Bowling Green State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels To Northern Illinois
February 22, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2005
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Bowling Green (16-7, 9-5) at Northern Illinois (9-15, 5-10) Wednesday, February 23 - 8:05 p.m. (Eastern Time) Convocation Center (9,100) Series Record: BGSU leads 23-22. Last Meeting: at BGSU 78, NIU 67 (1/9/05)
RACE TO WIN THE WEST
BGSU enters the final two weeks of the season with a one-game lead in the loss column in the race for the MAC West title. The Falcons are 9-5 with four games left and are ahead of Western Michigan (9-6) and Toledo (8-6). All three teams must play two more games on the road.
The Huskies are coming off a brutal stretch which saw them play six of their last eight on the road. NIU is 5-1 at home this season. BGSU has won both games it has played in the Convocation Center since it opened two years ago.
The Falcons are the only team with a winning record in MAC play with a 4-3 mark.
The Falcons are in their eighth season under head coach Dan Dakich. Dakich is second all-time at BGSU in winning percentage (.576) and fifth all-time in wins with a 132-97 record. He and his family were honored by the Red Cross prior to the NIU game earlier this season for raising $1,777 for victims of the recent tsunami disaster overseas.
With an 80-60 MAC record, Dakich ranks 11th all-time in conference game winning percentage and is 11th in MAC history in overall winning percentage. He also is one of just 19 MAC coaches to ever win 125 games or more at his institution and his 80 league wins rank 12th all-time in MAC history.
The Falcons lead the MAC and are ranked ninth in the country shooting 49.7% from the field this season. BGSU also ranks 11th in the nation and leads the league in assists at 17.4 per game. BGSU also is seventh nationally and leads the league in free throw shooting at 77.0%. The Falcons are second in the league in blocked shots at 4.0 per game.
Senior John Reimold and senior Josh Almanson are the only teammates in the country averaging 18 points or better. Both are tied for second in the MAC in scoring at 18.0 per game. They averaged 52 of the Falcons' 72 points per game last week in wins over BSU and UALR.
Reimold also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (53.6%) and third in three-point field goal percentage (46.3%). He was named MAC West Player of the Week after he averaged 28.5 points last week and had a season-high 29 against UALR. He scored 12 of the Falcons' final 18 points in the 74-66 win. He has scored 1,660 points as a collegian (1,258 at BGSU and 402 at Loyola-Maryland as a freshman).
Almanson is shooting a league-best 61.2% (13th in the nation) shooting effort from the field. He also is ninth in the league in blocked shots (1.0). He is the ninth most improved player in the country in scoring average adding 10 points per game to his total from a year ago. He averaged 23.5 points last week and had 27 against UALR. He is 31st on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,050 points.
Since NIU returned to the MAC in the 1995-96 season, BGSU has won 10 of 12 meetings. BGSU has won both meetings in the Huskies new Convocation Center, 69-52 last year and 64-63 in 2003. In that game, Cory Eyink made a layup in the closing seconds and BGSU held on defense for the one-point win.
