Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Central Michigan Wednesday
February 05, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2008
Coach Orr Tuesday Press Conference
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 • 7:00 p.m.
Anderson Arena (4,700) • Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 10-10 (5-3 MAC) // Central Michigan 9-11 (4-4 MAC)
RADIO: Falcon Radio Network - Todd Walker and Kirk Cowan
SERIES: BGSU leads, 35-28 // STREAK: CMU - 1
LAST MEETING: at Central Michigan 71, BGSU 68 (Jan. 27, 2007)
BGSU Notes, Stats & Bios in PDF Format
BGSU Game-by-Game Boxscores & Recaps in PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team, with a Mid-American Conference record of 5-3 at the halfway point, continue cross-divisional play with a pair of home games this week ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr begin that two-game homestand with a Wednesday (Feb. 6) game vs. Central Michigan University ... tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena (4,700) ... following the CMU game, the Falcons will host the arch-rival University of Toledo in a 4:05 p.m. start on Sunday (Feb. 10) ... that game will be televised on ESPNU.
THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons, picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the MAC's preseason coaches poll, have the fifth-best record among the league's 12 teams at the halfway point of the conference schedule ... BGSU's MAC record of 5-3 trails Akron, Kent State, Ohio and Western Michigan (all 6-2) by a game apiece.
• BGSU saw a three-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's (Feb. 2) loss at WMU, 64-50 ... redshirt freshman Chris Knight led the Falcons with 13 points against the MAC West Division leaders, while junior Brian Moten had 12 points off the bench.
• Moten has stepped up his game in the last month ... the Saginaw, Mich., native has had eight double-digit scoring games this season, including seven of the nine games since the New Year ... he has scored at least 10 points in six of BG's eight MAC games, and is second on the team with 11.4 ppg in league play.
BGSU TO FACE DETROIT IN BRACKETBUSTERS
The Falcons will play at the University of Detroit Mercy in a 2008 O'Reilly/ESPNU BracketBusters game ... BGSU will play the Titans at UDM's Calihan Hall on Saturday, Feb. 23, with tipoff time set for 4:05 p.m. ... the 2007-08 season marks the sixth year of the event, and BGSU has a 7-3 record in BracketBusters-related games ... earlier this season (Nov. 17), the Falcons defeated Morehead State, 86-70, in a return game from the 2007 BracketBusters event ... BGSU has also had home-and-home series with UIC, Youngstown State, Arkansas-Little Rock and Wright State through BracketBusters.
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE OTHER BENCH
Falcon fans will recognize a host of faces on the visiting bench Wednesday ... Central Michigan is coached by second-year head man Ernie Ziegler, who was an assistant coach at BGSU in 2000-01 ... Ziegler's staff includes Keith Noftz, an assistant for the Falcons from 1994-2002, as well as Darren Kohne, who was an administrative assistant at BGSU from 2000-02.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Central Michigan game with a 10-10 overall record on the season, and BGSU is 5-3 in MAC play ... BGSU is coming off a 64-50 loss at Western Michigan Saturday (Feb. 2), a loss that snapped a three-game winning streak ... the Falcons 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 three days later (Jan. 20) ... BG posted narrow home wins over Miami (55-52; Jan. 23) and Northern Illinois (63-59; Jan. 27) before heading to Ball State and picking up a 63-53 decision Wednesday (Jan. 30).
• 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 6-3 at home, 3-6 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is averaging 63.0 points per game to the opponents' 65.8 ppg ... the Falcons are shooting 44.0 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot just 40.5%.
• Individually, junior Nate Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game ... he also paces the Falcons in steals (1.6 spg), and is second on the squad in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and assists (2.7 apg) ... Miller has hit double digits in scoring in a team-high 15 of BG's 20 games this year.
• Redshirt freshman Chris Knight is second on the team in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding ... Knight has 11.3 points and 7.1 boards per game, and is shooting 45.3% from the field ... Knight's total of 92 field goals made is second on the team, behind Miller's team-leading total of 97 FGM.
• Junior Darryl Clements has 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game ... he ranks third on the Falcons in scoring, and is second in steals (1.4 spg), third in assists (2.2 apg) and fourth on the team in rebounding ... junior Brian Moten, who has led the Falcons in scoring in three of the last six games, has 7.1 ppg ... he is shooting 50.5% from the field and 42.5% from the three-point line, leading the team in both categories.
• Freshman Joe Jakubowski is averaging 6.4 points per game ... he leads the Falcons in assists, with 2.7 per outing ... Jakubowski's total of 54 helpers is one ahead of Miller ... the freshman is tied for the team lead with 20 three-point field-goals made ... sophomores Otis Polk and Marc Larson have split time at center, and are averaging 5.3 and 5.0 points per contest, respectively ... Polk has 4.7 rpg, ranking third on the team, and leads the Falcons in blocked shots, with 26 (1.3 bpg) this season to date ... Larson has 2.5 rpg and 1.2 blocks per game, and is shooting an 48.5% from the floor, ranking second on the team in FG pct. and blocks.
• Soph Ryan Sims has played in 19 games off the bench, and is averaging 1.3 ppg, while freshman Cameron Madlock has seen action in nine games ... Madlock, who had six points and seven rebounds at Akron, is averaging 1.3 ppg and 1.2 rpg ... sophomore Matt Karaffa made his collegiate debut in the Indiana State contest, and also saw action vs. UA and WMU.
• In MAC action, Miller leads the team in scoring, with 12.0 ppg, while Moten is also in double digits, at 11.4 ppg ... Clements has 9.9 ppg and a team-high 2.0 steals per game in MAC play ... Knight has 8.6 ppg and a team-high 6.8 rpg, while Jakubowski has 5.9 ppg and Polk 4.9 ... Polk also has 5.5 rpg off the bench in conference games.
• BGSU is shooting 42.6% from the field to the opponents' 41.3% in MAC action ... the Falcons have made 96 free throws - nearly as many as the opposition has attempted (98) - in those eight games.
• Clements, Larson and Miller each have started all 20 games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... Jakubowski has started each of the last 12 games, while Knight has started 19 times, including each of the last nine ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.
A WIN OVER CENTRAL MICHIGAN WOULD ...
• improve BGSU's MAC record to 6-3, which would double the team's conference win total for all of last season (3-13 in MAC games a year ago);
• give the Falcons a perfect 5-0 record in MAC home games this season; and
• extend BGSU's home winning streak against conference teams to six games, dating to last season.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 9-11, and the Chippewas are 4-4 in MAC play ... CMU is a perfect 4-0 at home, but 0-4 on the road in conference action ... Central has won two of the last three overall games, including a 65-64 win over Akron on Jan. 26, and a 100-96, double-overtime win vs. Buffalo the last time out (Feb. 2) ... overall, CMU is 6-1 at home, 3-9 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games this year ... the road wins all came in a four-game span, against Detroit, Robert Morris and Michigan during the first half of December ... individually, senior guard Giordan Watson leads the team in scoring with 17.0 points per game, and also paces the Chippewas in assists (4.6 apg) ... he ranks second in the MAC in the former category, and leads the conference in the latter ... junior G/F Nate Minnoy has 10.4 ppg and 4.4 rebounds per outing, ranking second on the team in boards ... sophomore guard Jordan Bitzer has scored 7.8 points per contest, while freshman guard Jeremy Allen and junior forward Chris Kellerman have 7.5 and 6.4 ppg, respectively ... no fewer than 12 different players have started at least three games apiece this season, with 11 different Chippewas earning at least two starts in MAC play ... sophomore F/C Marko Spica (5.0 ppg), sophomore guard Robbie Harman (3.8 ppg) and senior G/F Eddie Spencer (2.6 ppg) joined Allen and Watson in the starting lineup in the Buffalo game ... head coach Ernie Ziegler welcomed back nine letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that finished 13-18 overall and 7-9 in MAC action ... Ziegler has a record of 22-29 in his second year as a collegiate head coach, both with the Chippewas ... the school's athletics web site is www.cmuchippewas.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Central Michigan, 35-28, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Chippewas, however, won the most recent meeting, with a 71-68 triumph in Mount Pleasant in last season's game (Jan. 27, 2007) ... the Falcons won the last meeting at Anderson Arena, 66-44, in the MAC opener two years ago (Jan. 4, 2006) ... BGSU is 21-9 in home games, 14-18 in road games and 0-1 in neutral-site contests vs. the Chippewas over the years.
LAST TIME OUT
Host Western Michigan opened up a double-digit first-half lead en route to a 64-50 win over the Falcons Saturday (Feb. 2) ... BGSU saw a three-game winning streak snapped with the loss ... redshirt freshman Chris Knight led the Falcons with 13 points, while junior Brian Moten scored 12 points off the bench ... Joe Reitz paced the Broncos, with game-high totals of 21 points and nine rebounds ... Andre Ricks also hit double digits for the home team, with 10 points off the bench ... the Broncos scored on each of their first five possessions of the game, opening up a 12-3 lead in that time ... the lead got to 14-2 before the Falcons battled back ... a three-point play by Knight sparked a 9-0 run, as the Falcons held WMU without a point for a span of 4:14 and without a field goal for 5:25 ... a jumper by sophomore Otis Polk cut the Bronco lead to just two points, 14-12, with 11:01 left in the half ... BG was still within 20-16 a few minutes later, but WMU would go on a 9-1 run over the final 3:06 of the half, bringing the Broncos' lead to 34-21 at the intermission ... in that first half, the Broncos had an 18-5 advantage in rebounding, with a 7-0 margin in offensive boards ... the home team slowly pulled away in the second half, moving the lead over 20 points on a Martelle McLemore jumper midway through the half ... the closest the Falcons could get thereafter was 13 points on a dunk by junior Nate Miller with 1:48 left ... BG held a 21-14 rebounding advantage in the second half ... for the game, the Broncos had 32 boards to the Falcons' 26.
HOME (AND ROAD) IMPROVEMENT
With at least 10 games remaining this season, the Falcons have matched or surpassed last year's win totals in numerous categories ...
• BGSU enters the Central Michigan game with a 4-0 home record in MAC games ... the Falcons went 3-5 in conference games at Anderson Arena last year.
• The Falcons have a MAC record of 5-3 this year ... BGSU is one win away from doubling the team's conference victory total from all of last season ... the Falcons went 3-13 in MAC play a year ago.
• BGSU is 1-3 in MAC road games this season, after going 0-8 in such games last year.
• The Falcons are 3-6 in road games this season, matching the win total for all of last year ... BG went 3-10 in away contests in 2006-07.
SNAPPING A STREAK
The Falcons' 63-53 win at Ball State (Jan. 30) snapped a 15-game losing streak in conference road games ... BGSU's last win at a hostile venue in MAC play came two years and four days prior to the BSU game - Jan. 26, 2006 - a 79-74 triumph at Kent State.
PERFECT 10
The Falcons (and their 10-man active roster) are 10-0 when leading opponents with 10 minutes left in the game.
MOTEN OFFENSE
Junior Brian Moten has provided the Falcons with an offensive spark ... Moten has hit double digits in scoring eight times this season, including seven times in the last nine games ... he is second on the team in scoring in MAC games, with 11.4 ppg vs. conference opposition ... in fact, Moten is ranked among the MAC leaders in several categories ... in league games, the Saginaw, Mich., native if 20th in scoring, sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (41.7%; 10-for-24) and 10th in field-goal pct. (51.7%) ... he played 33 minutes at Ball State and 34 at Western Michigan, his two highest totals this year.
ORR, FALCONS GO 2-0 VS. OTHER FIRST-YEAR MAC COACHES
Louis Orr is one of three first-year head coaches in the MAC ... BGSU recently completed back-to-back games against the other two teams coached by first-year MAC mentors, winning both ... Orr and the Falcons picked up a win over Ricardo Patton's Northern Illinois squad on Sunday (63-59; Jan. 27), and BG downed a Billy Taylor-coached Ball State team, 63-53, last Wednesday (Jan. 30).
MANY WAYS TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• All BGSU men's basketball games are aired on the Falcon Sports Radio Network, with Todd Walker calling the action ... former Falcon standout Kirk Cowan provides color commentary at home games ... stations on the network in the greater Bowling Green include WCWA-AM 1230 (Toledo), WPFX-FM 107.7 (Findlay/North Baltimore) and WBUK-FM 106.3 (Ottawa).
• Student station WBGU-FM 88.1, the flagship for BG hockey and women's basketball, carries men's basketball games when there is not a conflict with one of the aforementioned sports ... the announcers vary by game.
• Nearly every home game is televised in the Toledo area by the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) ... a number of BGSU's other 2007-08 games are scheduled to be televised as well ... the Falcons' Feb. 10 home game vs. Toledo will be shown on ESPNU ... BG's Feb. 13 contest at Eastern Michigan is scheduled to be aired by Comcast Local ... the Feb. 19 game at Ohio will be part of the ESPN Full Court package, and the Falcons' final regular-season game, at Miami on March 9, will be aired by FSN Ohio and has been changed to a noon start.
FALCONS PICKED FOR SIXTH
The Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference's East Division in the 2007-08 preseason poll ... the poll is the result of voting by members of the MAC News Media Association ... BGSU received 47 points in the poll, five fewer than Buffalo ... Kent State was the voters' choice to win the East Division, narrowly beating out Miami for that honor ... Ohio and Akron were tabbed to place third and fourth, respectively, followed by UB and BGSU ... Western Michigan was picked to win the West Division, nearly 30 points ahead of Toledo ... KSU received seven votes to win the MAC Tournament, while WMU received six and Ohio and Miami five apiece ... the Falcons received one vote to win the league tourney, which will be held at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland from March 12-15, 2008.
UP NEXT
Following the CMU game, the Falcons will conclude a two-game homestand by facing arch-rival Toledo Sunday afternoon (Feb. 10), with the bright lights and big cameras of ESPNU inside venerable Anderson Arena ... that game begins a stretch of four games in 10 days for the Brown and Orange ... following the UT game, BG concludes cross-divisional play with a game at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
