Falcons Defend Anderson Arena Saturday Against Central Michigan

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Todd Walker Reviews/Previews Basketball (.mp3)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green remains one game out of first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division after winning its MAC-leading eighth conference road game in the past two seasons with Wednesday's win at Eastern Michigan. Central Michigan is 4-2 in the MAC West, tied atop the standings.
• Bowling Green is now 6-1 against MAC West teams over the course of the past two seasons and the Falcons avenged their only loss to a MAC West school with Wednesday's win over Eastern Michigan.
• The Falcons have trailed by at least seven points at the half in all three of their conference wins this year. Bowling Green outscored Eastern Michigan 36-24 in the second half to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit Wednesday.
• Sophomore Scott Thomas is quickly becoming one of the elite scorers in the MAC, averaging 15.8 points in league games. He scored 17 second-half points, including 10 during a late 14-0 run, Wednesday to guide the Falcons past Eastern Michigan.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green and Central Michigan will meet for the 66th time Saturday evening and the Falcons hold a 36-29 lead in the all-time series. Last year, BGSU defeated the Chippewas 67-61 to snap a two-game losing streak. In fact, Central Michigan has won four of the last six meetings in Anderson Arena. The first game in the series took place on Dec. 7, 1946 and the Falcons won on the road 65-58. BGSU also took a 69-38 decision at home later that season but the two programs did not play again until the 1972-73 season and the Falcons went on to win three more games in succession before Central Michigan finally broke into the win column.

SCOUTING THE CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan enters Saturday's contest with Bowling Green at 9-9 overall and 4-2 in MAC play. The Chippewas went 4-1 the first time through the West but lost to Miami (Ohio) 64-51 Thursday night and are tied at the top of the MAC standings. Central Michigan does a lot of things well led by senior guards Robbie Harman and Jordan Bitzer. The duo ranks first and second in the MAC in three-pointers made and fourth and seventh in three-point percentage, an area that has been a struggle for Bowling Green to defend this year. The team ranks second in the league in three-point percentage as well as scoring defense and leads the MAC in steals, with 8.8 per game. But with all the good comes some bad as well. The team's assist/turnover ratio of 0.65 ranks last among all MAC schools and the Chippewas are also last in the league in field goal percentage (40.6 percent), blocked shots (2.11 per game), and assists (10.28 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 142-119 in his ninth season and 42-39 in league play in his first three years at Bowling Green. Central Michigan Head Coach Ernie Zeigler is in his fourth season at the helm of the Chippewas with a career record of 48-62 but the team is in position to have its first winning season in that time this year. Prior to taking over at Central Michigan, Zeigler spent five seasons as an assistant to Ben Howland at Pittsburgh and UCLA and also spent one year (2001) at Bowling Green, as well as a season at Kansas State.

THE CHARITY STRIPE
Bowling Green has made a dramatic transformation in its free-throw shooting efficiency. Through 11 games of the season, Bowling Green ranked 329th out of 334 Division I teams at 56.6 percent from the line. But over the past seven games, the team has shot 78.1 percent and the Falcons lead the MAC in free-throw shooting in conference games only at 76.7 percent.

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. He now has 17 blocked shots this year and is already the school's all-time blocked shot leader with 139, shattering 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. Both Marc Larson and Erik Marschall are not to be forgotten inside either. Larson has 77 career blocks, including two in Wednesday's win over Ohio, and Marschall picked up his 50th career block with two against Savannah State and now has 56. Starting forward Scott Thomas has become a factor in this area as well, posting three consecutive multi-block games at one point including three against Florida International and is third on the team with 12 on the season. Four players have at least 10 blocks this season and the Falcons are one of only two teams in the league (Miami being the other) with that many.

CONSISTENT LINEUP
Bowling Green Head Coach Louis Orr has used just two starting lineups this year. For the first 10 games of the season he went with Joe Jakubowski, Dee Brown, Scott Thomas, Marc Larson, and Otis Polk. Since that time, Marschall has been inserted into the lineup for Larson and both have responded with their new roles. Marschall had a career-high 10 rebounds at Towson, just missed a double-double against Ohio, and is averaging 7.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest as a starter. Larson posted eight points and a career-best nine rebounds against St. Louis in 26 minutes off the bench. He is also 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) from the free-throw line since coming off the bench and was on the floor late against Ohio, posting two points, a blocked shot, and a steal in the final four minutes of the game, sparking the team to a comeback win.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Bowling Green's three senior post players -- Otis Polk, Erik Marschall, and Marc Larson -- have all stepped up their games and produced at a higher level than the trio did a year ago. Those three are combining for 22.5 points and 17.1 rebounds per game, a much higher total than last year's 14.6 points and 12.0 rebounds.

OTIS ADDS THE BOARDS
Otis Polk has been dominant on the boards this year, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game (fourth in the MAC) and has been especially strong on the offensive glass, ranking second in the Mid-American Conference with 3.4 offensive boards per game. He had a career-high 16 rebounds in the team's win over Towson and grabbed at least seven rebounds in 10 straight games at one point during the season.

RIDING THE PINE
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 ten wins, the bench has played fairly even with the opposition, being outscored 149-144, but in the eight losses has been outscored 214-113.

FEED THE POST
Head Coach Louis Orr's philosophy is to play an inside-out game and the Falcons have scored at least 20 points in the paint in 15-of-18 games and at least 30 points six times. The team peaked against Towson when Bowling Green held a 50-21 scoring edge in the paint. In all, BGSU has outscored 13 opponents in the paint and 4-of-6 conference opponents.

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 fourth in the MAC (and 82nd nationally) with a 1.94 assist/turnover ratio, while Crawford's 1.48 ratio would be eighth in the league if he had enough assists to qualify for the top 10. As well, Scott Thomas has a respectable 1.31 assist/turnover ratio.

GREAT SCOTT
Sophomore Scott Thomas has always had great potential and lately he has been showing exactly the type of player he can be. He posted his first collegiate double-double against Buffalo with career-highs in scoring (21) and rebounding (10). He followed that up by making 8-of-10 shots and all eight of his free-throw attempts for a career-best 27 points, including 18 in the second half, at Kent State. In wins over Ohio and Eastern Michigan, Thomas carried the team to second-half comebacks, combining for just three points in the first half and 31 in the second. He leads the team with 11.7 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounding, assists, steals, and free-throw percentage. Over the past five games, he is averaging 16.2 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 82.4 percent at the line.

DEE-LIGHTFUL
Sophomore guard Dee Brown has risen to the occasion since posting his first career double-digit scoring game against Milwaukee. Since that time, Brown has scored in double figures in 10-of-15 games and was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week on Dec. 7 after averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field, in wins over Savannah State and Fordham. He has carried the team offensively during critical stretches of key non-conference wins against Florida International, Fordham and Canisius. He made 5-of-8 three-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points in helping the Falcons win on the road at Kent State. Brown leads the MAC at 50.0 percent three-point shooting and ranks second on the team in scoring (10.4 points per game) and field goal percentage (45.3 percent).

HALFTIME HEAD-SCRATCHER
For the first 14 games of the 2009-10 season, Bowling Green had no reason to play the final 20 minutes of games. The team leading at the break in each of those games went on to win the contest. However, in each of the past four games, the team leading at the half has gone on to lose. The Falcons outscored Kent State, Ohio and Eastern Michigan 138-87 over the final 20 minutes to overcome halftime deficits but Miami trailed 20-19 at the break Saturday before outscoring BGSU 45-32 in the second half to win.

THE SECOND HALF OFFENSE
In the last four games, Bowling Green's second half offense has far exceeded its first half scoring. The Falcons have scored at least 32 points in the second half in all three contests and have not scored more than 28 in the first half of any of those games. Bowling Green has shot 53.6 percent (52-of-97) in the second half of the past four games, as well as 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) from three-point range and 41-of-51 (80.4 percent) from the free-throw line.

MAKE HALF OF THEM
Bowling Green is 18-2 in three years under Louis Orr when shooting at least 50 percent from the field, including a perfect 3-0 this year. In fact, in all three of those contests, the Falcons were exactly 26-of-51 from the field (wins over Wayne State, Fordham, and Kent State).

GETTING THERE IS HALF THE BATTLE
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 9.0 free-throws per game, 28 less than their opponents. However, over the past 15 games, Bowling Green has been to the line an average of 20.3 times (304 total), 28 more than opponents.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 5-2 in 2009-10. The Falcons are 452-182 (.713) all-time in Anderson Arena and 166-56 (.748) in the past 17 years.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green has held opponents below 44 percent shooting in all ten of its victories, 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 3-17 under Orr (including 0-5 this year) 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. In the Falcons' last 14 games, of which BGSU is 9-5, the team has been very similar to a year ago, holding opponents to 39.7 percent shooting and 61.4 points per game.

BASKETBALL U.
For the second consecutive year, Bowling Green has the best combined record overall and in MAC play for its men's and women's basketball programs. This year the teams are a combined 27-12 overall (Eastern Michigan is second at 25-13) and 10-3 in MAC play (Akron and Kent State are both 9-4), following a 2008-09 year in which they went 48-19 and 26-6 in conference games. Bowling Green was the No. 1 seed for both the men's and women's tournament in 2009, the first time that has occurred in the MAC since Kent State was the top seed for both tournaments in 2002. It also marked the first time both the Bowling Green men's and women's teams qualified for postseason play since 1990.

ROAD WARRIORS
In the past two seasons, Bowling Green has won eight Mid-American Conference road games, two more than any other team in the league. Only Buffalo and Akron have more than five MAC road wins during that time. A year ago, BGSU won six consecutive road games during one stretch of league play, the longest streak in the conference since the 2001-02 Kent State team won seven in a row. This year, the Falcons are 5-6 on the road and went 3-2 during the team's five-game non-conference road stretch that spanned most of the month of December.

MAC Road Wins Since 2008-09
8 - Bowling Green
6 - Buffalo, Akron
5 - Kent State
4 - Miami
3 - Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan
2 - Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Ball State
0 - Toledo

GIANT KILLERS
Bowling Green tends to have success when a team carries a top 25 ranking into a game at Anderson Arena. The Falcons have won four consecutive home games against nationally ranked opponents, most recently an 89-83 win over No. 23 Kent State on March 1, 2008. 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 more than 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 22-48 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. The Falcons' last road win against a team ranked in the top 25 came when the team beat No. 25 Michigan State on Dec. 18, 1989 by a score of 81-79.

TO BE THE MAN, YOU'VE GOTTA BEAT THE MAN
In back-to-back games, Bowling Green beat head coaches with more than 450 career wins. In wins over Towson and St. Louis, the Falcons defeated coaching legends Pat Kennedy and Rick Majerus. Kennedy has won more than 450 games leading teams at Iona, Florida State, DePaul, Montana, and Towson, while Majerus has reached that mark at Marquette, Ball State, Utah, and St. Louis.

DISSECTING THE SCHEDULE
Bowling Green's only remaining non-conference game will be a home game in the ESPNU BracketBusters series. Overall, the 13 game non-conference slate is 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 was ranked No. 21 in the country at the time of the contest, 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.

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.

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 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, softball, and gymnastics.

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