Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Miami in Midweek Matchup
January 22, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU vs. MIAMI
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008 • 7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700) • Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 7-9 (2-2 MAC) // Miami 7-9 (1-3 MAC)
RADIO: Falcon Radio Network - Todd Walker and Kirk Cowan
SERIES: Miami leads, 71-46 // STREAK: BGSU - 1
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 68, Miami 64 (March 4, 2007)
BGSU Notes, Stats & Player Bios in handy PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team concludes the first phase of the Mid-American Conference schedule this week ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr will wrap up the first swing through the MAC's East Division by hosting Miami University in Wednesday night (Jan. 23) action ... tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700) ... following the MU game, the Falcons will conclude a two-game homestand by hosting Northern Illinois University Sunday (Jan. 27) at 2:00 p.m. ... the NIU game begins a six-game stretch against MAC West Division opposition.
THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons suffered an 80-44 loss at Akron Sunday night (Jan. 20) ... the total of 44 points was BGSU's lowest in nearly a decade, since a 53-41 loss to Toledo on Jan. 31, 1998.
• Junior Brian Moten led the Falcons in scoring for the second-straight game, with 13 points ... Moten, who had a career-high 20 points in Thursday's (Jan. 17) win over Buffalo, now has five double-digit scoring games this season, including four in the last five outings ... the Akron game marked the 10th double-figure game of his career.
• A bright spot for the Falcons in the Akron game was the play of freshman Cameron Madlock ... the Whitefish Bay, Wis., native had played one minute in each of four prior games, amassing no stats ... against the Zips, Madlock was credited with four minutes of playing time, and went 3-for-4 from the field for six points ... he also was BG's second-leading rebounder, with seven.
O IS FOR OTIS, AND FOR OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Sophomore Otis Polk has stepped up his play over the past few weeks ... in his first 37 games as a Falcon (through this season's Illinois State game), the Detroit native had a total of 86 career rebounds (2.3 rpg), including 35 (0.9 per game) at the offensive end ... in that 37-game span, Polk had as many as three offensive boards just twice ... over the last seven games, however, Polk has had a total of 50 rebounds (7.1 rpg), and has averaged 4.0 offensive boards per game during that time ... Polk has had at least three offensive rebounds in each of the last seven games ... not surprisingly, his scoring production has increased as well during that time ... Polk's scoring and rebounding breakdowns (with per-game averages), during his first 37 games and his last seven, are available in the PDF at the top of this page.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Miami game with a 7-9 record on the season, and BGSU is 2-2 in MAC play ... the two MAC wins have come at Anderson Arena, while the two league losses each were on the road ... BG opened the league schedule with a 52-49 win over Ohio (Jan. 5), before losing at Kent State, 63-49 (Jan. 12) ... the Brown and Orange rebounded with an 83-70 victory against Buffalo (Jan. 17), but suffered an 80-44 setback at Akron Sunday night (Jan. 20).
• The Falcons opened the season with a 4-2 record, including a 2-1 mark at the season-opening Peggy Cronin Classic at Cincinnati ... the wins in that tourney came over Belmont and host UC ... the Falcons' other victories over the first six games of the year came against Morehead State and at Furman ... then, however, the Brown and Orange suffered a four-game losing streak ... three of those losses came on the road, and none by more than 11 points.
• The Falcons won two of three games on the homestand that bridged the New Year, with a 52-48 win over Eastern Illinois (Dec. 29), a 96-78 loss to Duquesne (Jan. 2) at Anderson Arena and the MAC-opening victory over Ohio.
• The Falcons are 4-3 at home, 2-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is averaging 64.2 points per game to the opponents' 68.0 ppg ... the Falcons are shooting 43.7 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot 40.9%.
• Individually, junior Nate Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game ... he is second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest ... Miller leads the Falcons in steals (1.8 spg) and is tied for the team lead in assists (2.5 apg).
• Redshirt freshman Chris Knight is second on the team in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding ... Knight has 11.8 points and 7.1 boards per game to date, and is shooting 46.1% from the field ... Knight's total of 76 field goals made is just two behind Miller's team-leading total.
• Junior Darryl Clements has 7.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game ... he ranks third on the Falcons in scoring, and is second in steals (1.3 spg), third in assists (2.2 apg) and fourth on the team in rebounding ... freshman Joe Jakubowski is averaging 6.3 points per game ... he is tied with Miller for the team assists lead, with 2.5 per game, and leads the Brown and Orange with 16 three-point field-goals made.
• Junior Brian Moten, after leading the Falcons in scoring in each of the last two games, now has 6.3 ppg ... he is shooting 45.9% from the field and 41.4% from the three-point line ... sophomores Marc Larson and Otis Polk have split time at center, and both are averaging 5.6 points per contest ... Larson also has 2.7 rpg and 1.1 blocked shots per game, and is shooting 51.7% from the floor ... Polk, who posted a double-double in the Buffalo game, now has 5.1 rpg, ranking third on the team, and leads the Falcons in blocked shots, with 20 (1.3 bpg) this season to date.
• Soph Ryan Sims has played in all 16 games off the bench, and is averaging 1.5 ppg, while freshman Cameron Madlock has seen action in five games ... Madlock had six points and seven rebounds at Akron, and is averaging 1.2 ppg and 1.4 rpg ... sophomore Matt Karaffa made his collegiate debut in the Indiana State contest, and also saw action vs. Akron.
• In MAC action, Moten leads the team in scoring, with 12.5 ppg, while Miller has 11.5 ppg ... Clements is averaging 9.0 ppg in league play, and Knight has 7.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg ... Polk has 5.5 ppg and a team-leading 7.8 rpg off the bench.
• Clements, Larson and Miller each have started all 16 games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... Jakubowski has started each of the last eight games, while Knight has started 15 times, including each of the last five ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.
A WIN OVER MIAMI WOULD ...
• give the Falcons two consecutive wins in the series, and would make BGSU 10-1 in the last 11 home games vs. the RedHawks;
• make BGSU a perfect 3-0 in MAC home games;
• ensure the Brown and Orange - picked for sixth in the East Division in the preseason coaches poll - no worse than a tie for third place after the first round-robin through the division; and
• match BGSU's MAC winning total for all of last season (3-13 in 2006-07).
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami will enter Wednesday's game with an overall record of 7-9 ... the RedHawks are 1-3 in MAC play after a 64-57 win over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 20) ... MU played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, and posted wins over Xavier, Mississippi State and Illinois prior to Christmas ... the RedHawks are 4-2 at home, 1-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral-site matches this year to date ... in MAC action, MU is 1-1 at Millett Hall and 0-2 at opposing venues ... individually, senior forward Tim Pollitz leads the team in scoring, rebounding and assists ... he has 16.1 points, 6.8 boards and 3.5 assists per game ... junior F/G Michael Bramos has 15.9 ppg and 4.1 rpg, while junior guard Kenny Hayes has 9.8 ppg this year to date ... junior F/C Tyler Dierkers has 5.6 ppg and is second on the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and assists (3.46 apg) ... Tim Pollitz has started all 16 games, while Hayes has made 15 starts ... Dierkers, redshirt junior guard Eric Pollitz (4.6 ppg) and sophomore guard Alex Moosmann (3.6 ppg) joined those two players in the starting lineup vs. Buffalo ... Bramos missed the UB game with an injury suffered in the previous game, vs. Kent State ... head coach Charlie Coles welcomed back nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that finished 18-15 overall and 10-6 in MAC action ... the 'Hawks won the MAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Championships ... Coles has a record of 200-150 in his 12th season at the helm of his alma mater ... he is 292-234 in his 18th season as a collegiate head coach ... the school's athletics web site is www.muredhawks.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Miami, 71-46, in the all-time series between the teams, but BGSU won the most recent meeting ... on "Senior Day" at Anderson Arena last season, the Falcons posted a 68-64 victory (March 4, 2007) ... that snapped a four-game losing streak to the RedHawks ... MU won the first meeting last season, 66-60, in Oxford (Jan. 17, 2007) ... in that game, Nate Miller set a career best with 21 points, a total he has matched twice this season to date ... BGSU has won nine of the teams' last 10 encounters in Anderson, dating to 1995-96 ... overall, Miami has won four of the last five meetings, and five of the last seven contests from the Falcons ...the complete list of BGSU-MU series results can be found on page 60 of the 2007-08 BGSU media guide (available in PDF format right here at BGSUFalcons.com), and a list of the most recent meetings can be found in the PDF of these notes.
LAST TIME OUT
Host Akron scored 18 of the game's first 20 points en route to an 80-44 win over the Falcons Sunday night (Jan. 20) at Rhodes Arena ... UA's Quade Milum led all scorers with 22 points, making 10 of his 11 shots from the field ... Jeremiah Wood joined him in double digits, with 12 points on the night ... for the Falcons, junior Brian Moten was the lone player in double figures, with 13 points off the bench ... UA has now won 20 consecutive games at Rhodes, and the Zips have won 23-straight MAC games at home ... UA opened up an 18-2 lead after back-to-back three-pointers by Milum and Steve McNees, with the latter coming at the 13:37 mark ... with the score 21-4, the Falcons scored five-straight points, as junior Darryl Clements found sophomore Otis Polk for a short jumper at the 11:18 mark, and junior Nate Miller stole the ball and hit Moten for a three-pointer at 10:52 ... the hosts, however, scored the next five points as part of a 10-2 run that gave UA a 20-point lead at 31-11, and the Zips took a 45-19 lead into the break ... UA kept increasing the lead in the second half, and that lead grew as wide as 39 points, on Nick Goddard's triple with 4:15 left ... the Zips made eight three-pointers on the night ... a bright spot for the Falcons was the play of freshman Cameron Madlock ... Madlock, credited with just four minutes of playing time, had six points and seven rebounds, along with an assist and a blocked shot ... the Falcons held a 37-34 rebounding margin, but BG turned the ball over 21 times, to just seven for the home team.
MADLOCK MAKES MOST OF MINUTES
Freshman Cameron Madlock entered the Akron game having played a total of four minutes in four prior games, with no other statistics ... he saw the most extensive time of his brief career in Sunday's game, and certainly made the most of it ... the Whitefish Bay, Wis., native was credited with four minutes of playing time (in actuality, it was more like nine minutes), and had six points and seven rebounds ... he was 3-for-4 from the field, and was second on the team in rebounding ... Madlock also had the first assist and the first blocked shot of his collegiate career.
THREE DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON (USELESS NOTE OF THE WEEK)
The Falcons are 7-9 overall, but several of those wins are looking more impressive as the days go by ... BGSU won on the road at Cincinnati on the season's first weekend, and the Bearcats have gone on to post victories over two top-25 teams, Villanova and Pittsburgh, in an eight-day span ... Pitt defeated both Duke and Georgetown ... and, the Falcons defeated Ohio, who won on the road at Maryland (61-55; Dec. 12), who in turn won on the road at #1-ranked North Carolina over the weekend (82-80; Jan. 19).
DOUBLE(-DOUBLE) TROUBLE
Sophomore Otis Polk had his first career double-double in the Buffalo game, scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds ... it marked the fourth time in five games that a Falcon player had recorded a double-double ... junior Nate Miller and redshirt freshman Chris Knight each have had two double-doubles this year to date.
• Miller's two double-doubles this year came during the Falcons' recently-completed three-game homestand ... Miller had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Ohio (Jan. 5) ... the Springfield, Ohio, native had 17 points and 14 boards in the Eastern Illinois game (Dec. 29) ... Miller now has seven career double-doubles, the most among current Falcons ... that total includes a triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) at Buffalo last Feb. 13.
• Knight had a double-double in his collegiate debut, in his hometown, no less ... the Cincinnati native had 16 points and 10 boards in his first game at BGSU, against Western Carolina (Nov. 9) at the Peggy Cronin Classic on the UC campus ... his other double-double came in the Duquesne game (Jan. 2), as he had 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. the Dukes.
THE MILLER 500
Junior Nate Miller's first basket in the Kent State game (Jan. 12) put him over the 500-point mark for his BGSU career ... Miller is the Falcons' active scoring leader ... he now has a total of 532 points in 39 career games at the University, an average of 13.6 ppg ... to put that into historical perspective, Miller's ppg average is higher than 17 of the 36 players on BG's list of 1,000-point scorers.
MILLER TIME
Junior Nate Miller has been an integral part of the Falcons' offense all season long ... Miller, despite being held to a season-low seven points at Akron, still has 12 double-digit scoring games in BG's 16 contests ... he is averaging a team-high 13.0 points per game ... in the span of three games from late November to early December, Miller tied his career high with 21 points twice, vs. both Temple and Oakland ... that was part of a four-game span in which Miller shot 62.2% from the field, going 28-for-45 in that time ... for the season, Miller is second on the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg), and he leads the Falcons in steals (1.8 spg) and is tied for the BG lead in assists (2.5 apg).
MOTEN OFFENSE
Junior Brian Moten scored a career-high 20 points in the win over Buffalo Thursday (Jan. 17), and again led the Falcons at Akron, with 13 points in Sunday's (Jan. 20) game ... Moten has five double-digit scoring games this season, including four in the last five games ... he leads the team in scoring over the last five contests, averaging 12.4 points per game ... in the UB game, the Saginaw, Mich., native made six field goals, just one off his career high ... he topped his previous scoring best of 18 points, against Jacksonville State last season (Dec. 29, 2006).
DISPLAYING A SMOOTH SHOOTING MOTEN AT THE LINE, TOO
In addition to points, junior Brian Moten set another career best vs. Buffalo, making a total of seven free throws ... Moten, after attempting a total of just one free throw in the season's first 10 games, has gone 21-for-27 over the last six contests ... he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line vs. Duquesne, and went 7-for-8 against UB.
OTIS PLAYS BIG
• Sophomore Otis Polk has blossomed over the last few weeks ... the Detroit native had his first collegiate double-double in the Buffalo game, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds.
• At Kent State (Jan. 12), Polk scored three points, but led the Falcons in rebounds (seven) and blocked shots (a career-high four) ... and, the 6-9 center also had two assists to tie for the team lead in that department ... he had a breakout game vs. Duquesne (Jan. 2), with a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes, also a career high.
• Polk has averaged 7.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over the last six games ... he has set or matched his career rebounding best no fewer than four times in the last seven contests.
• On the year, Polk has scored 89 points (5.6 ppg), made 31 field goals and pulled down 81 rebounds (5.1 rpg), topping his totals for all of last year ... as a freshman, Polk had totals of 18 FGM, 41 points (1.5 ppg) and 55 boards (2.0 rpg).
CLEMENTS CONTRIBUTES IN MANY WAYS
Junior Darryl Clements has become a key contributor for the Falcons this season ... he ranks third on the team in scoring, with 7.6 ppg, and is second in steals and third in assists ... vs. Buffalo, he scored 13 points and dished out a career-high seven assists ... Clements entered the season with a total of two double-digit scoring games in his career, but has seven in this year's 16 games ... the Detroit, Mich., native led the Falcons in scoring in two-straight games, with a career-high 18 points vs. Illinois State and 12 more at Indiana State ... with 121 points this season to date, Clements has already topped his point total for all of last season (87), and is just eight points away from matching his total for the first two seasons combined.
JOE OF ALL TRADES
Freshman Joe Jakubowski has gotten some valuable on-the-job training in his first few months in a Falcon uniform, and has helped his new team in multiple ways ... Jakubowski scored 13 points, the highest total of his young collegiate career, in the Buffalo game ... he now has five double-digit outings this season ... Jakubowski dished out a career-best seven assists, the most of his young career, against Duquesne ... he had 10 points that night, one game after just missing a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds vs. Eastern Illinois ... the Rossford, Ohio native made his first start vs. Illinois State, and has been in the lineup ever since ... he has played 28.3 minutes per game this year, but has averaged 32.3 mpg - second on the teamor the team - over the last nine contests.
BLOCK PARTY
The Falcons had a total of eight blocked shots in the Kent State game, the third time this season that BG has had as least eight rejections ... after blocking four more shots in the Buffalo game and three at Akron, BGSU continues to lead the MAC in blocks, with an average of 4.38 per game.
LEADERS OF THE MAC
In addition to blocked shots, the Falcons also lead the MAC in field-goal percentage defense, having allowed opponents to shoot just 40.9 percent from the field this year ... BGSU is third in the conference in three-point FG pct. defense (29.6%) ... three Falcons - sophomores Otis Polk (third) and Marc Larson (T-fifth) and redshirt freshman Chris Knight (T-fifth) - are among the top-six players on the blocked shots list ... the Falcons are tied for the MAC lead for blocks in conference games only (5.00), and BG is second in steals ... Polk is tied for fifth in the league in rebounding in MAC games (7.8), while junior Darryl Clements is deadlocked for third in steals (2.25) ... Knight is tied for second in blocks (2.00), while Polk is tied for fifth.
UP NEXT
Following the Miami game, the Falcons will play six consecutive games against the MAC's West Division teams, beginning Sunday (Jan. 27) ... BGSU will welcome Northern Illinois to town for a 2:00 p.m. game at venerable Anderson Arena ... then, the Brown and Orange will hit the road for the next two games, at Ball State (Jan. 30) and Western Michigan (Feb. 2).
