Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Announces 2006-07 Non-Conference Schedule
July 17, 2006 | Women's Basketball
July 17, 2006
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University women's basketball head coach Curt Miller has announced the team's non-conference schedule for the 2006-07 season. The Falcons' challenging schedule features at least five games against opponents that advanced to national postseason play last year, as well as two extended trips to exotic locales.
The Falcons, who advanced to the NCAA Championships themselves last season, will play a total of five games in venerable Anderson Arena before Mid-American Conference play begins. Opponents from the Atlantic 10, Big East and Big Ten Conferences are among those who are on the Falcons' schedule in November and December.
"This is an outstanding schedule, arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in school history," said Miller. "This will certainly prepare us to meet the challenges that will await us throughout MAC play in January and February."
All five of the home non-conference games will be against opponents that won 20 games and/or advanced to a national tournament last season.
"Our fans will be treated to an excellent home schedule, with all five opponents coming off great seasons in 2005-06," said Miller.
The schedule begins with four games in three states, all prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. BG will begin the 2006-07 season on Friday, Nov. 10 -- the earliest calendar date the team has opened a season in school history -- with a trip to Motown to face Detroit. A new NCAA proposal has established the second Friday in November as the official start to the season.
Three days later (Nov. 13), the Falcons hop on the bus once again for a trip to Notre Dame, in the season's first matchup of NCAA Tournament participants from a year ago. The Fighting Irish, like the Falcons, played an NCAA first-round game in West Lafayette, Ind., in March.
The next weekend (Nov. 17-18), the Brown and Orange will jet to Orlando, Fla., to participate in a tournament hosted by Central Florida. Albany and Fairleigh Dickinson are scheduled to join the Falcons and the host UCF Golden Knights in that tourney.
BGSU then returns to Northwest Ohio for a three-game homestand that will put the Falcons' lengthy winning streak to the test. BG will enter the 2006-07 season with an 18-game winning streak at Anderson, the third-longest active homecourt winning streak in the nation, but Temple will provide a stern test. The Owls, who won 24 games and advanced to the NCAAs in March, will face the Brown and Orange on the day after Thanksgiving; Friday, Nov. 24.
The six-game November schedule concludes on Nov. 29 with a home game vs. Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies won the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament last year and joined BGSU and Notre Dame in West Lafayette, Ind., on the opening weekend of the NCAA Championships.
December begins with a game against Indiana University. The Hoosiers come to Anderson Arena on Dec. 6, concluding the Falcons' three-game homestand. The Brown and Orange beat IU last season in Bloomington, in the championship game of the Hoosier Classic.
Then, BG returns to the road for the next three games, beginning with a trip to New York for a Dec. 9 game vs. St. Bonaventure. The only previous time the Falcons headed to the Reilly Center, the host Bonnies got a layup at the buzzer for an 87-85 win (Dec. 5, 2000).
The Falcons then take some time off for exams before heading to Cancun, Mexico, for a tournament. BG will play two games in that tournament -- the Caribbean Classic at the Moon Palace Resort -- against opponents to be determined. The tourney field is slated to include Detroit, Duke, East Carolina, Liberty, Pittsburgh, SMU and Texas-Arlington. BGSU's two games there will be played on Dec. 19-20.
"The two tournaments are a reward for our outstanding senior class," said Miller. "They are a special group, and it is important to send them out in style. We will enjoy our trips to Orlando and Cancun while at the same time playing some of the best competition in the country."
Following the Christmas holiday, the Falcons return to Anderson for a two-game weekend set against a pair of 20-win teams from a year ago. On Friday, Dec. 29, BGSU will host Delaware, one of just two teams to beat the Falcons in the 2005-06 regular season. The Fightin' Blue Hens posted a narrow, 48-44 win over the Brown and Orange in a neutral-site game (St. Joseph's Hawk Classic in Philadelphia, Pa.) en route to a 22-8 record and a berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
On New Year's Eve, the Falcons will play host to Robert Morris, another 20-game winner from a year ago (20-9). The Colonials are coached by a former MAC coach in Sal Buscaglia, who coached at Buffalo.
For the first time in 12 years, the Falcons will play a non-conference game during the heart of the MAC schedule. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, BG will step outside of conference action for a trip to Chicago State in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball.
The Mid-American Conference office will release the 2006-07 league schedule at a later date.
The Falcons are coming off a 28-3 season, in which Miller and company won both the MAC's regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row. BGSU set school and conference records for overall victories, and became just the fifth team in conference history to go undefeated in league play, with a 16-0 MAC mark.
2006-07 BGSU NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
November
Wed., 1 FINDLAY (Exhibition)
Fri., 10 at Detroit
Mon., 13 at Notre Dame
Fri.-Sat., 17-18 UCF Tournament (Orlando, Fla.)
(BGSU, UCF, Albany and Fairleigh Dickinson)
Fri., 24 TEMPLE
Wed., 29 OAKLAND
December
Wed., 6 INDIANA
Sat., 9 at St. Bonaventure
Tue.-Wed., 19-20 Caribbean Classic (Cancun, Mexico)
(BGSU, Detroit, Duke, East Carolina, Liberty,
Pittsburgh, SMU, Texas-Arlington)
Fri., 29 DELAWARE
Sun., 31 ROBERT MORRIS
January Tue., 30 at Chicago StateHome games in CAPS
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE NOTES
