Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Finally Return Home To Host Detroit
December 12, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2008
Game #8
Bowling Green (3-4) vs. Detroit (2-6)
Dec. 14, 2008 • Bowling Green, Ohio (Anderson Arena) • 6:00 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker/Kirk Cowan
BGSU welcomes WCKY 103.7 FM to the radio family
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team finally returns home to host Detroit. The Falcons are 1-0 at home this year but have not played in Anderson Arena since Nov. 20. Detroit is 0-5 on the road.
• The game marks the 34th meeting between the two programs with Detroit holding a 21-12 advantage in the series. Bowling Green, however, has won each of the past three contests and four of the last five.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• A home game could not have come at a better time for Bowling Green. The Falcons have lost three consecutive games, all on the road, and BGSU will look towards the friendly confines of Anderson Arena to get back on track. Bowling Green is 1-0 at home this year and has won 71 percent of its contests all-time in "The House That Roars."
• BG's defense has been its calling card this year and the Falcons will look to smother a Detroit team that has struggled to score this year. The Titans are averaging only 57.4 points per game and shooting only 40 percent from the field and just 28 percent from three-point range.
• Bowling Green will need to find a way to play better in the second half of games. Despite losing their past three games, the Falcons have outscored those opponents by seven points in the first halves. BG has been outscored by 27 points in the second halves of those games though.
SCOUTING DETROIT
• Detroit is 2-5 to start the year and has struggled offensively, ranking 314th out of 330 NCAA Division I teams in scoring. The Titans are shooting just 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range. As well, Detroit is shooting only 64 percent from the free-throw line and is turning the ball over four more times per game than their opponents.
• UD has lost two straight games entering this contest and has split with two MAC opponents this year. The Titans lost to Western Michigan 71-58 and defeated Eastern Michigan 62-47.
• Detroit has already started nine different players this year, but Xavier Keeling has started all seven contests, averaging a team-best 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds.
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Four of Bowling Green's first seven games have been decided in the final five minutes and three of those contests were decided in the final minute of play. The most exciting of those games was a 77-76 overtime win against Georgia State to open the season. Darryl Clements and Brian Moten made three-pointers in the final 15 seconds of regulation just to force overtime and Joe Jakubowski knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer as the buzzer sounded in the extra session for the win. Against Ohio State, Bowling Green led with six minutes to play but the Buckeyes scored eight straight late to come away with a four-point victory. In a 57-54 loss to Savannah State, BGSU led until the final 1:17 of the contest and missed on two attempts to tie the game in the final 60 seconds.
TRACKING FALCON MILESTONES
A number of BGSU players are closing in on career milestones or have recently reached them:
• With three rebounds against Illinois State, Darryl Clements reached 200 for his career. As well, he needs 71 points to get to 500.
• Marc Larson needs 13 points for 200 in his career.
• Erik Marschall needs six field goal attempts to qualify for the BG top 10 in career field goal percentage. He would be 10th in school history if he had enough attempts. He also needs 50 points for 500 in his career.
• With 12 points against Savannah State, Nate Miller went over 750 for his career (now at 770). He needs one rebound to get to 400 during his career, five assists to get to 150, and two steals to get to 100.
• Otis Polk needs six points for 250 in his career and seven blocked shots to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 in a career.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons opened the building in 2008-09 by defeating Wayne State by 32 points. Bowling Green made "The House That Roars" especially tough on conference foes a year ago, going 6-2. Those six victories included wins over the teams picked to finish first (Kent State), second (Miami) and third (Ohio) in the East Division preseason poll. In fact, the team was roughly two minutes away from a perfect home record in MAC action, losing to Central Michigan in overtime and to Akron by nine points. CMU forced overtime on a putback with 0.9 seconds left in regulation, while Bowling Green led Akron with just over two minutes remaining and trailed by just one point with under a minute left.
DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green has buckled down defensively in 2008-09, holding six of its seven opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points five times. A year ago, opponents shot 45 percent or better nine times and the Falcons were 1-8 in those games. BG ranks among the top five in the MAC in a number of defensive categories including scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, steals, and blocked shots.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk moved into a tie for fifth place on BGSU's career blocked shot leaderboard with seven in the past two games, including four against Illinois State. He ranks first in the MAC in blocked shots this year and his 93 career blocks are just 24 behind all-time leader Tom Hall, with 117 from 1989-92. A year ago, he had four blocks in four different games, ending the season with 51, the second highest single-season total in Bowling Green history. Cornelius Cash set the mark with 59 blocks in 1973-74.
CAN IT GET ANY TOUGHER?
Although Bowling Green has lost four of its first seven contests, the opponents that the Falcons faced will make them stronger once MAC play begins. BGSU's four losses have come against teams with a combined record of 27-4. Three of those teams -- Minnesota, Ohio State, and Illinois State -- are still undefeated. In fact, Ohio State is now ranked No. 21 in the both the AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today polls, while Minnesota is receving votes in both polls. Jeff Sagarin's computer rankings list BGSU's schedule as the eighth toughest in the country and RPIRatings.com lists it as the third toughest schedule in the nation.
TUNE THE RADIO DIAL
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on a different radio station than many listeners may be used to. The game will be aired on WCKY 103.7 FM based in Findlay, Ohio. The broadcast will also be available on the internet at www.bgsufalcons.com for those outside of the listening area.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Live statistics for all BGSU home men's basketball games are available on the web via Gametracker. Gametracker allows fans to view in-game stats as they occur, and may be accessed by going to the official site of Falcon athletics, BGSUFalcons.com. Falcon fans can utilize Gametracker for home events in numerous BGSU sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, hockey, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball.
