Falcons Look To Bounce Back Against Iowa

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green is looking for its first win over a Big Ten school since the Falcons pulled out a 65-59 home win over Michigan on Nov. 28, 2001. BGSU has not beaten a Big Ten team on the road since an 86-83 win over Purdue on Nov. 30, 1996.
• The Falcons will also look to bounce back from its worst defensive game under Head Coach Louis Orr. Xavier's 101-57 win Tuesday night marked the first time a team had scored 100 on Bowling Green since West Virginia reached the century mark in 100-54 win on Dec. 18, 1999. Ball State's 105-79 win on Feb. 7, 1998 is the last time a team scored more than Xavier's 101 against the Falcons.
• Scott Thomas and Otis Polk continue to impress. Both players have scored in double figures in each of the first two games and both are shooting at least 57 percent from the field.
• Sophomore guard Dee Brown is perfect in five three-point attempts on the year. He went 2-for-2 against Wayne State and then 3-for-3 against Xavier.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green and Iowa are meeting for the third time in program history, but the first time in 39 years. The Hawkeyes won 89-78 on Dec. 14, 1970 as well as 79-73 in the season opener on Dec. 2, 1967.

SCOUTING THE IOWA HAWKEYES
Iowa has gotten off to a slow start, scoring just 50 points in a 12-point loss to Texas San Antonio and a two-point loss to Duquesne. Both of those contests came at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is shooting just 33 percent from the field so far this year and has made 11-of-54 (20 percent) three-pointers. The Hawkeyes are outrebounding their opponents by 3.5 but that is not making up for poor shooting and turnovers (15.5 per game). Anthony Tucker is the team's leading scorer at 10.5 points per game.

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 133-112 in his ninth season and 33-32 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Head Coach Todd Lickliter is in his third season at Iowa after making a name for himself in six highly successful seasons at Butler. He has a career record of 159-99.

ROAD WARRIORS
Bowling Green will look to carry its road warrior mentality from a year ago into the 2009-10 season. 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 an eight-game losing streak in 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 and then 11 more in the loss to Xavier, just the 12th and 13th times in his career he has reached double-figures in scoring. Polk has shown a much-improved offensive game in the early going, making 12-of-18 baskets and dunking three times. His .535 career field goal percentage would rank in the top 10 in BGSU history but he has yet to attempt enough shots. His .667 field goal percentage this year is challenging the school record .683 set by Shane Kline-Ruminski in 1994-95.

GRAND LARSON-Y
Much like Otis Polk's improved offensive game, senior Marc Larson has shown a more aggressive offensive approach. Larson is averaging 8.0 points per game and had made 7-of-13 (54 percent) shots in the first two games. The 13 shot attempts mark the most for Larson in back-to-back games since he attempted 15 combined against Temple and Furman back in November of 2007.

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 used its bench to its advance by outscoring Wayne State 22-8, getting seven points each from Darion Goins and Erik Marschall. Against Xavier, however, the Muskateers' bench lit it up to the tune of a 42-10 advantage over the Falcons.

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 has started each of the first two games of the season after not getting any starts a year ago. Thomas leads the team at 14.0 points per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field, while Brown has made all five of his three-point attempts so far. Brown played the most minutes of any Falcon in the opener and Thomas played the most against Xavier. The duo is currently first (Thomas) and second (Brown) in minutes played on the team.

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, along with sophomore Scott Thomas and freshman Jordon Crawford, has the offense headed in the right direction this year. The team has just 20 turnovers in the first two games combined and Jakubowski leads the MAC with a 7.00 assist/turnover ratio. Thomas is second at 6.00 and Crawford is fourth at 3.50. Bowling Green ranks third in the MAC with a +4.50 turnover margin.

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 3-13 under Orr when an opponent reaches that 45 percent threshold, as Xavier did Tuesday night when the Muskateers shot a ridiculous 65 percent. 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.

MAKING TURNOVERS COUNT
It's one thing to force an opponent into turnovers (BGSU is +4.5 on turnover margin so far in 2009-10) but it's another thing to turn those miscues into points. So far, the Falcons have led both of their opponents in points off of turnovers, outscoring Wayne State 13-12 and Xavier 14-10.

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.

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 2-2, and will look to build 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 home games (including the ESPNU BracketBusters contest against an opponent yet to be named) and will head on the road for six. 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.

A BUNCH OF FIRSTS
Six players saw their first action in a Bowling Green uniform against Wayne State, 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 against Wayne State, while Calhoun did the same against Xavier. Also, sophomores Scott Thomas and Dee Brown each got the call to start the first two games for the first time since coming off the bench for the entire 2008-09 season.

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.

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 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 1280 AM in Defiance, and in Cleveland on both WHKW 1220 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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Falcons Look To Bounce Back Against Iowa

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