Frack Challenge: Bearcats Come to Town

One of the thing Bill Frack wanted was to make a donation to Falcon men's basketball that would allow BG to bring top level teams to the Stroh, which involves paying them.  Hence, the Bill Frack Challenge, which is the event we look forward to tomorrow.  The UC Bearcats are coming to town.

This is what Bill Frack was looking for.  UC is a signature program, with six straight 20 win seasons.  Last year there were 23-11, and won a game in NCAA Tourney.

It is going to be a difficult day for the Falcons, I suspect. If BG wins, it will be a pretty big upset.  Not only is UC a great program but they are an especially poor match up for BG.

The Bearcats were good last year and they bring back quite a bit.  In fact, all of their starters and 3 reserves return from last year's NCAA team.  Also, they return their Coach, Mick Cronin, who had to take a leave for health reasons.

This year, they were picked to be 3rd in the AAC and have the best front court in the conference, according to Blue Ribbon.

This year, they have 2 easy wins over Western Carolina and Robert Morris.

The front court is the big worry.  That's not BG's strong point and UC has absolute giants inside and my fear is that they feast all day in the paint.

It starts with Octavious Ellis, an AAC POY candidate.  He's 6'10" and 235 (and a senior).  Last year, he averaged 9.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2 blocks which shooting 56%.  (No Bearcat averaged in double figures last year).

He is joined up front by Gary Clark, who is 6'7" and 235, and had 7.8/7.2 last year while shooting 52%.  Those two guys are formidable.  Also, off the bench they bring 6'7" Shaq Thomas and 6'9" 270 Coreontae DeBerry.

In the backcourt, their PG is JR Troy Caupin.  He scored 9.6 and had 6 assists per game and shot 41% from beyond the arc.  He is joined at guard by Fared Cobb, who scores 8.5 PPG but struggles with the shot (38%).

Their stats this season are a little misleading.  The games have been blowouts, so more minutes have gone to bench guys.  Last year they had no double figure scorers partly because of how they apportion minutes.  No player had more than 31 per game and 7 players played more than 20.

If they had an issue last year, it was scoring.  They averaged 1.02 points per possession (national average was an even point).  Their defense was very solid, allowing .9 points per possession.

Again, this will be a tough one for the Falcons.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

25 questions for when a monkey is on your back

What is their body of work?

It's pretty good.  They have been a top-flight program for years and have only failed to get past NIU, who they lost to this year as well.  They have a big win over Arkansas and beat everyone else in sight.  This is a very good team that is in danger of missing out again.  They can make it even if they lose to BG.  Also, their body of work includes five straight wins over BG.  Ignoring it doesn't make it better.



How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

29, which is a lot.

Who are their statistical leaders?

FBS Ranks

8th - Terry Swanson, rush yards per carry
16th - Cody Thompson, yards per reception

What is their turnover ratio?

In MAC play, they are -2, which is actually 11th in the MAC.  They have turned the ball over 10 times in 6 MAC games.

Offense:  (Unless noted all stats are MAC games only)

 How is their QB play?

Phillip Ely is a good but not great MAC QB this year.  He is 6th in pass efficiency.  He has completed only 57% of his passes with 7 picks.  He does average 12.9 per completion, which is good.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are 4th in the MAC in scoring and 3rd in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

This is very much the strength of their team.  They are 3rd in the MAC in yards per carry and 2nd in yards per game.  They have an experienced and outstanding offensive line to support multiple running backs.

Do they pass the ball?

As noted, they are in the middle of the MAC in passing efficiency but 4th in passing yards per game.

How was their run/pass balance?

This is a running team.  They run on 56% of their plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

Second in the MAC, right behind BG.

Do they score in the red zone?

They are absolutely deadly in the red zone, scoring 5.6 points per red zone trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

You could say that.  They have given up only 2 sacks in MAC play this year.

Defense:

In past years, UT had a great offensive team and were not great (or bad) on defense.  This year that are a good/great offensive team but finally have put a defense on the field.

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are 2nd in the MAC in scoring defense (right behind BG).  They are 1st in yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 2nd in the MAC in yards per carry allowed, so they are good against the run.

Can they be passed on?

They are 3rd in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 57.8% completions with 9 TDs and 5 INT.  They allow 10.4 yards per completion.  This is a very different Rocket defense.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are 7th in the MAC in allowed 3rd down conversions.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are very good here, scoring 4.2 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Not really.  They have only 11 sacks so far which is 6th in the MAC.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 8th in net punting.  Shortish punts but almost no return yards.  They have 13 kicks inside the 20 with 1 touchback.  No blocks against.

Punt Return?

They are good.  Corey Jones leads the MAC in punt returns.  He has a 9.9 yard average with a 48 long and no TDs, which means that he has made consistent yardage.  They also have 2 blocks.

Placekicking?

He's just OK.  14 of 21 overall and 11 of 16 inside 40.  Long of 44 for the year and 1 blocked. (all games)

Kickoff?

They start on the 26, with no TDs.  (all games)

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 26 which is typical.  (All games)

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

A few things.

Look, this is rivalry game.  UT has dominated it recently and for much of the year was thought to have the best team in the MAC.  Having said that, BG is probably playing as well right not as UT is.  This is an evenly matched contest that should be very close.

Oh...and UT has won five straight.  Has anyone mentioned that?

BG's game is based on the proposition that no one can stop it.  BG has continued to score, even against the best defenses in the MAC.  Their ability to keep it up will be the key element of the game against the Rockets.

BG has won the East, but I don't think that will be as issue.  Might be in Muncie, but not in this one.  UT badly needs a win.

Oh, and we could do this all over again in a couple weeks.  Enjoy.

Special Teams Research: WMU

Last note on the WMU game.  BG had its 5th straight positive week in special teams at +2.   There were no big plays either way...all one or two point plays.  BG had 3 good punt plays and then added in a touchback and one good kick defense.  WMU also had a good punt game, a couple good kickoff returns and only one negative play.


BG Positive (+6)

BG punt 52 yard net punt (+1)
WMU KOR to 12 (+1)
BG KO TB (+1)
BG punt inside WMU 5 (+2)
BG Punt to WMU 18 (+1)

BG Negative (-4)

Penalty on PR puts BG on 20 (-1)
BG missed PAT (-1)
WMU KOR to 36 (-1)
WMU KOR to 42 (-1)

WMU Positive (+7)

WMU 48 yd FG (+1)
WMU KO TB (+1)
WMU 49 yd net punt before penalty (+1)
WMU KOR to 36 (+1)
WMU 47 yd net punt (+1)
WMU KOR to 42 (+1)
WMU net punt 45 (+1)

WMU Negative (-1)

WMU KOR to 12 (-1)

Past and Future Opponent Land

Tennessee  (6-4) Beat North Texas 24-0
Maryland (2-8) Lost 24-7 to MSU
Memphis (8-2) Lost to Houston
Purdue (2-8) Lost to Northwestern
Buffalo (5-5) Lost to NIU
UMass (2-8) Beat EMU
Akron (5-5) Beat Miami
Kent (3-7) Lost to Ohio
Ohio (6-4) Beat Kent
Toledo (8-1) Beat CMU
Ball State (3-7) Idle

MAC Vs.

All FBS: 12-30
P5: 4-20
Non P5-FBS: 8-10
FCS: 9-0

West leads East, 9-4

Huger Notches W In Coaching Debut

So that's one.

The BG Falcons came out Saturday against New Orleans and certainly showed they were more ready to play than they had been in their exhibition against Notre Dame.  As noted in the preview, New Orleans is a team BG is supposed to beat and they did, 79-61.

Coach Huger said after the game that his parents and 50-60 people from New York came in for the game and surprised him.  He truly seems like a genuine, authentic, nice guy and I look forward to him getting the program ramped up again.  I think he is someone BG fans can get behind.

Stung by a slow start Friday, BG came out fast against the Privateers, bolting to a 14-2 lead in the first five minutes or so.  It was no closer than 6 for the rest of the game.  BG led by 10 at the half and kept the pressure on, never leading by less than 10 and leading by as many as 24.

In the preview, we had identified that shooting was UNO's big struggle, and that was the difference in this game as well.  The Privateers shot only 35% from the field--and pretty much equally poorly in both halves--and were only 4 of 14 from 3FG.  BG shot 45% from the field, though the Falcons also struggled from beyond the arc at 6 of 23.  Rebounds and turnovers were relatively even, and BG had 13 more FT attempts and ended up +10 on free throws.  BG improved on a poor FT shooting night in the exhibition by hitting nearly 70% in this game.

Overall, BG had 1.04 points per possession, which is a very good night but certainly not incredible.  They held UNO to .8 points per possession, which is pretty much unwinnable territory for a team.

Individually, BG got a big game by a guy they can really use this year, which is Rasheed Worrell.  He has been compared to Richaun Holmes on his arrival at BG...a raw talent who can turn into a player.  He certainly showed some athletic ability Saturday, scoring 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting and grabbing 7 rebounds in 24 minutes of play.

BG's second leading scorer was another newcomer, Wes Alcegaire, who had 14 points.  His were a little less efficient at 5 of 12 shooting and 1 of 5 from 3FG.    Finally, true FR Antwon Lillard had 13 points off the bench on 4 of 9 shooting.

Zack Denny, in fact, was the only returnee in double figures, with 11 points on 3 of 7 shooting 

Pep Joseph played 22 minutes with 2 assists.  Ismail Ali--the other PG--has 2 assists and 4 turnovers.  

In fact, BG was lead in assists by JD Tisdale with 3...he seemed to be a lot more of a solid player than he was last season.

In terms of rotation, BG started Parker, Worrell, Denny, Joseph and Alcegaire--basically a 3-guard lineup), with Tisdale, Ali, Lillard and Mayleben getting more than 10 minutes off the bench.  Matt Fox played 8 minutes with Hluchoweckyj and Bustuill getting garbage minutes.  Wiggins and Gomez were DNP.

Things get a little tougher on Wednesday as the UC Bearcats come in for the Bill Frack Challenge.  Still, the game was on the schedule to be a win and BG got it done, with most of the scoring production coming from new players. 

New Men's Basketball Rules

As we enter the start of men's basketball in a couple hours, this is a good chance to review the rule changes for this year.  If you want, here is the NCAA's instructional video for the season, which will either be very interesting or 15 minutes of your life you are never going to get back.



Here's a summary of the new rules, copied directly off NCAA.com

The key areas officials will focus on in the upcoming season are:
• Perimeter defense, particularly on the dribbler and strictly enforcing directives established before the 2013-14 season.
• Physicality in post play.
• Screening, particularly moving screens and requiring the screener to be stationary.
• Block/charge plays.
• Allowing greater freedom of movement for players without the ball.

Pace of play

With an eye on reducing inaction, the panel approved several proposals to improve the pace of play. The most significant is reducing the shot clock to 30 seconds. The shot clock was last reduced for the 1993-94 season when it went from 45 seconds to 35.

Teams will also have one fewer team timeout (only three can carry over instead of four) in the second half. Officials will focus more on resuming play quickly after a timeout and will issue a delay-of-game warning when a team does not comply and a one-shot technical foul on subsequent violations.

The rest of the package designed to improve the pace of play includes:
• Adjusting the media timeout procedures to allow a timeout called within 30 seconds of a break (at the 16:30 mark) or at any time after the scheduled media timeout becomes the media timeout.
• Removing the ability for a coach to call timeout when the ball is live.
• Allowing a total of only 10 seconds to advance the ball to the front court (with a few exceptions).
• Reducing the amount of time allotted to replace a disqualified player from 20 to 15 seconds.

Restricted-area arc

The panel also approved the expansion of the restricted-area arc from 3 feet to 4 feet. This arc would be effective in 2015-16 for Division I and 2016-17 for Divisions II and III. Moving the arc a foot farther from the basket is part of a continued focus on reducing the number of collisions at the basket.

Faking fouls

During the use of a video review to see if a possible flagrant foul occurred, the panel approved a rule that would allow officials to penalize players who fake fouls. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee felt that players trying to draw fouls by deception is a growing issue.

Other changes

Other proposals approved by the panel include:
• Allowing officials to use the monitor to review a potential shot clock violation on made field goals throughout the entire game.
• Making Class B technical fouls (hanging on the rim and delaying the resumption of play, for example) one-shot technical fouls. Previously, two shots were granted for these types of technical fouls.
• Eliminating the five-second closely guarded rule while dribbling the ball.
• Removing the prohibition on dunking in pregame warmups and at halftime

Privateer Preview

So, here we go.  The season is ready to start.  BG opens with New Orleans, a team they beat by 30 a couple years ago and who was (I assume) supposed to represent a win on the schedule.  Following the Notre Dame College game, I'm not sure anything can be counted on as a sure win.

First, it is important to know what is going on with this New Orleans team.  They were scattered to the winds during Katrina, decided to become DIII and then changed up and decided to be D1 again.  It was in that transition that BG played them the first time.  For more on what they have been going through as they rebuild in a rebuilding city, check this ESPN.COM story out.

They are now in the Southland Conference, where Blue Ribbon has them finishing 7th in the conference.  This conference is a borderline play-in league, ranked 29 of 33 overall in NCAA by RPI.

Last year, the Privateers with 11-18 and 6-10 in the Southland, with an RPI of 327, which is among the worst in D1.  Their biggest win was over Lamar, with an RPI of 249.  According to Blue Ribbon, they battled a lot of injuries last year.

They return 3 starters from that team and three of their top 4 scorers.  They include the leading scorer...Christavious Gill, who scored 12 PPG shooting only 40% from the field.  Gill is a Jordon Crawford-sized G who had less than 2 assists per game last year.  Also, 6'7" Kevin Hill (10.6 ppg and 6.7 rpg, shooting 47%, not great for a big man) and Nate Frye, the PG, (10.3 PPG and 2.4 rpg who shot around 40% as well).

There are a couple of JUCO players on board, as well, including one who could have an impact...Erik Thomas, (17.9 PPG) who was the Louisiana Junior College Association Player of the Year last year.  There are also 3 true freshmen who could contribute right away.

They struggled on both sides last year, scoring .97 points per possession, which was 9th in the conference and 1.06 which was 8th,  The biggest issue was shooting, they were 2nd to last in the Southland.  They were 6th in rebounding and turnovers and 4th in free throw rate.

On defense, they allowed 48% overall shooting, which is tough to win with.  Their rebounding and turnovers were above average.

They did play at a quick pace, 72 possessions per game.

For whatever it is worth, it sounds like their shooting might get a little bit better this year but their main shooters are still expected to be pretty poor.  They also have a ton of new players opening their career on the road.  I'd say this...if the Falcons lose this, we are looking at a historically long season.