2009 MAC Tournament - Buffalo vs Ball State
Buffalo's Rodney Pierce inbounds the ball early in the game.
Final - 64-52 Buffalo. Remember when I said the line for this was too high? Yeah, me too..
0:20 - This one’s basically academic. Max Boudreau definitely has my vote for the All-Tournament Team after this one.
0:45 - UB keeps splitting pairs. They’re up 11.
0:54 - 61-52 UB with Boudreau headed to the line. My BSU +7 1/2 prediction looks cooked.
1:29 - Frazier hits a pair from the line and eventually BSU fouls Andy Robinson after a couple of trap tries. He misses the first… hits the second. UB up 60-52.
2:20 - Boyer misses a pair from the line. BSU can’t make them pay, turning it over, Boudreau with a dunk on the runout, UB up 9.
2:27 - Frazier laces a 3 and an immediate BSU TO to set up the press. Ball State down 7… they could still come back here… UB gets it in but immediately has nowhere to go and they take a 30.
2:51 - This is turning into a parade to the FT line, neither team looking excellent from there, UB up 57-47.
3:23 - We finally got some stats… UB leading in rebounds 30-18. UB getting a ton of points from their bench (thanks to Boudreau) and they’re winning the bench scoring battle 25-5.
3:29 - Buffalo not ready for the BSU fullcourt pressure and they immediately turn it back over after a Lampley bank shot. Gamble gets away with a carry, but then the delayed trap cuts them off guard and Ball State has 2 shots from the line coming. 54-45 UB lead.
4:56 - 2 possessions in a row UB works the shot clock down, gets in trouble, and hits an off-balanced shot (banking the most recent one in) to build their lead. 54-41.
5:45 - Perry just fouled out jostling for position on the offensive end (let them play!). 52-40 UB
7:38 - 47-38 Buffalo. Looks like the Bulls are starting to pull away…
9:19 - UB up 45-38. Boudreau on the bench with 3 fouls (and 15 points).
11:09 - Boudreau keeps answering. He hits a turnaround 6 footer as he’s fouled. UB up 42-36 and Boudreau has one coming from the line when we come back. He looks like the best player on the court tonight.
12:36 - BSU with 4 quick fast break points and they’ve cut it to 38-34. UB gets it into the front court and asks for a 30. This one could get interesting if Ball State can keep the pressure on this time.
14:23 - Boudreau gets a rebound and banks it in to put the Bulls up 38-30. Billy Taylor asks for a needed time out.
15:25 - More of the same from the 1st half. Ball State cuts the lead to 1, Buffalo quickly asserts themselves on both ends and it’s now 35-30 UB.
Halftime - UB leads 29-25 at the half. Apparently I lied in my last update (teaches me to make up stats). Ball State is still shooting better than 50% (52.4%), they just haven’t gotten a lot of shots up, 21 versus Buffalo’s 27. The difference here is second chance points… UB is +5 in rebounds and is leading 6-0 in 2nd chance points. Ball State really needs to get more out of Jones in the second half. Back to shooting percentage, the fact that the Cardinals are shooting better than 50% but are still down 4 at the half makes me worried about my pregame Ball State +7 1/2 prediction. It’s not likely in this year’s MAC to see a team shoot that efficiently from the field for 2 halves.
1:13 - Buffalo leads 29-23. No stats yet, but it looks like BSU has cooled considerably from the field. They’re probably around 40% shooting right now.
3:52 - 27-23 Buffalo still leads. Every time Ball State tries to close it up and take control UB answers with points. Could be interesting to see what happens when both teams inevitably cool from the field (they’re both currently shooting over 50%).
7:34 - 22-19 Buffalo leads. Boudreau has taken Jarrod Jones to school a couple of times and has put 6 points on the board so far. Giles is leading all scorers with 10. Both teams shooting over 50% so far.
11:38 - 14-13 UB leads. The difference so far is ball movement versus not. Buffalo with 5 assists and Ball State with none.
12:49 - Buffalo with a quick 6-0 run and they’re leading 12-11. BSU calls a TO to regroup. The crowd’s looking pretty thin early here at the Q…
15:04 - Ball State comes out quickly and takes an 11-6 lead on the strength of 5 points from Rob Giles, and only one missed shot from the field so far. It should be a lot of fun to watch freshmen big men Jarrod Jones and Mitchell Watt match-up tonight. Jones is probably the more polished of the two, but Watt is definitely skilled. Hopefully this isn’t one of those games with 1,000 whistles and both guys can stay on the floor.
Pregame - Buffalo is the lower seed here tonight, but Ball State is a 7 1/2 point underdog. Is that too big of a line for two teams who aren’t really offensive juggernauts? I say yes. Two very solid bands here tonight… I’m liking the early atmosphere… plus Akron plays in the late game, and Akron or Kent State (Ohio probably gets an honorable mention here) are probably the best schools for overall atmosphere here at the Q historically, especially in the Friday night games.
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