BG vs. WMU (2/13)

[gmartin]

I went over to the Western Michigan message board. They were complaining about the foul on Wilder of course. But several of the post was how bad are color commentary girl was. I agree. For this being ESPN3 production we need to have better talent broadcasting the games. I'm all for giving people a chance with this being their major and all however there's a time and a place and some of these students this is not the place. Brad does a very good job at the broadcast but the color commentary and sideline people don't add anything to the broadcast it just makes us look bad and every single mac message board has commented on this.

[mbenecke]

Yeah... the commentary is a little bit rough. But it doesn't ruin the game for me. I'm more focused on the action anyways.

Big win tonight. Now they gotta step up on the road against Buffalo on Friday. Tall task, but I believe in this group.

[factman]

Huger needs to play Fox over Lillard tonight. Lillard 1-7, 2 pts, 2 rebounds. 2 turnovers, should been 3. Fouled a WMU shooter on a 3 point shot. And let his guy he was guarding make 3 3 pointers. For what he is giving us tonight I would play Fox.

You are NUTS!

[factman]

The only real difference in this game has been 3-point shooting. They're 6/14, and we're 1/7. Other than that, it's petty much even. They're making more threes, and we're making almost exclusively twos.

I agree that I would play Fox tonight. My ideal lineup would be Frye, Turner, Fox, Koch/Plowden, and Wiggins.

I may even go one step further and go smaller. Put Caldwell in there instead of Koch. Speed up the game and try and hit some outside shots.

You are REALLY nuts!

[gmartin]

The only real difference in this game has been 3-point shooting. They're 6/14, and we're 1/7. Other than that, it's petty much even. They're making more threes, and we're making almost exclusively twos.

I agree that I would play Fox tonight. My ideal lineup would be Frye, Turner, Fox, Koch/Plowden, and Wiggins.

I may even go one step further and go smaller. Put Caldwell in there instead of Koch. Speed up the game and try and hit some outside shots.

You are REALLY nuts!

I admit he had a very good second half. But looking at the way he played the first half you can't say that I am nuts.

[mbenecke]

If Lillard would stick to pounding the ball inside, I wouldn't have a problem with him. He just turns the ball over a lot, and take a lot of ill-advised shots or bad fouls. If he would just settle down and play his game, he would be fantastic out there.

[hammb]

Lillard has an ugly shot but his percentage had been decent this year. He does turn the ball over sometimes, but he also gets more hands on the ball than anybody else on the team.

Our recent winning waits have coincided with him starting and playing more.

He's our longest guy. He's our best athlete. And he's probably our best, or second best, defender. In short, we need him to play and play well to win. He did, and we did.

[Globetrotter]

I actually love that we give students a chance to do these games. They probably need a bit more polish but they are learning and that is the point of college. I'm curious about how we pick whom we pick.

[Eliano's Army]

This team is fun to watch!! Some of you need to stop being so negative and enjoy the ride. Huger has improved this team in the MAC each season and we are definitely trending upwards. We are one of the youngest teams in the MAC and the country and are winning games. The future is bright. Let's enjoy the rest of this season and see what happens. Then, I believe for certain the next two years we will be a top of the MAC team.

As far as the student broadcasters go, the way it has worked in the past is that there is a class these students are taking about sports broadcasting, and every student in the class is supposed to have at least one opportunity to do color commentary for an ESPN3 game. Students are really thrust in with little to no experience, which leads to some performances not being up to snuff.

It's a great deal for students to get actual experience, but in my opinion they are thrust in there way too soon. Students should at least do some practice of calling games before they are thrust into a live ESPN3 broadcast, but that is often not the case.

[Globetrotter]

Interesting to see how little the bench played. Especially Plowden.

[Flipper]

Including FT's...Turner took 19 shots and made 16 of them. Been awhile since we've seen shooting like that...

[mbenecke]

I hope I'm not included in the people that you believe are negative, because I truly don't feel like I am being that way. I am absolutely ecstatic about the way this team has played since the UT game. Most BG teams of the past would have folded at that point, but this team seems to be using it as motivation.

This program is fun to watch again, and I think Coach Huger is doing a fantastic job coaching these guys up. The development of guys like Wiggins, Lillard, Frye, and Turner is very apparent.

I just like to nitpick, because I think this team can be better than just good. I think we're a team with the talent to win the MAC next year. If our guys truly grind this offseason and push each other to get better, we're going to be tough to beat. And I'm really looking forward to that.

[Globetrotter]

i don't mind being included in the group that is being negative. I am also super positive at times. There isn't a thing wrong with wanting the team you root for to play up to it's potential.

[hammb]

Including FT's...Turner took 19 shots and made 16 of them. Been awhile since we've seen shooting like that...

From him especially. He's been so enigmatic, but of course he IS a RS Freshman.

THere was almost nobody at the Stroh last night, seriously it was pathetic. Yet there was somebody in our seats when we got there. We spoke with them and they made an honest mistake and couldn't find their tickets to see where they were supposed to be, so I told them to just stay, we bounced into the empty row in front. They found their tickets and apparently had missed the section by 1, but whatever. It was fun chatting with a couple that hadn't been to a game. They commented how pathetic the turnout was for 2 good teams (both 15-10 going into the game), and I agreed. Towards the end he was asking me how many points Turner averaged, and I told him but his shooting was so streaky, etc.

Best moment was towards the end when Lillard goes to the line for his 3 shots he's grabbing his stat sheet to see how Lillard does at the line, and he's about 75%. I said, yeah but every one of them is ugly; no idea how they go in sometimes (it truly is amazing how good a percentage he hits with that line drive shot of his). Then of course Lillard followed it up with one of the ugliest made free throws I've ever seen.

So far this team is like the anti-Babers team. They can take a punch and bounce back, which is awesome. I wish they could occasionally dominate from start to finish; especially against teams that I know are less talented than us, but there's something to be said for learning how to win. And these lessons on making big plays at the end of games? They'll be invaluable the next couple years when we'll also hopefully be more consistent.

[mbenecke]

Yeah, turnout last night was just over 1,400. Pretty pathetic for a huge game with seeding implications potentially on the line. I was hoping for better.

That Lillard free throw was hilarious. It had no business going in. Yet here we are, with yet another comeback win. I have absolutely loved watching this team.