Falcons Face Talented Xavier Squad Tuesday Night

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green is looking to open a season 2-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 team defeated Urbana and Findlay to open the season.
• In order for the Falcons to get to 2-0, Bowling Green will need to get past a Xavier team that looked impressive in a season-opening 83-57 win over Youngstown State. The Musketeers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago as the No. 4 seed by defeating No. 13 Portland State 77-59 and No. 12 Wisconsin 60-49 before a loss to No. 1 Pittsburgh 60-55.
• Sophomore forward Scott Thomas did something in the first game this year that he was unable to do in his freshman season -- score in double figures. He made 4-of-5 three-pointers against Wayne State and led the Falcons with 15 points.
• It's almost a certainty that Xavier's Jordan Crawford and Bowling Green's Jordon Crawford will be on the floor at the same time at some point during the game. Jordan is well known for having video of a dunk he had on LeBron James confiscated, while Jordon played 17 minutes in his first collegiate game against Wayne State.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 6-4 all-time against Xavier but the two programs have not met since an 89-75 Musketeers' win on Dec. 30, 1988.

SCOUTING THE XAVIER MUSKETEERS
Coming off of a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2008-09, Xavier lost its head coach and had some roster turnover. But it doesn't look like any of that will slow the Musketeers as they were impressive in defeating Youngstown State 83-57 in the season opener. Five players scored in double-figures including Jordan Crawford, who led the team with 14 in his Xavier debut. The Musketeers have won 10 straight at the Cintas Center and went 30-of-37 at the free-throw line against the Penguins. Xavier held Youngstown State to 33 percent shooting and just 1-of-13 from three-point range.

THE COACHES
Bowling Green Head Coach Louis Orr has just about done it all. As a player at Syracuse, he made four NCAA Tournament appearances and spent eight years in the NBA. As a coach, he was named Big East Coach of the Year at Seton Hall and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Falcons to the MAC regular season crown in 2008-09. He has a career record of 133-111 in his ninth season and 33-31 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack is in his first year with the Musketeers after replacing Sean Miller. Mack is 1-0 after spending the previous seven years on the Xavier basketball staff.

QUICK STARTS
Bowling Green's 67-45 win over Wayne State to open the season was the team's 18th consecutive home-opening victory, moving the team to 83-12 all-time in home openers, including a mark of 45-5 in Anderson Arena. In season openers, the team is now 69-26 all-time and has won two in a row.

COACHING PEDIGREE
Bowling Green State University men's basketball coach Louis Orr was named the 2008-09 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year by vote of the MAC News Media Association. It is the second time Orr has received a conference Coach of the Year award. He was named the Big East Coach of the Year following the 2002-03 season after guiding Seton Hall to the NIT. In the offseason, Orr signed a contract extension with Bowling Green which lasts through the 2013-14 season.

RIGHT HAND MAN
While Head Coach Louis Orr has a long history of success, assistant coach LaMonta Stone is also recognized as one of the best in the country. Over the summer, HoopScoop.com named Stone the fourth-best mid-major assistant coach in the country, while College Insider named him the 15th best mid-major assistant coach in the nation.

ROAD WARRIORS
Bowling Green will look to carry its road warrior mentality from a year ago into the 2009-10 season against Xavier Tuesday. The Falcons won six consecutive MAC road games during one stretch, the longest road conference win streak for the program ever. It was also the longest MAC road winning streak since the 2001-02 Kent State team won seven consecutive MAC road contests. Despite that success, Bowling Green did not win a non-conference road game a year ago and will look to snap a seven-game losing streak is those contests since defeating Detroit 81-65 on Feb. 23, 2008.

BLOCK PARTY, HOSTED BY OTIS
Senior Otis Polk started the 2009-10 campaign by blocking a shot against Wayne State, a familiar sight for Bowling Green fans. Polk is already the school's all-time blocked shot leader with 123, surpassing Tom Hall's mark of 117 from 1989-92. With every shot he blocks, he'll be setting a new standard for current and future Falcons to aim for. In that Wayne State game, Erik Marschall added two blocks to give him 47 for his career.

OFFENSE FOR OTIS
Otis Polk scored 14 points in the team's season opener against Wayne State, just the 12th time in his career he has reached double-figures in scoring. Polk has shown a much-improved offensive game in practice and in the early going, making 7-of-8 baskets against the Warriors and dunking three times. His .536 career field goal percentage would rank in the top 10 in BGSU history but he has yet to attempt enough shots. Obviously, his .875 field goal percentage this year is well ahead of the school record .683 single-season percentage set by Shane Kline-Ruminski in 1994-95.

BENCH DEPTH
In 2008-09, Bowling Green's depth was a strength early in the season until injuries forced the Falcons into a shorter rotation. In 2009-10, BGSU is once again using its bench to its advantage. The Falcons outscored Wayne State 22-8 in bench points in the team's season opener, getting seven points each from Darion Goins and Erik Marschall.

SOPHOMORE SENSATIONS
Scott Thomas and Dee Brown had somewhat up-and-down freshman campaigns in 2008-09, but both players have taken on a bigger role on the team in 2009-10. Thomas and Brown both picked up their first collegiate starts in the season opener and Thomas scored a career-high 15 points, making 4-of-5 three-pointers. Brown made both of his three-point attempts as well and added two assists in a career-high 27 minutes. In fact, Brown played the most minutes of any Falcon in the opener and Thomas played just one minute less.

DIRECTING THE OFFENSE
One of the few problems for the 2008-09 team was turnovers. The Falcons turned the ball over more often than opponents a year ago. But junior point guard Joe Jakubowski has the offense headed in the right direction this year. The team had just 13 turnovers in the opener, three less than Wayne State, and Jakubowski played 25 minutes without giving the ball away.

BASKETBALL U.
Bowling Green fans have the opportunity to see the best basketball in the Mid-American Conference night in and night out. The 2009-10 teams are a combined 2-0, building on last year's combined marks of 48-19 and 26-6 in conference play, easily the best in the MAC in both. Bowling Green was the No. 1 seed for both the men's and women's tournament, the first time that has occurred in the MAC since Kent State was the top seed for both tournaments in 2002. It also marks the first time both the Bowling Green men's and women's teams qualified for postseason play since 1990.

DISSECTING THE SCHEDULE
Bowling Green will play host to five more non-conference games (including the ESPNU BracketBusters contest against an opponent yet to be named) and will head on the road for seven. The 13 game non-conference slate will be added to the 16 game MAC schedule for 29 total games, one less than a year ago. Eight of the team's 28 games against known opponents will take place against a team that competed in the postseason a year ago. Xavier was a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Temple was a No. 11 seed, and Akron, who the Falcons play twice, was a No. 13 seed. Bowling Green will also play Buffalo twice and the Bulls competed in the College Basketball Invitational. Finally, Kent State played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and will face the Falcons twice in MAC play.

PICKED FIFTH
Despite winning the Mid-American Conference regular season championship a year ago, the MAC News Media Panel picked the Falcons to finish finish in the East Division in 2009-10. Bowling Green had 54 total points, including one first-place vote, to finish in front of Ohio. Defending MAC Tournament champion Akron was selected to win the East, followed by Kent State, Buffalo, and Miami (Ohio). Central Michigan was picked to win the West, followed by Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Western Michigan, and Toledo. The Falcons also did not have a player selected to the preseason East Division All-MAC team.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green held Wayne State to 36.2 percent shooting, a trend for success that has been the norm under Head Coach Louis Orr. A year ago, BGSU held 26 of 33 opponents below 45 percent shooting and the Falcons are just 3-12 under Orr when an opponent reaches that 45 percent threshold. Opponents shot just 39.3 percent in 2008-09 which was the lowest total since the 1963-64 season. That team also held opponents to just 61.2 points per game, the lowest total since the 1949-50 season. Along with those stats, Wayne State made just 1-of-10 three-point attempts Saturday and the Falcons forced 16 turnovers.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 1-0 in 2009-10 after beating Wayne State by 22 points. The Falcons are 448-180 (.713) all-time in Anderson Arena and 162-54 (.750) in the past 17 years.

A BUNCH OF FIRSTS
Six players saw their first action in a Bowling Green uniform, including five who played their first collegiate game. Darion Goins scored seven points in his BGSU debut after playing two seasons at San Jose State. Jordon Crawford, Luke Kraus, James Erger, A'uston Calhoun, and Danny McElroy all played in their first collegiate game. Crawford, Kraus, and McElroy scored their first collegiate points. As well, sophomores Scott Thomas and Dee Brown each got their first collegiate game started after coming off the bench for their entire freshman campaigns.

IT WILL STILL ROAR
On Sept. 3, Bowling Green State University broke ground on the Stroh Center, the new home of Bowling Green men's and women's basketball and volleyball. Anderson Arena, "The House That Roars", will continue to host the Falcons through the end of the 2010-11 season. The Stroh Center will seat approximately 4,700 fans and is located near Doyt Perry Stadium. While Anderson Arena was named after Harold "Andy" Anderson, a long time BGSU athletics director and men's basketball coach who is also a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Stroh Center will continue to honor him. The club area in the new facility has been named the Anderson Club.

GIANT KILLERS AT THE HOUSE THAT ROARS
When the Falcons beat then-No. 23 Kent State on March 1, 2008, it was the team's fourth consecutive home win vs. a nationally-ranked opponent. BGSU defeated fifth-ranked Michigan State (all rankings according to Associated Press) in December of 1990, topped No. 23 Eastern Michigan on Valentine's Day, 1996, and defeated No. 25 Miami in February of 1999. The Brown and Orange's last home loss to a top 25 opponent came three decades ago to No. 16 Marquette on Dec. 6, 1978. Since the Associated Press began 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.

AROUND THE DIAL
Bowling Green will be on regional and national television a number of times this year. All BGSU home games not being broadcast nationally appear locally on BCSN on the Buckeye Cable Network. The Falcons will be on FSN Ohio when the team hits the road to play Xavier Tuesday and will be on the Big Ten Network when the team plays at Iowa on Nov. 20. The Feb. 27 home game against Akron will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net as part of a televised doubleheader with the BGSU women's basketball game that day.

CATCH THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green's men's basketball games can be listened to through the Falcon Sports Radio Network with Todd Walker, the voice of the Falcons, handling the play-by-play duties. Former Bowling Green basketball player Kirk Cowan does the color commentary at all BGSU home games as well. Games can be heard on the flagship station for BGSU athletics, WFRO 99.1 FM. Games can also be heard on WCWA 1230 AM in Toledo, WIMA 1150 AM in Lima, WONW 1230 AM in Defiance, and in Cleveland on both WHKW 1120 AM and WHK 1420 AM.
• All game broadcasts and the Falcons Nest Coaches Show can be heard via live stream on the official site of Falcon athletics, www.BGSUfalcons.com. Shortly after broadcasts are complete, an archived stream is available to listen to as well.
• Live statistics for all BGSU home men's basketball games are available on the web, allowing fans to view in-game stats as they occur, and may be accessed by going to www.BGSUFalcons.com. Falcon fans can utilize live stats 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.

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