Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Eastern Illinois With Unbeaten Home Record On The Line
December 24, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 24, 2008
Bowling Green, Ohio -
Game #11
Bowling Green (5-5) vs. Eastern Illinois (3-7)
Dec. 28, 2008 • Bowling Green, Ohio (Anderson Arena) • 2:00 p.m.
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker/Kirk Cowan
Television: BCSN
SETTING THE STAGE
• The Bowling Green State University men's basketball plays its second consecutive home game Sunday, hosting Eastern Illinois. The Falcons are 3-0 in Anderson Arena this year and Eastern Illinois is 0-4 on the road, including a 13-point road loss to MAC foe Ball State.
• The game marks the fourth meeting between the two programs. Bowling Green is 4-0 all-time against Eastern Illinois, including last year's 52-48 win. The Panthers are 1-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play this year and BG is 11-8 all-time against teams from that conference.
THE OPENING TIP (STORYLINES)
• Bowling Green is looking to build some momentum heading into the second half of the season and the Falcons have looked impressive at home. BGSU is 3-0 in Anderson Arena, winning by an average of 23.7 points per game. BG held Detroit to just 38 points Dec. 15 -- the lowest total for a BGSU opponent in 44 years. None of the Falcons' three opponents at home have shot better than 36 percent.
• BG is still learning to win close games. After a tremendous effort to win the season-opener over Georgia State in overtime, the Falcons have lost all four games that have been decided by seven points or less.
• Bowling Green is playing its second consecutive home game in a stretch the sees the Falcons play 4-of-5 games at home. Included in that string is the MAC opener against Buffalo Jan. 10.
• The Falcons rank in the top five (out of 12 teams) in the MAC in every team statistic that is tracked. BG has shown an impressive ability to do many of the little things well (the Falcons lead the conference in assists, assist/turnover ratio, blocked shots and field goal percentage defense) and that could translate into positive results as the season progresses.
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS
• Eastern Illinois is 3-7 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Panthers are 0-3 on the road and lost to another MAC school, Ball State, by 13 points on the road earlier this season.
• Romain Martin is a dynamic scorer, averaging 17.2 points per game and leading the team with 10 steals. He shoots well from the field (47.7 percent), from three-point range (43.6 percent, ranking 20th in the nation) and from the free-throw line (81.5 percent). He has scored 26 or more points three times.
• As a team, Eastern Illinois shoots the ball well and is dangerous from three-point range, ranking 12th in the country in three-point percentage. Martin and Tyler Laser are deadly from the outside and the Panthers do a solid job getting offensive rebounds when they do miss. Defensively, Eastern Illinois is giving up 70.4 points per game and opponents are shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
TRACKING FALCON MILESTONES
A number of BGSU players are closing in on career milestones or have recently reached them:
• Darryl Clements needs 40 points to reach 500 for his career.
• Joe Jakubowski needs three three-pointers to make 50 for his career.
• Matt Karaffa picked up the first rebound of his career against Eastern Illinois.
• Marc Larson needs four points for 200 in his career.
• Erik Marschall needs 32 points for 500 in his career.
• With 12 points against Savannah State, Nate Miller went over 750 for his career (now at 796). He went over the 400 rebound mark and the 100 steal plateau against Detroit and had four assists against Central Arkansas to go over 150.
• With six points against Central Arkansas, Otis Polk went over 250 in his career. He needs three blocked shots to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 in a career. He also needs three rebounds to reach 250.
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. 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 nine of its 10 opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points eight 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 four in the conference in scoring defense, steals and three-point field goal percentage defense.
• Bowling Green is on pace to post a historically significant season defensively. The Falcons' 61.2 points per game allowed is the best average since the 1949-50 team allowed 58.3 points per game. As well, the team's .373 field goal percentage allowed is the best total since the 1962-63 team allowed opponents to shoot .375 for the year.
WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 3-0 at home in 2008-09, beating teams by an average of 23.7 points per game. 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 440-176 (.714) all-time in Anderson Arena and 154-50 (.755) in the past 16 years.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Junior Otis Polk moved into fifth place on BGSU's career blocked shot leaderboard with eight in the past four games, including four against Illinois State. He ranks first in the MAC in blocked shots this year and his 97 career blocks are just 20 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 5-5 in its first 10 games and the opponents that the Falcons faced will make them stronger once MAC play begins. BGSU's five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 44-9. Three of those teams -- Minnesota, Ohio State, and Illinois State -- are still undefeated. Ohio State is ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 and Minnesota is No. 23. Meanwhile, Illinois State is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll and is ranked second, behind only Gonzaga, in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
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.
