Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Face Miami Sunday to Conclude Regular Season
March 07, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
BGSU at MIAMI
Sunday, March 9, 2008 • 12:00 p.m.
Millett Hall (6,400) • Oxford, Ohio
RECORDS: BGSU 13-15 (7-8 MAC) // Miami 14-14 (8-7 MAC)
RADIO: Falcon Radio Network - Todd Walker
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net Ohio - Brent Stover and Chad Estes
SERIES: Miami leads, 71-47 // STREAK: BGSU - 2
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 55, Miami 52 (Jan. 23, 2008)
BGSU Notes, Stats & Player Bios in PDF Format
Game-by-Game Boxscores in PDF Format
THE GAME
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team, with just one game remaining in Mid-American Conference regular-season play, still has a myriad of possibilities in terms of league tournament seeding ... the Falcons of head coach Louis Orr, with a chance to finish as high as the fifth seed or as low as ninth, head to Oxford for a Sunday (March 9) game against Miami University ... tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Millett Hall (6,400), with the game televised on Fox Sports Net Ohio ... Brent Stover will call the play-by-play, with Chad Estes providing color commentary ... following the MU contest, the Brown and Orange will head to Cleveland for the First Energy MAC Tournament ... BGSU will play a first-round game on Wednesday, March 12, at Quicken Loans Arena (20,562), with opponent and start time to be determined.
THE OPENING TIP
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are embroiled in a tight six-team battle for tournament seeding ... heading into the final day of the regular season, Central Michigan, Miami, Ohio (all 8-7), BGSU, Eastern Michigan (both 7-8) and Toledo (6-8) all are within a game-and-a-half of one another ... later in this release, we will try to delve into the Falcons' veritable plethora of tournament possibilities.
• On Monday (March 3), Falcon freshman guard Joe Jakubowski was named a MAC Player of the Week ... Jakubowski, who shared the East Division honor with Miami's Michael Bramos, was recognized after setting career bests in both points (21) and assists (12) in BG's win over then nationally-ranked Kent State.
BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Sophomore Otis Polk tied his career high with four blocked shots in Tuesday's (March 4) Buffalo game, the fourth time this season he has amassed that total ... Polk now has 48 blocks this year, the third-highest single-season total in school history ... the Detroit native is just one block behind second-place Skip Howard (49 blocks in the 1972-73 season) ... Cornelius Cash holds the record, with 59 blocks in 1973-74 ... with 78 career blocks, Polk has moved into 10th place on that BG chart ... the school's single-season and career blocked-shots lists can be found in the PDF version of this release.
BLOCK PARTY II: CHRIS & MARC STOPPING BY, TOO
Sophomore Otis Polk, as mentioned, is now third on the BGSU single-season list for blocked shots ... classmate Marc Larson and redshirt freshman Chris Knight are adding their names to that same list ... both players blocked three shots in the win over Kent State ... Larson now has 34 blocks this year to date, moving into a tie for ninth place on the school list ... Knight now has 29 rejections in 2007-08.
SEASON WINDING DOWN, RACE FOR SEEDING HEATING UP
With just one game left for each team in the MAC regular-season schedule, the Falcons - picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll - have a 7-8 league mark, tied for seventh overall among the 12 teams ... BGSU has more than doubled the team's MAC win total for all of last season (Falcons went 3-13 in league play in 2006-07) ... if the regular season ended today, the Falcons would be the eighth seed for the First Energy MAC Tournament, and would face ninth-seeded Toledo in the first round on Wednesday, March 12, with the winner taking on Kent State the following day.
SEED SCENARIOS (AND THERE ARE MANY)
The Falcons currently hold the eighth seed, as mentioned, in the MAC standings ... BGSU has the potential to finish as high as the fifth seed or as low as the ninth seed ... BG would lose a two-team tiebreaker with Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan or Ohio ... should the Falcons tie Miami, BGSU would win that tiebreaker ... and, BGSU would fare well in a number of multiple-team ties ... let's dive in ...
• First off, a BGSU win at Miami would give the Falcons either the #5 or #6 seed, while a loss to the RedHawks would make BG the #8 or #9 seed ... there is no possibility of the Falcons being the #7 seed.
IF BGSU WINS AT MIAMI, every possible scenario has the Falcons finishing as either the fifth or sixth seed and facing Northern Illinois or Buffalo in the first round ... a few of those scenarios...
BGSU 8-8, CMU 8-8, EMU 8-8, Miami 8-8, Ohio 8-8 - BGSU #5 SEED
• In all cases, a BG win would make both the Falcons and RedHawks 8-8 ... if Ohio loses to Buffalo, EMU defeats NIU and CMU loses to Toledo, all five teams (BGSU, Miami, CMU, EMU and OU) would have 8-8 records ... in such a case, EMU would be the #4 seed, while CMU would be the #8 seed, by virtue of the teams' head-to-head records vs. the tied teams (EMU 3-2; BGSU, Miami and Ohio all 3-3; CMU 2-3) ... then, BGSU, OU and MU would break the remaining three-team tie, with the Falcons (3-1 vs. tied teams) #5, OU (2-2) #6 and MU (1-3) #7.
BGSU 8-8, CMU 8-8, EMU 8-8, Miami 8-8 (Ohio 9-7) - BGSU #5 SEED
• In this wacky scenario, all four tied teams would have a 2-2 head-to-head record against the other three schools ... the next tiebreaker is each team's record against the #1 seed, Kent State ... BGSU would be the #5 seed, as the Falcons were the only team of the four to pick up a win vs. the Flashes (BGSU 1-1 vs. Kent State, CMU 0-1, EMU 0-1, Miami 0-2).
BGSU 8-8, CMU 8-8, Miami 8-8, Ohio 8-8 (EMU 7-9) - BGSU #5 SEED
• In this scenario, head-to-head records against tied teams would have BGSU and Ohio at 3-2, Miami 2-3 and CMU 1-2, so MU would be the #6 seed and CMU #7 ... in the resulting two-team tie, Ohio would win a tiebreaker over BGSU due to the Bobcats' win over #2 Western Michigan (second tiebreaker after each team went 1-1 against #1 seed KSU) ... OU would be the #4 seed while BGSU would be the #5 seed.
BGSU 8-8, CMU 8-8, Miami 8-8 (Ohio 9-7, EMU 7-9) - BGSU #5 SEED
• BGSU's head-to-head record vs. the other two tied teams in this scenario would be 2-1, earning the Falcons the #5 seed ... CMU (1-1) would be the #6 seed and Miami (1-2) the #7 seed.
BGSU 8-8, Ohio 8-8, Miami 8-8 (CMU 9-7, EMU 7-9) - BGSU #5 SEED
• BGSU's head-to-head record vs. the other two tied teams in this scenario would be 3-1, earning the Falcons the #5 seed ... OU (2-2) would be the #6 seed and Miami (1-3) the #7 seed.
BGSU 8-8, EMU 8-8, Miami 8-8, Ohio 8-8 (CMU 9-7) - BGSU #6 SEED
• In this scenario, head-to-head records against tied teams would have EMU at 2-1, BGSU at 3-2, and Ohio and Miami each at 2-3 ... EMU would be the #5 seed and BGSU #6 ... Ohio would be #7 and Miami #8 due to the Bobcats' win over #1 Kent State.
BGSU 8-8, EMU 8-8, Miami 8-8 (Ohio and CMU 9-7) - BGSU #6 SEED
• BGSU would have a 2-1 head-to-head record vs. the other two tied teams in this scenario, earning the Falcons the #6 seed ... EMU (1-1) would be the #7 seed and Miami (1-2) the #8 seed.
BGSU 8-8, Miami 8-8 (CMU and Ohio 9-7, EMU 7-9) - BGSU #6 SEED
• BGSU would win head-to-head tiebreaker, to claim the #6 seed, by virtue of a sweep of Miami in the teams' two regular-season meetings.
IF BGSU LOSES AT MIAMI, the Falcons would finish as the #8 or #9 seed, likely facing Toledo or EMU in the first round of the MAC Tournament ... a BG loss to Miami would make the Falcons 7-9 and the RedHawks 9-7 ... BGSU also would finish behind CMU and Ohio, neither of whom can finish lower than 8-8 ... so, that leaves only EMU and Toledo ...
BGSU 7-9, EMU 7-9 (Toledo 6-9) - BGSU #8 SEED
• Eastern Michigan wins the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Falcons, by virtue of a win over BGSU in the teams' lone regular-season meeting ... EMU would be the #7 seed, while BGSU would be the #8 seed and face #9 Toledo.
BGSU 7-9, EMU 7-9 (Toledo 7-8) - BGSU #9 SEED
• Again, EMU wins the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Falcons ... Toledo would be the #7 seed, EMU the #8 and BGSU the #9 seed ... this is the only scenario where the Falcons could meet EMU in the tourney's first round.
BGSU 7-9 (EMU 8-8, Toledo 6-9) - BGSU #8 SEED
• The Falcons would face #9 Toledo in the tournament's first round.
BGSU 7-9 (EMU 8-8, Toledo 7-8) - BGSU #9 SEED
• The Falcons would face #8 Toledo in the first round.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the Miami game with an overall record of 13-15, and BGSU is 7-8 in MAC play ... BG saw a two-game winning streak halted with Tuesday's (March 4) 96-50 loss at Buffalo ... prior to that setback, the Falcons had posted a road win over Detroit, 81-65, in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event (Feb. 23) before downing nationally-ranked Kent State, 89-83, in the final home game (March 1) ... BGSU is now 4-5 vs. MAC East Division teams, and the Falcons went 3-3 vs. the West ... the Falcons downed arch-rival Toledo, 69-58, at home before a national-TV audience on Feb. 10, but then dropped five-of-six games, prior to the wins over UDM and KSU.
• The Falcons opened the league schedule with a 2-2 record, with home wins over Ohio (52-49; Jan. 5) and Buffalo (83-70; Jan. 17) and road losses KSU (49-63; Jan. 12) and Akron (44-80; Jan. 20) ... after that MAC start, BG then won three-straight games, posting 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 (Jan. 30) to move to 5-2 in league action ... that winning streak came to an end with a 64-50 loss at Western Michigan (Feb. 2), the first game in that six-game stretch in which the Brown and Orange went 1-5.
• The Falcons opened the 2007-08 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, BG suffered a four-game losing streak in December, with three of those losses coming on the road.
• 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 finished with a record of 8-5 at home, and BG is 4-9 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games ... BGSU is averaging 64.2 points per game to the opponents' 68.2 ppg ... the Falcons are shooting 44.3 percent from the field, while allowing the opponents to shoot 41.2%.
• Individually, junior Nate Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game ... Miller also paces the Falcons in steals (1.5 spg), and is second on the squad in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg) ... he has hit double digits in scoring in a team-high 21 of BG's 28 games this year.
• Redshirt freshman Chris Knight is second on the team in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding ... Knight, a MAC Freshman-of-the-Year candidate, has 10.7 points and 7.3 boards per game, and is third on the team in blocked shots (1.0 bpg) ... Knight has a team-leading four double-doubles, and has been just one rebound away from a double-double on four other occasions.
• Junior Brian Moten, a top candidate for MAC Sixth-Man-of-the-Year honors, is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.3 ppg ... Moten, who is averaging 17.7 points over the last three games, is shooting 52.6 percent from the field, ranking second on the team, and has shot a BG-best 45.2% from the three-point line ... Moten hit a career-high six three-pointers vs. KSU, and now has made a team-leading 38 triples.
• Guards Joe Jakubowski and Darryl Clements have 7.7 and 7.6 points per game, respectively ... Jakubowski, a freshman, leads the Falcons in assists, with 3.1 per outing ... he posted career-high scoring totals in two-straight games, with 17 at UDM and 21 vs. KSU, and also set a career assists standard in the latter game, with 12 helpers vs. the Golden Flashes ... Jakubowski is second on the team in three-pointers made, with 32 ... Clements is second on the Falcons in steals (1.2 spg), third in assists (2.4 apg) and fourth on the team in rebounding (3.0 rpg) ... the junior is third on the Falcons with 25 three-point FG made.
• Sophomores Otis Polk and Marc Larson have split time at center, and are averaging 5.3 and 4.9 points per contest, respectively ... Polk has 4.3 rpg, ranking third on the team ... he is shooting a team-leading 53.1% from the field, and also leads the Falcons in blocked shots, with 48 (1.7 bpg) - the third-highest single-season total in school history ... Larson has 2.9 rpg and 1.2 blocks per game, and is shooting 51.0% from the floor ... he is second on the team in blocks and ranks third in FG pct.
• Soph Ryan Sims has played in 26 games off the bench, and is averaging 1.6 ppg ... Sims has posted double-digit minutes totals in each of the last five games, including a MAC season-high 17 at Buffalo ... freshman Cameron Madlock has seen action in 15 games, and has 1.1 ppg and 1.0 rpg ... sophomore Matt Karaffa has played in five games, all on the road ... Karaffa made his collegiate debut in the Indiana State contest, and also saw action at Akron, Western Michigan, Ohio and Detroit.
• In MAC action, Miller and Moten are in a virtual tie for the team scoring lead, with 12.7 ppg apiece ... Miller has a total of 191 points in those 15 games, while Moten has 190 ... Miller paces the Falcons in assists in MAC play, with 3.2 apg, while Jakubowski is right behind at 3.0 apg ... Knight has 8.7 ppg and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds in MAC action, with Miller at 6.4 rpg ... Clements has 8.4 ppg and 1.4 steals per game in MAC play, leading the Falcons in the latter category ... Jakubowski has 7.9 ppg and Polk 5.1 ... Polk also has 4.3 rpg and a team-best 2.1 blocked shots per game off the bench in conference contests ... BGSU is shooting 43.6% from the field to the opponents' 42.4% in MAC action.
• Clements, Larson and Miller each have started all 28 games to date for first-year BGSU head coach Louis Orr ... Jakubowski has started each of the last 20 games, while Knight has started 27 times, including each of the last 17 ... that lineup has taken the floor at the beginning of all 17 games in calendar year 2008 ... the Falcons went 13-18 overall and 3-13 in MAC play in 2006-07.
A WIN OVER MIAMI WOULD ...
• give the Falcons 14 overall wins, topping last year's mark (BG was 13-18 last year);
• give BGSU eight MAC wins, matching the total for the previous two seasons combined (the Falcons went 5-13 in the league in 2005-06 and 3-13 last year);
• tie the Falcons for at least fourth - and possibly third - in the MAC's East Division, after BG finished sixth in each of the last two years (and was picked to finish last in this season's preseason media poll);
• be BGSU's fifth road win of the season (the Falcons would be 5-9 in away games after going 3-10 last year);
• give the Brown and Orange multiple March wins for the first time in five years (since BGSU went 3-2 in March games in the 2002-03 season);
• make the Falcons the fifth or sixth seed for the 12-team MAC Tournament, after BGSU was the 12th seed a year ago; and
• give the Falcons a three-game series winning streak vs. Miami, and break a three-game losing streak at Millett Hall.
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 14-14, and the RedHawks are 8-7 in MAC action to date ... MU is coming off a 50-39 road loss to Kent State on Tuesday (March 4) ... the 'Hawks began the month with a 73-49 waxing of Ohio last weekend (March 1) ... Miami had a five-game winning streak from Jan. 26 to Feb. 9, but have dropped four-of-six games since that time ... of the four losses, two came on the road in double overtime (vs. Western Michigan and Valparaiso), and a third was by just four points (to Akron) ... the RedHawks are 8-3 at home, 4-10 on the road and 2-1 in neutral-site contests ... in MAC action, MU is 5-2 at Millett Hall and went 3-5 on the road ... individually, senior forward Tim Pollitz and junior F/G Michael Bramos each have averaged 15.9 points per game ... Pollitz leads the 'Hawks in rebounding (7.0 rpg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.3 spg) ... Bramos leads the team with 55 three-point field goals made, and also paces the 'Hawks in blocked shots, with 1.5 bpg ... junior guard Kenny Hayes has 12.9 ppg, and has made 43 three-pointers this year to date ... Tim Pollitz has started all 28 games this year, while Hayes has made 27 starts and Bramos 22 ... junior F/C Tyler Dierkers (6.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and redshirt junior guard Eric Pollitz (5.0 ppg) join those three players in the probable starting lineup ... head coach Charlie Coles welcomed back a total of nine letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's team that finished 18-15 overall and 10-6 in the MAC ... the 2006-07 RedHawks won the MAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Championships ... Coles has a record of 207-155 in his 12th year at his alma mater ... he is 299-239 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, 71-47, in the all-time series between the teams, but BGSU has won the last two meetings, both at Anderson Arena ... on the Falcons' "Senior Day" last season, BGSU posted a 68-64 victory (March 4, 2007), snapping a four-game losing streak to the RedHawks ... earlier this year (Jan. 23, 2008), the host Falcons captured a 55-52 decision ... MU won the first meeting last season, 66-60, in Oxford (Jan. 17, 2007), and the 'Hawks have won each of the last three games at Millett Hall ... BGSU's last road win in the series came on Feb. 20, 2002, a 65-50 victory.
LAST TIME OUT
Host Buffalo scored early and often, racing past the Falcons by 46 points ... Greg Gamble led the Bulls with 23 points, while Andy Robinson added 18 off the bench ... Jawaan Alston rounded out UB's double-digit scorers with 13 points on the evening ... for the Falcons, junior Brian Moten and redshirt freshman Chris Knight had 11 points apiece ... UB shot 52.5 percent from the field in the first half, in racing to a 52-26 lead at the intermission ... the Bulls cooled off slightly in the second half, ending the game with a 50.0% field-goal rate ... the Falcons shot 32.8% from the field on the evening ... BG scored first, with Knight slicing through the lane, taking an entry pass from Joe Jakubowski and hitting a layup just 11 seconds into the game ... but, the Bulls scored eight-straight points en route to a 17-6 lead at the game's first media timeout, just 4:06 into the contest ... during those first four-plus minutes, the Bulls made 7-of-8 shots from the floor ... that lead ballooned to 21-6 after a three-point play by Calvin Betts at the 14:31 mark ... a Moten three-point field goal halted a 13-0 run, but UB then proceeded to score the game's next 12 points to take a 33-9 lead ... the hosts led by as many as 32 points in the opening half, as Byron Mulkey's steal and layup gave UB a 48-16 margin ... in the second half, BG never got closer than 25 points ... after a Moten triple with 7:46 left, the Bulls scored the next 16 points over a span of nearly six minutes, taking a 92-46 lead ... the lead got as large as 48 points in the final minute ... sophomore Marc Larson had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting for the Falcons, while three other BG players scored either six or seven points apiece.
GIANT KILLERS AT THE HOUSE THAT ROARS
The Falcons' win over then-#23 Kent State (March 1) was the team's fourth consecutive home win vs. a nationally-ranked opponent ... BGSU beat fifth-ranked Michigan State (all rankings according to Associated Press) in December of 1990, topped #23 Eastern Michigan on Valentine's Day, 1996; and defeated #25 Miami in February of 1999 ... BGSU's last home loss to a top-25 opponent came nearly three decades ago, to #16 Marquette on Dec. 6, 1978 ... since the Associated Press begin conducting a poll on Jan. 20, 1949, the Falcons have a record of 22-47 against nationally-ranked foes ... BGSU is now 13-9 all-time in home games vs. AP Top-25 opponents, including a 7-5 mark since Anderson Arena opened prior to the 1960-61 season.
HOME COOKIN'
The Falcons finished the home portion of the schedule with an overall mark of 8-5 ... BGSU went 6-2 in MAC home games, doubling the total for last season (3-5 in 2006-07) ... the six conference victories included wins over the teams picked to finish first (Kent State), second (Miami) and third (Ohio) in the East Division in the league's preseason poll.
MUCH IMPROVED
With last weekend's win over Kent State, the Falcons matched the victory total for all of last season ... BGSU, after going 13-18 a year ago, is now 13-15 with at least two games remaining in 2007-08 ... the Falcons have more than doubled last season's MAC win total ... the 2006-07 team went 3-13 in conference play, and this year's edition of the Falcons is is 7-8 with one game left in league regular-season action.
GOT OUR MO-JO(E) WORKIN': GUARD COMBO FILLING IT UP
Guards Brian Moten and Joe Jakubowski have provided solid play for the Falcons all year long, but have stepped up their scoring totals as of late ... the tandem combined for a total of 80 points in the Detroit and Kent State games, both wins ... in the Falcons' victory at UDM (Feb. 23), Moten scored a game-high 18 points, while Jakubowski had a career-high 17 ... one week later (March 1), Moten scored a game- and career-high 24 points in a win over nationally-ranked KSU, while Jakubowski set a career standard for the second-straight game, with 21 points vs. the Golden Flashes ... Jakubowski also had a career-best 12 assists, with five of his six second-half helpers coming on Moten baskets.
THREE-MENDOUS
The Falcons tied a season high with 11 three-point field goals made in the win over Kent State ... after averaging 4.4 successful triples over the first 24 games of the year, BGSU has made 35 treys (8.8 per game) in the last four contests.
ORR A C-O-Y CANDIDATE
Falcon head coach Louis Orr has performed one of the top coaching jobs in the MAC this season ... taking over a team that lost two starters, including the league's leading scorer from a year ago, Orr lost one of his top big men (Erik Marschall) to injury on the eve of the 2007-08 season ... then, one of the team's top playmakers, Ryne Hamblet, was declared academically ineligible on the eve of the conference season ... still, BGSU has more than doubled the MAC win total for all of last season, and has posted wins over the teams picked to finish first, second and third in the East Division in the preseason poll ... those wins include a victory over nationally-ranked Kent State ... a month ago (Feb. 5), the MAC Report Online web site (www.macreportonline.com) announced its midseason awards, and Orr was listed as the site's MAC Coach of the Year at the midway point ... among other things, the article stated, 'halfway through the season, Orr is the clear leader for Coach of the Year honors in the MAC."
PHALCON PHRESHMAN PHENOMS
Several first-year Falcons are at the top of their class when it comes to the MAC statistics ... Chris Knight is making his case for league freshman-of-the-year honors ... Knight leads all MAC freshmen in rebounding (7.2 rpg; fifth) and field-goal percentage (45.2%, 16th), and is also the MAC's top freshman shot-blocker (1.04 bpg; seventh) ... Knight is second among MAC frosh in scoring (10.7 ppg, 21st) ... Joe Jakubowski paces all league freshmen in both assists (3.07 apg; 10th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.26; sixth).
MOTEN OFFENSE
Junior Brian Moten is making a strong bid for MAC Sixth-Man-of-the-Year consideration ... Moten had a team-leading 18 points at Detroit, then scored a game- and career-high 24 points in the Falcons' win over nationally-ranked Kent State ... he has provided the Falcons with an offensive spark this season, especially since the 2008 calendar year began ... Moten has hit double digits in scoring 14 times this year, including 13 times in the last 17 games ... he is averaging 9.3 points per game this season, and is second on the team in scoring in MAC games, with 12.7 ppg vs. conference opposition ... Moten leads the entire conference in three-point field goal percentage (45.2%) ... he is second in the league in that category (46.0%) in MAC games only.
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Falcons continue to lead or rank near the top of the Mid-American Conference in several team defensive categories ... BGSU paces the MAC in three-point field-goal percentage defense (31.9%) and blocked shots (5.18 bpg), and BG is second in the league in overall FG pct. defense (41.2%).
BLOCK IT OUT
As mentioned, the Falcons lead the MAC in blocked shots, averaging 5.18 per game ... individually, the Falcons have three players among the top-seven blockers on that list ... soph Otis Polk is second in the MAC, while classmate Marc Larson and redshirt freshman Chris Knight are fifth and seventh, respectively.
MILLER TIME
Junior Nate Miller has been a go-to player for the Falcons this year ... he leads the team in scoring and steals, and ranks second in rebounding and assists this season, with averages of 13.1 points, 6.4 boards, 2.8 helpers and 1.5 steals per outing ... he has led or tied for the team lead in scoring 10 times this season, and has paced BG in rebounding in 14 games this year and in assists nine times ... Miller has a team-high 21 double-digit games this season to date, including four games of 20 points or more.
KNIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME
Chris Knight is a candidate for MAC Freshman-of-the-Year honors ... Knight had two double-doubles in a recent four-game span, with identical totals of 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds against both Akron and Detroit ... he missed a double-double by one rebound in the win over KSU ... Knight has hit double digits in scoring in 18 games this year, and is averaging 10.7 points per game ... he is second in scoring, and leads the Falcons in rebounding, with 7.3 per contest (fifth in the MAC) ... Knight has four double-doubles this season - the highest total of any freshman in the MAC - and has missed a double-double by a single rebound on four occasions ... Knight has hit double digits in rebounding six times this year, and has had nine boards in six other games ... his three 20-point games include a 24-point outing in his hometown, in a win at Cincinnati.
UP NEXT
Following the Miami game, the Falcons and the other 11 conference schools will converge upon downtown Cleveland for the First Energy MAC Tournament ... BGSU will play a first-round game in the tourney on Wednesday (March 12) - with the Falcons' seeding, opponent and starting time to be determined - at Quicken Loans Arena.
