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Ball State @ Buffalo (2/18 - 7pm)


Jeseph

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Great big time win. To win coming from behind and dominate the final 10 minutes cruising to what on paper looks like an easy win, was impressive. This was a maturation victory. Dare I say we are rounding into form? The defense and rebounding was phenomenal. We hit free throws. And some big 3s in the second half.

Its looking like we will be moving into the 4 seed. Another big game on Friday. The game will be on ESPN 2 so I expect a hostile crowd. 

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11 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Great big time win. To win coming from behind and dominate the final 10 minutes cruising to what on paper looks like an easy win, was impressive. This was a maturation victory. Dare I say we are rounding into form? The defense and rebounding was phenomenal. We hit free throws. And some big 3s in the second half.

Its looking like we will be moving into the 4 seed. Another big game on Friday. The game will be on ESPN 2 so I expect a hostile crowd. 

I hope we have a lot more rounding into form to go. The offense while a tad better in second half was still bleak. Defense and Mballa’s rebounding, offensive efficiency and outstanding defense was the difference maker. None of our “shooters” shot better than 33%. They all take way too many bad shots and forced shots many times early in the shot clock. A lot of work to do there. 
 

Despite all that huge win especially with Kent losing. We jump to 3 seed. Now have a ton riding on Friday night at Kent. 

Edited by UB85
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In my opinion this is a game that the Bulls would have lost last month. They stepped up the defense to whether poor first half shooting and then shot better and continued the D. This team is showing some growth over past few games.  Keep it going against Kent St.

Edited by DocCas86
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11 minutes ago, UB85 said:

I hope we have a lot more rounding into form to go. The offense while a tad better in second half was still bleak. Defense and Mballa’s rebounding, offensive efficiency and outstanding defense was the difference maker. None of our “shooters” shot better than 33%. They all take way too many bad shots and forced shots many times early in the shot clock. A lot of work to do.

The only I’ll say to this is that a good team can win in many different ways. Ball St is a solid defensive team. Earlier in the season we don’t win a game like this. But tonight we did bc we hit free throws, didn’t turn the ball over, rebounded and played stellar defense. Offense can come and go but the hustle and focus should remain high. And tonight it was. And that won us the game. Our will and determination. And to me this was a big sign of maturation. And to your point hopefully we continue to ascend.

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4 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

The only I’ll say to this is that a good team can win in many different ways. Ball St is a solid defensive team. Earlier in the season we don’t win a game like this. But tonight we did bc we hit free throws, didn’t turn the ball over, rebounded and played stellar defense. Offense can come and go but the hustle and focus should remain high. And tonight it was. And that won us the game. Our will and determination. And to me this was a big sign of maturation. And to your point hopefully we continue to ascend.

Great minds...You said it better!

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9 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

In my opinion this is a game that the Bulls would have lost last month. They stepped up the defense to whether poor first half shooting and then shot better and continued the D. This team is showing some growth over past few games.  Keep it going against Kent St.

 

This team started so badly. To see where they are now is a tribute to the coaching. I was freaking out at first, but these guys are peaking at a good time.

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1 hour ago, Erie County said:

Just no offense. It's so hard to win with last in college basketball three point shooting

Do you ever have anything positive to say? The game is 40 minutes. Ball State played some super defense early, then seemed to run out of gas (and got a few in foul trouble), combined with some changes on defense by UB slowing down #11 (while allowing #5 to have a few openings in the 2nd). The team is now 8-5, currently in 4th with a really big game on Friday after two double digit wins in a row. Give credit where credit is due. Yep, it was ugly early, but the team kept their composure and took care of business and really played a great final 25-28 minutes. 

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23 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

The only I’ll say to this is that a good team can win in many different ways. Ball St is a solid defensive team. Earlier in the season we don’t win a game like this. But tonight we did bc we hit free throws, didn’t turn the ball over, rebounded and played stellar defense. Offense can come and go but the hustle and focus should remain high. And tonight it was. And that won us the game. Our will and determination. And to me this was a big sign of maturation. And to your point hopefully we continue to ascend.

Fair points. But you don’t address the elephant in the room. We do not have any natural shooters. Johnson got some nice wide open 3s that you must knock down. But way too many forced and rushed shots. Terrible decisions by both Graves and Johnson driving into lane forcing shots into defenders and taking rushed shots. Both have to be able to see teammates for kick outs when they drive rather than come hell or high water  getting to hoop and taking shot regardless of how many defenders are on them. I’m about getting better. And these are recurring themes. If you have a lousy defensive team then some of that works. But when you play better teams it is a problem. 

Edited by UB85
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Yes, the Bulls are still horrific from 3 - airballs with no defender near the shooter! But they did a lot of great things tonight as others have already posted. Let me add this: Mballa was like a man possessed out there! His energy level was unbelievable. It seemed in the second half that every time one of Ball State’s men were out at the top trying to drive, Mballa would leave his man, double the guy with the ball, then sprint back low to pick up his man again. Relentless. Add that to the boards, the blocks, the ferocity he brings was contagious. Go Bulls!

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Some key stats:

0.82 points per possession for Ball State

16-21 free throw shooting

Only 8 turnovers

19 offensive rebounds.

All signs to me that they played with tenacity and enthusiasm. 

Someone mentioned the poor shooting..this is a fair point and an area to improve...but you have to like what they have done defensively as of late.

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If we continue to defend and rebound like we have the last 3 weeks and add improved free throw shooting and limit turnovers then we will be unstoppable. Sure last night our offense wasn’t great but if those other 4 aspects stay at their current level we can over come poor shooting nights. And that to me is a sign of a more well balanced and focused team. No compounding mistakes. 

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