Use this thread to talk about anything game-related. For away games, we may have a separate travel thread.

Date: Tuesday February 21st, 2023 7:00 PM

Opponent: Northern Illinois  (11-16, 7-7 MAC)

Site: Convocation Center

TV/Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: Ohio Radio, The Varsity Network App (free)

Northern Illinois statistics, roster and media guide

Northern Illinois message board:  NIU Dog Pound

Was a tough one at their place the first time, but OU has been B-A-D on the road.

Should be light work at home.

Hoping for a nice student crowd.

It's nice to feel confident again before a game, especially against the likes of NIU.

There aren't very many gimmes in MAC play, however, I like how things are going at the moment. I am more excited for this game in the Roundhouse as I have been for a while. If i recall we had a couple teams make it to the NCAA. 6th seed 'ish.in the past.. As much crap I give Cellis, I would love to see some energy from the "Old Zone" :) Go Cats!

NIU has only three winning conference records since 2000. Would be nice to keep them from going for that fourth one.

The good news..we won.

The bad news Ball State with a huge win over Kent and now there’s a realistic chance we meet Akron in the 4-5 game in Cleveland. That…I don’t like.

Elmore had two huge plays in the final minutes. Fought for a loose ball down on the floor under the basket and kicked out for an open Roderick three, then canned a corner three to put us up three scores. Miles had an and-1 then really nice slash from the arc to a layup.

NIU cracked under the pressure.

Quiet thread...

I was just about to look up when was the last time a D1 team won a bball game without hitting a single 3, then NIU hit their one and only 3. 1 for 19 from behind the arc and at least 5 of them were airballs. But they were 65.2% from 2 which was the reason it stayed close the whole way, including several completely uncontested layups and dunks. We really seemed to key in on the perimeter in his game. They were also terrible at the line, namely Crump. In the end we were lucky to survive and advance in this one.

Dwight was a beast as usual but also struggled a bit, especially early. I was shocked to look it up and see we only had 10 turnovers and had less than them, it felt messier than that for us. EJ was the player of the game for me, making 3 huge plays down the stretch when we needed it. 4 for 5 (2 for 2) from the field while the rest of the team goes 25 for 63 (7 for 26).

It was a starter kind of night, the bench was 3 for 20 from the field. Clayton 1 for 6 from 3 in limited minutes...It seems we all mostly agree he shouldn't be hoisting from deep that frequently.

Starting to wonder if Sheldon has the shooting yips in his young collegiate career? He does not shoot often (36 shots in 228 minutes). He is 2 for 13 from the field in MAC play. His 2 shots last night were as bad of shots as I have ever seen in the convo. Wide open and not even close. He is also 1 for 7 from the free throw line. It's all a bit concerning to me.

6 game streak feels great but continually reminding myself it is largely a product of how the schedule broke. A little nervous for Miami Saturday, feels like a trap game but will be very relieved if and when we clear it and get to 10 wins. From there this team is capable of both a long run and a disappointing abrupt finish.

It was a W; gritty but not pretty.

I've been impressed with how Burno has this team playing. Not much talent on an NIU roster that loses it best player (Williams) but still beats Kent. He then loses possibly his second best player (Coit) and they give Ohio all it could handle.

I'm hoping he can get some talent to work with in DeKalb. The MAC needs teams like NIU, the directional Michigan schools and Miami to join in the turnaround that's taking place this year at Ball St.

On the telecast Russ mentioned something about Sheldon being such a great shooter...in practice and warmups. I think it'll work itself out.

I have not had the time to do it, but all year I have been meaning to go back and look for a magic shooting % (mostly from 3pt land) which feels like it would separate our W's from our L's. I am betting there's only a couple of outliers where we shot well from 3 but still lost. Last night felt like it was going to be one of those nights and would have been if we didn't keep focus to continually feed DW3. So may shots that were not even close that they felt like turnovers.

I'll take it.. I just don't understand why coach/s were reluctant to play zone D in the first half! I think I yelled too much. We are deep at the guard position. That may get us a first round. W.