In the words of head men’s basketball coach Louis Orr: “The conference schedule is a grind and every game is a grind.”
The Falcons will continue to grind for their first Mid-American Conference win of the season after a close loss to Northern Illinois this past Sunday. Senior Craig Sealey did not play in that game and is still listed day-to-day.
“He hasn’t practiced so he still has time,” Orr said.
A four-game losing streak after Christmas has the Falcons in a slump. Those four losses were by an average of five and a half points.
“We need to cut down on our turnovers,” Orr said. “We need to play with confidence down the stretch and execute.”
Although their offense has been lacking lately, their defense has been the one things to keep them in each game.
“We are playing pretty good defensively,” Orr said. “All the stats are trending in the right direction, but offensively we have to generate more offense.”
They will be preparing for their third MAC game of the season as they welcome Central Michigan University to the Stroh on Wednesday night.
The Chippewas have a record of 7-7 and are 0-2 in the MAC. Both teams will be looking to notch their first MAC win of the season.
Although the Chippewas record does not look so good they pose a significant threat to the Falcons as they have scored 74 points a game in the conference. They are led by their sophomore guard Chris Fowler who averages 17 points a game.
“They are an up tempo team,” Orr said. “They love to push the ball up the floor and in the half court.”
Fowler is the person that makes their offense go according to Orr. Their offense is more than just him though their forwards and other big men are versatile and can make plays from inside and outside.
“We have to do a good job in transition,” Orr said. “The challenge will be guarding their penetrating guards but also guarding the three point line.”
The Falcons are very versatile with their big men as well. Richaun Holmes, Josh Gomez and Cam Black are all capable defenders on the perimeter as well.
“Guys will need to be able to help each other on the perimeter,” Orr said.
The Falcons will need to improve offensively to get their first win in conference play. Orr said each team shows hunger in a different way, but as a whole the team wants to get that first MAC win.
“You have to grind and you have to play that’s the beauty of MAC basketball,” Orr said. not just in words but it’s on the court as well.”
*The story has been edited to reflect these changes:
The first line of the story previously read “in the words of head men’s basketball coach Louis Orr said,….” It has now been changed to “in the words of head men’s basketball coach Louis Orr: ‘The conference…'”
