(12-07-2020 08:51 AM)zrb2 Wrote: (12-07-2020 08:29 AM)OUVan Wrote: Watched the Buffalo-BG game. Easily the two most athletic teams I've seen in the MAC this year. Easily. That being said it did not appear that either coach had spent even 5 minutes coaching offense this year. This was a typical possession: Player, usually PG, brings ball over half court and either, A) Does a minimum of 5 cross-over dribbles standing in one spot and proceeds to take it strong to the hoop or shoot a contested 3 or B) passes to a teammate as he's crossing center court and said teammate proceeds to do a minimum of 5 cross-over dribbles standing in that spot and takes it strong to the hoop or shoots a contested 3. There were a total of 11 assists combined in the entire contest. Very physical game and these type games are tough on officials and I'll be kind when I say the officials were inconsistent. I'm going to guess that Buffalo fans feel that they were on the short end of the calls down the stretch and I'm sure BG fans can point out a number of calls they feel were unfair.
Buffalo fans are mad because the team seems to go ice cold and disappear in the final 4 minutes of games and they are terrible at free throw shooting. This is a bad trend to start the season and not a good look for Coach Whitesell.
BG fans, well at least me, are frustrated that the team can’t put a team away when they have the opportunity. Turner is obviously one of the best players in the conference, if not the best, and can absolutely take over a game at his will. He’s got nearly all the facets of the game down, not to mention, he’s an incredibly smart player who knows how to get to the line, where he doesn’t miss. Yet, he seems to get bored and sometimes doesn’t turn it on until the final 4 or 5 minutes. Last night, he just wasn’t performing well, missing shots he is usually money on, and he wasn’t finishing at the hoop. It looked like maybe he didn’t feel the urgency he should have had. But when the game was on the line, he was unstoppable. Buffalo couldn’t defend him and he took over the game. He needs to develop game-long consistency with that intensity. Instead of 33 points, he could have had 50. Hopefully the coaches work with him on that.
BG has a really good freshman class, with Matheny leading the way, and Fulcher contributing good minutes, both flashing all-MAC futures. But they’re freshmen and come with the freshmen mistakes that BG just has to live with until they refine and learn.
Finally, BG is very thin in the front court. The only true post player they have is Swingle, who is...a project. On Buffalo’s board, several posts questioned whether BG was missing anyone significant to injury. I don’t have an account, so I had to resort to yelling at my phone that they’ve been without Matiss Kulackovaskis, who is a talented 6’9” wing and can play inside and out. He isn’t a banger down low, but on this team, any additional post presence will be helpful. BG essentially plays 5 guards much of the game, with Plowden and Diggs, both 6’6” guards, forced to abandon their strengths to play down low. It’s a disservice to the team and the players. I think there will be a marked improvement when Matiss returns in the next few weeks. With that said, the post will be a weakness throughout the season for BG and should be exploited by opponents.
In total, I thought BG played poorly last night. They looked tired and sluggish. Buffalo didn’t play well either, but I’m happy that on off nights BG can still find ways to win against quality opponents.