Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC West Lead On The Line In Kalamazoo
March 01, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2005
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Bowling Green (17-8, 10-6) at Western Michigan (17-10, 10-6) Wednesday, March 2 - 7 p.m. University Arena (5,421) Series Record: BGSU leads 65-37 Last Meeting: WMU 70, at BGSU 61 (1/15/05)
RACE TO WIN THE WEST
BGSU and WMU enter the final week of the season tied for the MAC West lead with a 10-6 record. On Saturday, BGSU will host Central Michigan, while WMU travels to Ball State. Toledo is a game behind with a 9-7 record and visits Northern Illinois on Wednesday and hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The Broncos have won each of the last five meetings with the Falcons. BGSU last triumphed in the series in 2002 when they defeated WMU, 78-66 in Kalamazoo.
Both teams are 6-2 at home in the MAC and 4-4 on the road.
The Falcons are in their eighth season under head coach Dan Dakich, who was named 2005 MAC Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com. Dakich is second all-time at BGSU in winning percentage (.576) and fifth all-time in wins with a 133-98 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 81-61 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 81 league wins rank 12th all-time in MAC history.
The Falcons lead the MAC and are ranked ninth in the country shooting 49.3% from the field this season. BGSU also ranks 11th in the nation and leads the league in assists at 17.3 per game. BGSU also is seventh nationally and leads the league in free throw shooting at 76.0%. The Falcons are second in the league in blocked shots at 3.8 per game.
Senior All-MAC candidate John Reimold leads the league in scoring at 18.0 points per game. He also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (52.9%), sixth in free throw percentage (80.8%) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (45.5%). He is a two-time MAC West Player of the Week selection who is averaging 18.6 points per game in the league. He has scored 1,694 points as a collegian (1,292 at BGSU and 402 at Loyola-Maryland as a freshman).
Senior All-MAC candidate Josh Almanson is tied for second in the league in scoring at 17.7 points per game. He is shooting a league-best 61.1% (14th in the nation) from the field and is ninth in the league in free throw percentage (80.2%). He also is 10th in the league in blocked shots (0.92). He is the ninth most improved player in the country in scoring average adding 9.7 points per game to his total from a year ago. He is 29th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,080 points. He hit a game-winning jumper with six seconds left to give BGSU a 57-56 win over MAC East leader Miami on February 27.
CLOSE GAMES
The Falcons are 7-2 in games decided by six points or less this season. From 2002-04, BGSU was 10-10 in games decided by six points or less. From 1999-2002, BGSU was 20-8 in games decided by six points or less. From 1997-99, BGSU was 9-7 in games decided by six points.
