Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons To Begin 47th MAC Season Wednesday
December 29, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2000
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Bowling Green (4-5) at Northern Illinois (1-8)
8:05 p.m. (EST), Wednesday, January 3
Evans Field House (6,044)
Series Record: NIU leads 21-17
Last Meeting: at BGSU 72, NIU 54 (1/5/00)
Radio: WBVI (96.7)
On the Web: www.bgsufalcons.com
BGSU BEGINS 47TH MAC SEASON
The Falcons will begin their 47th season as a member of the Mid-American Conference. BGSU has a 354-313 record in the league and is third overall among conference schools with eight titles.FALCONS AND THE MAC
The Falcons have posted a league-best 26 regular season MAC victories since 1999. BGSU and Kent State each have 26-10 conference records in that time.
FALCONS IN 4th SEASON with DAKICH
The Falcons are in their fourth season under head coach Dan Dakich. BGSU is coming off a 22-8 campaign which saw them earn the regular season MAC Championship and a berth in the NIT. BGSU was 14-4 in the conference a season ago.
SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies lead the series which began in 1964, 21-17. BGSU has won the last three meeetings, all at home. This will be the Falcons first visit to DeKalb since they defeated NIU, 53-49 in 1996.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Falcons were picked to finish third in the East Division, while the Huskies were slated to place fifth in the West Division.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will host Central Michigan Saturday, January 6 at 1 p.m. BGSU also will host Buffalo at 7 p.m., January 10.
FALCONS PLAY BEFORE LARGEST CROWD
The 22,076 fans to see BGSU face #1 Michigan State at the Palace of Auburn Hills, marked the highest attendance figure to ever watch a Falcon basketball game. The previous best was 20,875 at Kentucky in 1988.
QUICK TAKES
* The Falcons lead the MAC in scoring (84.6), field goal percentage (51.0), and three-point field goal percentage (43.1).
* Seven players are averaging at least 9.2 points per game.
* Eight players have started at least one game this season.
DAKICH AND THE FALCONS
Coach Dan Dakich's 58.1 winning percentage is the second highest behind Harold Anderson's 65.5 winning percentage among Falcon head coaches who have spent more than one year at BGSU. Dakich's father, Tom played for Anderson and the Falcons from 1954-56.
2000-2001 NOTES
Since February of 1999, the Falcons have a 33-15 record (.694).
One of the top shooting teams in the country last season (4th, 49.2%) and the current leader in the MAC, BGSU eclipsed the 50 percent shooting mark, 15 times last season. They shot 50.9% (27/53) from the floor at Marist and 58.2% against Wilmington after shooting a season-low 32.8 at Michigan.
The Falcons shot a season-best 85.3% from the line against Wilmington (29/34). BGSU is 7-1 in the last two years, when they have shot better than 80% from the line. In the last five games, BGSU is shooting 79.8 (95/119) from the line.
BGSU hit six of 10 three-point attempts against Urbana. They shot 57.1 percent against Evansville and 50 percent against UNC Wilmington. They topped 50 percent or better seven times from long distance last season and currently lead the MAC by hitting 42 percent of its long distance calls in nine games.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Junior Len Matela had his 14th career double-double with an 18-point, 13-rebound effort against Marist. He has accomplished that feat two other times this season, with his 25-point, 17-board performance against Duquesne and an 18-point, 11-rebound performance against UNCW. One of the top shooters in the country a year ago (61.9 percent), Matela was an honorable mention All-MAC performer a year ago. He attended the same high school as Coach Dakich (Andrean in Merrillville, Indiana).
Junior Keith McLeod has scored in double figures in seven of eight games this season. He had 22 points and hit three of four three-point attempts against Wilmington. He had 15 points and five assists against Michigan. He scored a team-high 24 points at UNCW and scored 20 points or more in consecutive games for just the second time in his career (1999 vs. Urbana and Toledo). He also had 20 points, five rebounds and five steals in 38 minutes of action against Evansville. He was the MAC's leading three-point shooter last season and was ranked seventh in the country at 47.1 percent.
Junior Brandon Pardon has played 324 of a possible 340 minutes. The all-time assist leader in Ohio High School history had a team-best 19 points and seven assists against Michigan State. He scored a career-high 24 points against Urbana. He had a career-high 13 assists to go along with 15 points against Evansville. He is averaging a team-high 37.1 minutes per game. He has started all nine games this season and is shooting 41.2% from three-point range and beyond. He began his college career at Wright State in Dayton.
Senior Trent Jackson also has started all nine games. He is averaging 18 points and shooting 57.1 from the field (12/21) during the last two games. He had 16 points against the Spartans. He tied a school-record with eight steals against Wilmington. He tied a mark set by Joe Faine against Central Michigan in 1981. He had a season-high 20 points against Wilmington, which marked just the second time in his career that he eclipsed the 20-point barrier. He tied a career-high with eight free throws made against Michigan State and Michigan He had 12 points against Illinois State. He also had a 15-point, three steal performance against Duquesne. He has started 31 career games and has shot 50.9 from the field for his career and 73.5 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Cory Ryan is the team's biggest surprise averaging 9.4 points after scoring just 16 points all of last season. He has hit a three-point field goal in all eight games he has played in this season. He led the Falcons in scoring for the second game this season when he netted 18 points against Illinois State. He is second in the MAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.5 per game). He also scored a career-high 20 points against Evansville.
Redshirt freshman center Kevin Netter has started the last three games. He had a career-high 18 points against Urbana, all in the second half. He busted loose with 17 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes of action against Duquesne and had 17 points against Wilmington. He has made 84% of his free throws (21/25) in the last five games. He is tied for the team lead in blocked shots.
Freshman Josh Almanson is averaging 13.8 points over the last six games and has made 16 of his last 18 field goal attempts in the last two games. A candidate for MAC Freshman of the Year, he had nine points and knocked down his first career three-point shot at Marist. He had a career-best 25 points, 10-rebounds and seven free throws against Wilmington. He scored 22 points and had a team-high nine rebounds against Urbana. He was coming off a game where he scored 14 points and added five rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes of action at Illinois State. He is a native of Bowling Green.
Freshman Jabari Mattox saw his most extensive action this season with 30 minutes of duty against Urbana. He had nine assists and no turnovers and was lauded for his pressure defense. At Illinois State, he had three assists and scored two points.
Junior forward Brent Klassen has made 14 starts during his career, including five this season. He matched his season-best when he scored six points against Michigan State. He contributed three points and three rebounds in 11 minutes against Michigan. Klassen is a career 49.5 percent shooter from the field and a 71.9 marksman from the line.
Sophomore Kris Gerken scored his first points as a Falcon against Urbana. He played eight minutes and had two rebounds, two steals and an assist. He is a transfer from Wittenberg.
