After winning their last three games by an average of 27.6 points and increasing their first place lead in the Mid-American Conference, the Bowling Green basketball team heads into a dangerous game against Akron?
That’s right.
The Zips (3-19, 3-8 MAC), even with their poor record thus far, pose a dangerous threat for a Falcons (15-6, 8-2) team that has been on a roll of late.
“It’s a quicksand game,” BG head coach Curt MIller said. “They’re better than a 3-19 team.”
For BG, it is a quicksand game in that they have to come out with the intensity they’ve had in their three previous games.
“If we get into a lull at the start, it’s possible we won’t get back into the game,” Miller said.
Akron is a dangerous team because they can come at you with a variety of players. They have 10 players on their roster that average between 3.1 and 9.5 points per contest and nine of them play at least 10 minutes per game. Because of this depth, they play their guts out for the entire game, Miller said.
But talent-wise, they aren’t on the same level as the Falcons, and that is something Miller doesn’t like.
“I’m much more uptight going into a game I know we should win,” he said.
That should lead to an interesting and intense 48 hours for BG heading into tomorrow’s game, with the MAC’s worst scoring offense against the conference’s fourth-best scoring defense — and the best in MAC games.
During Miller’s tenure as a coach at BG, his teams have always been able to fill up the hoop but thanks to some defensive tenacity, this year’s version can shut teams down as well.
Some of that has come because of the youthful team’s senior leadership.
“We have a class that is led by Tene Lewis,” Miller said. “That’s the role she plays on the team and when Tene gets on her teammates in practice, it is on the defensive end of the floor.”
For the Falcons, the key to winning tomorrow’s game will be keeping that intensity at both ends of the floor — and playing the same way they’ve played during the last week.
“We’ve had a good seven day stretch,” Miller said. “Our three games have been really solid games.”
The Falcons and Zips tip-off tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Rhodes Arena in Akron.