Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green Headed South For Saturday Showdown
December 18, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2008
Game #9
Bowling Green (4-4) at Central Arkansas (5-4)
Dec. 20, 2008 • Conway, Ark. (Farris Center) • 6:00 p.m. CT
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball heads back on the road after improving to 2-0 at home this year with a 58-38 win over Detroit Sunday. This will be the seventh road or neutral site game in the first nine BGSU games.
• The game marks the second meeting between the two programs with Central Arkansas defeating the Falcons 72-58 on Dec. 9, 2006. Four current Bowling Green players saw action in that contest, in which BG shot 32 percent from the field and was outrebounded 39-29.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• Road wins have not come easy for BGSU and the Falcons are 0-4 in true road games this year and has lost six straight on the road dating back to the 2007-08 season. By contrast, Central Arkansas is 4-0 at home on the season, outscoring those opponents by an average of 16.3 points per game.
• BG is coming off of one of its best defensive efforts in recent history, allowing just 38 points against Detroit -- the lowest total for a BGSU opponent in 44 years. The Falcons are holding opponents to just 38 percent shooting and hold a +3.0 rebounding advantage.
• Bowling Green has picked up consistent scoring from four sources this year -- Brian Moten, Darryl Clements, Joe Jakubowski, and Nate Miller. All four players are averaging between 11 and 13 points per game.
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS
• Central Arkansas is in the midst of reclassifying to NCAA Division I, which is expected to be completed for the 2010-11 season. Despite playing at the NCAA Division II level at the time, Central Arkansas is noted for producing NBA great Scottie Pippen.
• Although Central Arkansas has been outscored by 1.6 points per game, the Bears are 5-4 on the year. Much of that scoring disparity can be attributed to an 81-39 loss to Northwestern to open the season.
• The Bears have played in very few close games this year with only two being decided by 10 points or less. None of Central Arkansas' games have been decided by less than five points on the season.
• Mitch Reuter, Marcus Pillow, and Mike Pouncy have shared much of the scoring load, combining to average 34.3 points per game. Brian Marks is the Southland Conference's top returning rebounder and leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game.
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Four of Bowling Green's 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:
• Darryl Clements needs 58 points to reach 500 for his career
• Marc Larson needs 11 points for 200 in his career.
• Erik Marschall needs 47 points for 500 in his career.
• With 12 points against Savannah State, Nate Miller went over 750 for his career (now at 780). He went over the 400 rebound mark and the 100 steal plateau against Detroit and needs three assists to get to 150.
• Otis Polk needs four points for 250 in his career and six blocked shots to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 in a career. He also needs 12 rebounds to reach 250.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are beating teams by an average of 26.0 points per game at home in 2008-09. 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. The Falcons are 439-176 (.714) all-time in Anderson Arena and 153-50 (.754) in the past 16 years.
DEFENSE WINS
• Bowling Green has buckled down defensively in 2008-09 and that has not been more apparent than in the Falcons' win over Detroit Sunday night. The Titans scored just 38 points, the lowest point total for a BGSU opponent since an 87-37 Bowling Green win over Western Ontario on Feb. 1, 1964. As well, the Titans shot just 22.7 percent from the field and had just two assists. Both of those stats were the lowest BG opponent totals since game-by-game boxscores have been archived (1987-88 season).
• BGSU has held seven of its eight opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points six times. Under head coach Louis Orr, BGSU is just 1-9 when an opponent shoots 45 percent or better (1-8 in 2007-08). BG leads the MAC in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots, ranking in the top three in the conference in scoring defense and steals.
• Bowling Green is on pace to post a historically significant season defensively. The Falcons' 60.9 points per game allowed is the best average since the 1949-50 team allowed 58.3 points per game. As well, the team's .378 field goal percentage allowed is the best total since the 1962-63 team allowed opponents to shoot .375 for the year.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk moved into fifth place on BGSU's career blocked shot leaderboard with eight in the past three games, including four against Illinois State. He ranks first in the MAC in blocked shots this year and his 94 career blocks are just 23 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.
CLEMENTS' CAREER WEEKEND
Senior guard Darryl Clements was named to the NABC Classic All-Tournament team after setting his new career scoring high not just one time, but twice during the season's opening weekend. Clements made a crucial three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation that helped pushed the season opener against Georgia State to overtime -- a game the Falcons eventually won. He then scored a career-high 19 points in the team's loss to Minnesota, before pumping home 22 in BGSU's win over Concordia St. Paul. He also led Bowling Green in assists, steals and field goal percentage during the weekend.
CAN IT GET ANY TOUGHER?
Although Bowling Green is just 4-4 in its first eight games, 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 32-4. Three of those teams -- Minnesota, Ohio State, and Illinois State -- are still undefeated. In fact, Ohio State is now ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25. Minnesota is receving votes in The AP Top 25 and Illinois State is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. RPIRatings.com lists BGSU's schedule as the 22nd toughest in the nation.
FRESH FACES
Head coach Louis Orr announced the signing of two players for the 2009-10 season during the early signing period. Luke Kraus, of Findlay, Ohio (Findlay HS), and Danny McElroy, of Cincinnati, Ohio (La Salle HS), will join the Falcons next year. Kraus is a two-time player of the year in the Greater Buckeye Conference and McElroy is a tenacious defender who averaged 14.2 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior. Those two will join transfers Darion Goins and Adrion Graves, both of which are sitting out the 2008-09 season due to transfer rules.
CATCH THE FALCONS
• BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr appears on the Falcons' Nest Coaches Show on select Monday evenings. The show runs from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and normally is scheduled for live broadcast from Fricker's in Bowling Green (1720 E. Wooster Street).
• BGSU men's basketball coach Louis Orr will talk live on 1470 WLQR "The Ticket" throughout the year. He is scheduled to be on host Norm Wamer's show Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the season.
• 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.
