CMU ended Toledo’s 20 game MAC winning streak Friday night in Mt. Pleasant on national TV. That put them at 9-9 ( 4-2). This is Tony Barbee’s third year at Central and the first two were losing seasons and no trips to the MAC tournament. This team appears better than those. They are led in scoring by JR Anthonly Pritchard, a transfer from Tulsa, 13.8ppg. He likes to put it on the floor and drive. They also have Brian Taylor, a good all around 6-6 forward averaging 12ppg and leading the team in rebounds at 7.6rpg.6-10 Marcus Harding is their big man. They also have Paul Mcmillan, a soph form Cincinnati Woodward who comes off the bench and averages 5.4ppg.
This will be a challenging week for Miami as we are playing a 4-2 and a 6-0 team, two teams ahead of us in the standings. It is also an opportunity to make a statement. So far this year, Miami is first in the MAC in three point shooting percentage at 37.9%, 2nd in the MAC in 3 point percentage defense. We are first in the MAC in bench points at 30ppg, first in the MAC in assists per game, and second in the MAC in A to TO at 1.30. We will see if either of our point guards are back yet. Central is a bit more physical than most MAC teams, this sometimes gives us problems.
They’re a bit of an anomaly, but it’s why folks should never get too hung up on a single win or loss in college basketball. Toledo isn’t the best team they’ve beaten. They have a quad 2 win against USF as well. But they’ve also lost to a very bad UL Monroe team.
(rankings here are computer rankings, but not NET)
My biggest worry is our defensive rotation is still questionable at times and CMU assists on 53.3% of their made shots. They don’t draw a lot of fouls and they take more 3’s than we do, even with a slower pace, so I’m guessing they don’t drive a lot. But they do seem like a different team in/out of conference to some extent.
For those wondering where Miami is at. Some observations:
Assist rate is impressive!
Turnover rate is much improved. I expected that with all the freshmen, but I expected it to level out around the 50th percentile, but it’s improved from there even.
3pt % has declined in conference play, but is still good. I am a bit curious if the freshmen will start to get tired as the season goes on
Weirdly enough, TeamRankings had us winning and then flipped. I doubt ESPN or TR has any insider info on Ipsaro. I’m guessing someone Miami played had a bad loss or someone CMU played had a good win.
Without Ipsaro, too. He has 36 assists to only 13 turnovers this season. Getting him back could be a real boost to the offense and defense. The guards have looked tired towards the end of the last two games. Only having Cooper, Hunter, and Mabrey available there is tough. Hoping we’re getting (and staying) healthy as we get to the meat of the schedule.
19-9 Central at the 12 and under TO. We look bad. Ipsaro not moving very well. Their perimeter players have been able to drive and finish. They are controlling the boards. Both of our big men have looked Bad.
Nothing has changed. 26-13 at the 8 and under TO. Again, we look bad. no second shots, and many shots that are not good looks. Kotecki is in with Morris out.
Mirambeaux throws it off of Mabrey’s shoes so he couldn’t get a wide open shot off then turns it over dribbling. He could be so efficient but he is constantly behind the game.
