team they should beat, Ball State looks at BG coming to town as a chance for a much needed win.

Here in a nutshell is what we have going on.  These are conference only stats.  Ball State is last in the MAC in offensive efficiency and 347th in the country.  This is a team that struggles mightily to score.  Sometimes we see that in a team that plays lock down defense.  This is not the case.  Ball State is 11th in the MAC in defensive efficiency.  Look, this is what you expect...a 1-10 team is going to score less than its opponents, by definition.

Here is how that happens.  First, they struggle to make shots--worse than BG.  They are 10th in the MAC.  Combine that with the truly shocking number, which is turnover%.  That rate is worst in the MAC and the 2nd worst in the entire country.  Those are the two most factors--so when you cough up that many possessions right out of the gate and then struggle to make the shot when you get the chance.  Offensive rebounding and getting to the line are average.

They are a decent free throw shooting team.  One last note.  They are 5th in the MAC in attempting 3FGs but 11th in percentage.

On defense they are 8th in the MAC in terms of EFG% defense.  They don't force many turnovers (last in the MAC).  They do a good job on the offensive boards and give up a bunch of FTs.  They are 10th in fouls and 12th in FT Rate.

Their leading scorer is 6'4" Sr. Chris Bond.  He is scoring 13 a game on 45% shooting and 6 rebounds a game.  Their second-leading scorer is 5'9" FR Zavier Turner, who is scoring an inefficient 11.6 ppg (36% shooting) with 2.6 assists over 4.3 turnovers.  He is also their best 3-FG shooter.

Their best player is Majok Majok.  He is scoring 10.8 PPG on 53% shooting and getting 9 rebounds a game.  That's 3rd in the MAC.

This is the 3rd youngest team in the MAC, based on minutes played by class.

Anyway, this is a program that is in the very depths.  BG has been losing, but ever so close to winning.  You'd like to see them pick up this win, but it is far from certain.

MAC Standings

So here are the updated MAC standings.  As you can see, BG is in 10th.  Still just one game out of 7th, though and most of the teams have 3 home games left.  Still a shot for BG to get home court.  BG can start with a win Saturday against the worst team in the MAC...let's try not to let this one come down to the last shot, and if it does, hope it is our guy making it.

Looking around, because of the home/road thing, Akron is still dangerous and a favorite for the other bye.  OU needs to get moving to climb into that top group.  NIU and Miami are both surprising...EMU and OU maybe disappointing.

Falcons Lose 2nd Straight Heart-Breaker

Another night in what is turning into a long season...BG lost their 2nd straight buzzer beater and this one was even more heart-wrenching than the first one.

Look, the Akron thing was a different story.  BG had been down most of the game and even if Diggs doesn't make that shot the game is still going into OT, and you don't know but you figure BG has at best a 50/50 shot.  The game was far from won if he missed that shot.

Last night was different.  BG had led the entire way.  Kent's biggest lead of the game was 1 point.  And, if Kent doesn't nail that 3, BG wins. In fact, if they just hold him to a deuce there's an overtime on the way.  BG had already stopped them once with a Black blocked shot...so BG had to defend the basket for 3 seconds.  And, Kent did not have a timeout to set up a play.

Nonetheless, they found their shooter and he was open and he drained a buzzer beater off the inbound pass and BG had another brutal defeat.

This one was different.  You needed to get this one.  You had it most of the way and you needed to defend for 3 seconds and Kent made the play.

BG has now lost 5 out of 6 after the back to back wins over WMU and OU and is now in 10th place in the MAC.

NCAA Basketball

It was an up and down gain.  Senderhoff decided to bench his starters at the beginning of the game and was rewarded by seeing the Falcons rip off a 13-0 run to open the game.  He put the starters back in again and with 8 minutes left in the half Kent had the lead.  Things switched back again and BG went on a 13-4 run to end the half (about 6 minutes) and lead by 8 at the break.

BG punched the lead up to 11 early in the half, but Kent scored 10 straight in just over 2 minutes to make it close.  The remainder of the half was closely contested.  BG led by 5 with 4 minutes left, but Kent closed on an 11-5 run to win the game, including the sequence mentioned above.

It is difficult for a game to have closer stats than this one did.  It was not a pretty contest.  Both teams had 19 turnovers (27.5% of possessions) which is awful.  BG had .88 points per possession and Kent .9, both of which are borderline stagnant.  Nobody got to the line very much--in fact, Kent had 19 fouls and BG only netted 11 free throws.  Offensive rebounds were even as well.

The difference was shooting.  BG shot better than Kent--46.3% to 39.7%.  However, Kent had 22 3FG attempts, which are riskier shots, and they made 41% of them, which is a lot.  In total, the difference in the game was Kent making 9 3FGs and BG making 4.

College Basketball

Individually, the story of the game was Kent native Cam Black, who had a career night.  He scored 18 points on 9 of 11 shooting, added 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks, including the last second block that set up the final sequence.

Jehvon Clarke also had 18 points on 7 of 16 shooting, which is reasonable, and he added six assists over 1 turnover.  Anthony Henderson had 12 points on 4 of 10 shooting, 8 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Besides Black, BG's inside game struggled.  Spencer Parker had 7 points on 2 of 6 shooting and 5 turnovers, and Richaun Holmes had a season-low 4 points and took only 5 shots.  After 12 straight games in double figure for scoring, he has now been in single digits in 3 of the last 6 (during which time BG is 1-5).  I know teams are focusing on him, and I think Clarke and Henderson have produced as a result.

So, that is the story of a disappointing loss for the Falcons.  They play at Ball State on Saturday.  The Cardinals are 1-10 in the MAC and 4-18 overall.  Two of those 4 wins are non D1 wins.  You have to think that this is one you could win.  Problem is, that's exactly what they think when they see us coming.

Faded Flashes

Time was when Kent was the MAC's most consistent and effective program.  Year after year, coach after coach...it didn't seem to matter.  20-win seasons just piled up.

When Geno Ford left for Bradley, they elevated Rob Senderoff to the main job.  He was a Kelvin Sampson at IU refugee and you kind of wondered if they might have warn the magic out and this year, they might really have done it.

They are 12-11 and 3-7 in the MAC and that is against a pretty soft schedule.  Their best win was @Temple (RPI 177) but they are down this year.  They have lost 6 of their last 7 in the MAC.  The win in that streak was against Akron (which BG did not do).  They lost at home to NIU (as BG did) as well as to WMU.

Normally, the MACC has been an impenetrable fortress.  This year, not so much.  They are 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the MAC at home.

Here is the basic layout.  As you can see, in MAC play Kent has struggled as much as BG has, and they are worse defensively.  In their last 6 losses, they have allowed more than 70 points in 5 of them.  This is a good opportunity for BG to get back into the defensive swing of things and continue to have some success on offense.

Here is the Kent offense.  As you can see, they are below average from the shot, average on turnovers, and poor on offensive rebounds (10th in MAC) and free throw rate (also 10th).  Not only do they not get to the line but they are shooting 65% which is not good.  All that adds up to a struggling attack.  You look for the gaps...so Kent has been poor at offensive rebounds BG has been poor on preventing them and then the same on free throws, so those are the areas where it will be interesting to see what happens.

Their biggest issue with shooting is that they are 2nd in the MAC in 3FGs attempted and they are 10th in 3FG made.  This is taken into account for their effective FG%, but they are jacking the shots up and missing more than normal.  Obviously, if that changes they are capable of getting a big number.

On the other side, Kent is average defending the shot and at getting turnovers.  They do allow a lot of offensive rebounds and they are last in the MAC in allowing FTs (by rate).  Kent is committing 22 fouls a game in MAC play.  In most cases, BG's offensive numbers are pretty similar to their defense, except for the free throws.  BG will need to exploit this and get to the line.  The game could very well come down to a FT shooting contest.

Individually, they are led by 3 players who are pretty even in scoring.  Kris Brewer is scoring an inefficient 11.7 PPG (34% shooting and 20% on 3s and shoots 4 a game).  Darren Good is the second guy, scoring 10.8 on 48% shooting.  He also leads the team with 4.4 rebounds, which is not very many.  The third guy is CMU transfer Derek Jackson at 9.8 on 37% shooting and 33% from beyond the arc--almost 5 attempts per game.

Two other guys of note.  Mark Hemminger is their big guy, with 5 points and 5 rebounds.  And Devareaux Manley is their highest volume 3FG shooter with 58 attempts, but he is only making 31%.

Obviously, Kent has to be the favorite at home, but if BG plays as they are capable of, this is an entirely winnable game.  After a couple tough losses to good teams, it would be great to see the Falcons steal a road win and get back on the right track.  This is a winnable matchup for the Falcons.