Falcons Host Savannah State Thursday In Final 2009 Home Game

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green and Savannah State will meet for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Savannah State overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to beat the Falcons 57-54 in Savannah, Ga.
• Sophomore guard Dee Brown scored a career-high 20 points in the Falcons 67-62 win over Isiah Thomas' Florida International squad Monday night. It was the first time this year that any BGSU player has scored 20 or more in a game.
• The Savannah State contest is the third of four games in an eight day stretch. Bowling Green will hit the road to play Fordham Saturday which starts a string of five consecutive road games heading into January.
• Joe Jakubowski is tied for sixth in the country in assist/turnover ratio at 5.50 (22 assists/4 turnovers). Missouri Kansas City's Alex Bazzell leads with an amazing 18.00 ratio, followed by Duke's John Scheyer at 8.00. UTEP's Julyan Stone, Wichita State's Clevin Hannah and DePaul's Jeremiah Kelly are the only other players with a better ratio than Jakubowski. He is tied with Houston's Desmond Wade for sixth.

THE SERIES
Last year's contest was the first-ever meeting between these two programs and Bowling Green led 35-14 at the half. Savannah State scored 17 points in the first 5:24 of the second half to get back within single digitsn and the Tigers finally took the lead late in the contest to come away with a 57-54 win.

SCOUTING THE SAVANNAH STATE TIGERS
Although the team enters the contest with a 4-3 record, Savannah State is averaging just 53.1 points per game and has scored less than 50 three times. Tracy Rankins is the only double-figure scorer on the squad, averaging 12.3 points per contest. The Tigers have struggled to shoot the ball at only 39 percent from the field and 24 percent from three-point range. Arnold Louis, at 6-foot-7, is a big factor inside as he is averaging 7.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, helping Savannah State to outrebound opponents by an average of 3.4 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 133-113 in his ninth season and 33-33 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Savannah State Head Coach Horace Broadnax, in his fifth season, has turned around a program that went 0-28 in the season prior to his arrival. The team went 2-28 in his first season but has continued to improve each year, going 15-14 in 2008-09. He has a career record of 46-81 at Savannah State.

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 has a current nine-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 127, 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. He added two to his total in Monday's win over Florida International, moving into seventh place in the MAC in that category this year. Both Marc Larson and Erik Marschall are not to be forgotten inside either. Larson has 68 career blocks, including two against Florida International, and Marschall has 48.

OFFENSE FOR OTIS
Otis Polk reached double figures in scoring just 11 times in his first three years at Bowling Green. But Polk has scored at least 10 points in three of the team's first five games, including posting just his second career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Milwaukee. Polk has shown a much-improved offensive game in the early going and is shooting .541 from the field. His .528 career field goal percentage would rank among the top 10 all-time at Bowling Green but he is yet to attempt enough shots.

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 has reached double figures in scoring twice. He is a team-best 55 percent (18-of-33) from the field and is a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Larson is also averaging a career-best 4.6 rebounds per game.

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's bench has been a telling factor in how successful the Falcons are. In the team's two wins, the bench has outscored the opponent's bench 39-15 but in the three losses has been outscored 96-48.

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 have started each of the first five games of the season and rank first and third in minutes played. Brown scored a career-high 20 points against Florida International and leads the team at 10.8 points per contest. Thomas is second on the team at 10.6 points per game and is also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists, picking up five steals and three blocks along the way.

BOMBS AWAY
Bowling Green's opponents have been shooting, and making, three-pointers at an alarming rate in Falcon losses. In three defeats, opponents have made at least 11 three-pointers and are shooting just over 46 percent from long range. On the other hand, in BGSU's two wins, opponents have averaged just 4.0 three-pointers made and are shooting 27 percent.

DEE-LIGHTFUL
Sophomore guard Dee Brown has set a new personal scoring career high in back-to-back games. Against Milwaukee, he made 5-of-12 shots and finished with 11 points, his first career double-digit scoring effort. Two days later, Brown scored 20 points against Florida International, making 8-of-16 shots. Most of that scoring came during a key stretch of the game when the Falcons took the lead for good.

DIRECTING THE OFFENSE
Junior Joe Jakubowski and freshman Jordon Crawford have done an excellent job of running an efficient offense so far in the 2009-10 season. Jakubowski ranks sixth in the country, leading the MAC, in assist/turnover ratio at 5.50 (22 assists to four turnovers) and Crawford ranks second in the league at 2.29 (16 assists to seven turnovers). Bowling Green is the only team in the conference that has more assists than turnovers with a 1.22 ratio. That ratio ranks 50th in the country. The Falcons are also averaging 15.8 assists per contest, best in the MAC and 67th in the nation.

FRESHMEN FINDING RHYTHM
Head Coach Louis Orr is relying on a number of freshmen to play key roles this year and some of them are beginning to find their rhythm for the college game. Jordon Crawford is 6-for-9 shooting in the past two games, making 3-of-4 three-pointers, and is averaging 7.5 points during that time. Luke Kraus has made 3-of-4 shots in the past three games, including 1-of-2 from long range.

GETTING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE
Through the first three games of the season, Bowling Green struggled to get to the free-throw line and that culminated with just two free-throw attempts at Iowa. During that stretch, the Falcons attempted just 27 free-throws, 28 less than their opponents. However, over the past two games, Bowling Green has been to the line 55 times, 13 more than opponents.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green held Wayne State to 36.2 percent shooting and Florida International to 43.4 percent, 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 3-14 under Orr when an opponent reaches that 45 percent threshold, as both Xavier and Iowa did. 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 but it's another thing to turn those miscues into points. So far, the Falcons have led four of their first five opponents in points off turnovers, only coming up short against Florida International.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 2-1 in 2009-10. The Falcons are 449-181 (.713) all-time in Anderson Arena and 163-55 (.748) 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 6-5 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 three more non-conference home games (including the ESPNU BracketBusters contest against an opponent yet to be named) and will head on the road for five as well. 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.

FALCONS ADD TWO IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
The Bowling Green coaching staff signed two prep players during the fall early signing period this year, adding 6-foot-6, 200 pound win Craig Sealey and 6-10, 230 pound forward/center Cameron Black. Sealey plays at Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio and is described as an explosive wing who runs the floor well, is a slasher, and strong offensive rebounder. Black plays at Kent Roosevelt High School in Kent, Ohio who is a presence on the defensive end and has a high basketball IQ.

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 Host Savannah State Thursday In Final 2009 Home Game

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