BOWLING GREEN — The bar for Bowling Green basketball this season was conference championship or bust, and as the Falcons have crossed the halfway point, it’s been so far, so good.
Bowling Green stands at 14-5 and 5-1 in the Mid-American Conference, which has them in a tie for first place overall.
Midseason grades for the Falcons:
Guards
Collectively, the Bowling Green guards have been good defensively and great at valuing the basketball. The Falcons, who survived five weeks without leading scorer Justin Turner, turn over the ball less than any other MAC team. Dylan Frye leads the team in assists, Caleb Fields is emerging as one of the top defensive players in the MAC, and sixth man Michael Laster leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, all extremely valuable contributions.
The knock is 3-point shooting, which has been below average. BG is shooting 32.2 percent from 3, down 3.5 percent from last season. To realistically win a league championship, the Falcons have to improve in this area.
Grade: B+
Forwards
BG asks a lot of its forwards, who have to be strong enough to guard centers and protect the defensive glass, but also skilled enough to play on the perimeter on both ends of the floor. The Falcons have a mix that gives them a bit of everything.
Daeqwon Plowden leads the team in rebounding, free-throw percentage, and double-doubles, and he is proving to be one of the most versatile players in the MAC. Marlon Sierra adds rebounding and defense, junior-college transfer Trey Diggs leads the team in 3-point percentage, and Matiss Kulackovskis is giving BG another option off the bench.
Especially from a rebounding perspective — the Falcons rank first in the MAC in defensive rebounds — BG is getting what it needs from this group.
Grade: A
Centers
The Falcons play true centers an average of only 22 minutes per night because this team’s strength is in the backcourt. Sophomore Tayler Mattos and redshirt freshman Dylan Swingle have been solid secondary scorers when called upon, as both are shooting 50 percent or better and adding a combined 6.4 rebounds.
Both still are in the early stages of their development, though, and the Falcons are hopeful each will be an impact player with more playing time.
Grade: C+
Coaching
This offseason brought a completely new vibe to BG basketball, which had experienced success last season and began to face big expectations. Falcons coach Michael Huger openly said during the preseason that he had too many players deserving of playing time and not enough for everyone, and so far, he and his assistants have pushed the right buttons with this team.
Three of BG’s losses came without Turner in the lineup, and aside from a dud in the MAC opener, BG has answered the bell when needed.
The coaches have developed their young players, found a few rotations that work, and generally kept the train on the tracks even when the Falcons haven’t been at their best.
Grade: A-
Overall
The MAC favorite Falcons haven’t yet played their best basketball, but for the most part, they have found ways to win games one way or another. That deserves credit, as the mark of a good team is winning games even when it isn’t shooting well, key players are missing, or it has to adjust a game plan on the fly.
Fairly or unfairly, MAC seasons are remembered by three days in March, but at this stage, Bowling Green still looks like a team that could win the conference.
Grade: B+
First Published January 22, 2020, 10:56 p.m.
