Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Take on Miami in MAC Quarterfinal
March 09, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2005
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Quarterfinal, First Energy MAC Tournament
#8 Bowling Green (18-10, 10-8) vs. #1 Miami (18-9, 12-6)
Thursday, March 10 - 7 p.m.
Gund Arena (11,000, Lower Bowl)
Series Record: Miami leads 67-45
Tickets: Call 877-BGSUTicket ($28, $10 BGSU students)
Cleveland in March
Just 11 days after BGSU captured a 57-56 victory at home against Miami, the Falcons and RedHawks will meet again in Gund Arena with the winner facing Ohio or Kent State in the tournament semifinals on Friday night at 7 p.m.
Miami is 5-1 against BGSU in the MAC Tournament, but BGSU has won eight of the last 10 overall meetings since the RedHawks defeated the Falcons 58-56 in overtime in the 2000 MAC quarterfinals. Miami also topped the Falcons 60-56 in overtime in the 1999 semifinals.
BGSU, Miami and Kent State are the only teams that will have played in Gund Arena in each of the six years this event has been played in the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Falcons are 4-5 overall in the facility.
Just two games separated the eighth seed (BGSU, 10-8) and the first seed (Miami, 12-6) in this year's league standings. In 2000, the top and bottom seeds were separated by six games, in 2001 they were four games apart, in 2002 they were nine games apart, in 2003 they were six games apart, and last season there was a seven game difference in league records between #1 Western Michigan and #8 Marshall.
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 (.573) and fifth all-time in wins with a 134-100 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.
The Falcons lead the MAC and are ranked 16th in the country shooting 49.1% from the field this season. BGSU also ranks 12th in the nation and leads the league in assists at 17.0 per game. BGSU also leads the league and is 10th in the country in free throw shooting at 75% and is second in the league in blocked shots at 3.8 per game.
Senior mid-major All-American John Reimold leads the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game. He also ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (52.8%), and third in three-point field goal percentage (46.1%). He is a two-time MAC West Player of the Week selection who averaged 17.9 points per game in league play. He has scored 1,758 points as a collegian (1,356 at BGSU and 402 at Loyola-Maryland as a freshman).
Senior NABC All-District choice Josh Almanson is third in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game. He is shooting a league-best 59.5% (13th in the nation) from the field and is fourth in the league in free throw percentage (82.0%). 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 9.3 points per game to his total from a year ago. 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 Against The Redhawks
Since the 1998-99 MAC Tournament, nine of the last 11 meetings between the two teams have been decided by six points or less. In addition, there have been three overtime meetings in that time.
At Anderson Arena, the Falcons have won eight straight games against Miami, but the last three meetings were decided by a combined seven points and Miami had a chance to tie or go ahead on the final possession of the game each time. BGSU led for just 21 seconds total in their 57-56 win over Miami on February 27.
AGAINST THE FIELD IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
vs. Miami (The RedHawks lead the series, 5-1)
vs. Ohio (The Falcons lead the series, 4-2)
vs. Kent State (The Golden Flashes lead the series, 5-1)
vs. Toledo (The series is tied 1-1)
vs. Western Michigan (BGSU lead the series, 1-0)
vs. Akron (BGSU lead the series, 2-0)
vs. Buffalo (The teams have never met)
