A week ago, it appeared that BGSU men’s basketball’s season was all but over after a blowout loss to Central Michigan — the situation was looking very bleak.
However, the Falcons have rattled off back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
“It feels great. Lately, we’ve been just focusing on us and not really focusing on the next game and next game,” senior guard Derrick Butler said. “We’re just coming in every day and working and having fun.”
On Tuesday, the Orange and Brown defeated Northern Illinois 84-77 at the Stroh Center.
The win itself is not all that impressive, as NIU sits at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings with just one conference win this season. But there were multiple good signs for the Falcons in the victory.
Bowling Green did not trail once. They were playing from behind for much of their five-game skid, which is not a recipe for success for a shorthanded team.
BG also outrebounded NIU by 11 and tallied 15 assists, both of which have been major weaknesses this season.
Arguably, the best result from the game, other than the win, was that BGSU had 23 points off the bench, including 15 from Derrick Butler.
Then, the Falcons won their final non-conference game of the regular season, defeating Coastal Carolina in the second game of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, 67-53.
Bowling Green had their best 3-point shooting performance since the Miami (OH) game, shooting 41.7% (10-24) from deep.
The good signs continued for the Falcons, as they had 16 assists and 23 bench points.
A week ago, Bowling Green had their backs against the wall. While they still have an uphill battle ahead, something has switched over the past two games.
BGSU’s 31 assists over the past two games is their most in a two-game span this season. The Falcons have also scored 37 fast-break points over the past two games.
“Coach Simon has just been preaching to us that we have to play with more pace and play faster. If you watch the game, it just looks like everybody’s having more fun out there,” Butler said. “I just really appreciate everybody buying into coach Simon and playing faster, because it just makes the game a lot more fun, and everybody eats.”
After missing the CMU game due to illness, Butler has come off the bench for three straight games.
It may have been a game-changing decision for the Falcons.
“We knew there were some strengths to that,” head coach Todd Simon said. “Now, you have a go-to guy that you can kind of run a bunch of stuff to on that second unit, and we have to probably look at that because all of the sudden it’s really fortified that second string.”
Over the past two games, Butler has scored 18 points per game while shooting 11-20 from the field and 6-11 on 3-pointers.
“Just working every day and just enjoying the process of it. I mean, college basketball, you’re going to have ups and downs; it’s basketball,” Butler said. “But I’ve really just been focused on the work and just appreciating it every day.”
Bowling Green is still on the outside looking in for a spot in the MAC Tournament. They sit in 10th place but have four teams above them in the standings who have just one more conference win.
The Falcons still have some tough matchups left with Ohio (12-11, 6-4 MAC), Kent State (15-8, 5-5 MAC) and Toledo (15-8, 8-2 MAC).
However, they also have a lot of winnable games, with matchups against Buffalo (7-16, 2-8 MAC), Eastern Michigan (11-12, 4-6 MAC), Ball State (11-12, 4-6 MAC), Northern Illinois (5-18, 1-9 MAC) and Western Michigan (7-16, 4-6 MAC) remaining on the schedule.
BGSU has the talent to make a late-season comeback.
The Falcons possess the MAC’s leading scorer with Marcus Johnson (16.7 points per game).
They also have arguably the best defensive player in the MAC with junior guard Javontae Campbell, who leads the conference and ranks fourth in the country with 70 steals. On top of that, they have a contender for MAC freshman of the year with 6-foot-10-inch forward Jamai Felt, who leads the MAC with 36 blocks and ranks fifth with 56 offensive rebounds.
While there is a lot more that needs to happen for this team to make it to Cleveland, the past week has been a good sign and a trend in the right direction.
Next, the Orange and Brown will finish their three-game homestand against the Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Artie Abrego will have the call on Falcon Radio, beginning at 6:45 for pregame and 7 p.m. for tip-off.
