Falcons To Face Stiff Test At No. 6 Michigan State

Bowling Green Falcons (1-6) at No. 6 Michigan State (5-2)
Dec. 4, 2010 • 1:30 p.m. • East Lansing, Mich. • Breslin Center (14,759)

Radio: BGSU Radio Network (99.1 FM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)

Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: BigTenNetwork.com (live video)/Stretch Internet (audio)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

Bowling Green will return to Michigan Saturday to face arguably its toughest opponent of the season. The Falcons will play at No. 6 Michigan State at 1:30 p.m. in a contest that will be broadcast on BigTenNetwork.com. Bowling Green will look to snap a five-game losing streak by shocking the Spartans.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Michigan State is a favorite to win the Big Ten and has been picked by many to advance to the Final Four. The Spartans were ranked No. 2 in the preseason and are currently No. 6 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. No other team on the Falcons' schedule is even receiving votes in either poll.
• The Falcons are making baby steps in the biggest area the team has struggled with this year -- shooting the basketball. After shooting 27 percent against Duquesne, Bowling Green improved to 36 percent against Niagara and then 40 percent against Detroit and 43 percent in the team's last game against Albany.
• Freshman Cameron Black will face a stiff test inside against 6-foot-10 sophomore center Garrick Sherman. But Black is coming off of the first double-double of his career in which he had 14 points and eight rebounds in the second half alone against Albany.
• Interestingly, Bowling Green is 3-1 all-time when playing a ranked Michigan State squad and 0-7 when playing an unranked Spartan team. MSU was ranked No. 5, No. 10 and No. 25 in those three losses to the Falcons.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green and Michigan State have a rather rich history for programs that have only faced each other 11 times. While Michigan State has won eight of those meetings, the Falcons beat the Spartans 98-85 back in 1990 when head coach Jud Heathcote brought a team ranked No. 5 in the country, led by future NBA star Steve Smith, to Anderson Arena and was dominated from buzzer-to-buzzer. Heathcote famously quipped after the game that he would never bring his team back to Anderson Arena. In fact, Michigan State will return to Bowling Green but will play the Falcons in the Stroh Center in the 2012-13 season. More recently, the teams last played on Dec. 27, 2000 in a game at The Palace of Auburn Hills in which the No. 1-ranked Spartans won 85-69. The last time the two teams played in the Breslin Center came on Dec. 29, 1993, when the Spartans won 62-49 in the Spartan Clasic.

SCOUTING THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
Michigan State was ranked No. 2 in the preseason and is currently No. 6 in the country. The Spartans are 5-2 on the year but are coming off of an 84-79 loss to No. 1 Duke Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Michigan State's only other loss came at the hands of Connecticut but the Spartans are 3-0 at home this year. Kalin Lucas leads the team with 17.0 points per game and Draymond Green is averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. Durrell Summers is the team's other double-digit scorer, posting 14.6 points and shooting 44 percent from three-point range. The Spartans are shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range but do have a penchant for turning the ball over and averaging 1.7 more turnovers per game than their opponents.

FALCONS COME UP ONE POINT SHORT AGAINST ALBANY
Dee Brown's three-point attempt fell short as time ran out and Bowling Green lost to Albany 56-55 Sunday in the final game of the Legends Classic. Brown was one of three Falcons to score in double-figures with 12 points. Scott Thomas had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Cameron Black had his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Black posted 14 points and eight rebounds in the second half of the contest. Bowling Green held Albany to 34 percent shooting and just 8-of-33 (24 percent) three-pointers but gave up 18 offensive rebounds.

THOMAS NAMED LEGENDS CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT
Scott Thomas was named to the Legends Classic Subregional Round All-Tournament team for his performances against Niagara, Detroit, and Albany. He averaged 9.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, while picking up eight steals in the three games.

GETTING COMFY IN THE WOLVERINE STATE
Bowling Green's game at Michigan State Saturday will be the team's fifth contest in the state of Michigan in the first eight games, but the team will only play one more time in the Wolverine State this year. The Falcons will play at Central Michigan on Feb. 12.

THIEVERY
Bowling Green ranks second in the MAC with 8.9 steals per game, led by a 16-steal effort against Ohio Dominican, the highest single-game total in the conference this year. Sophomore point guard Jordon Crawford leads the team with 13 steals and Scott Thomas has 12, while three other player are averaging at least 1.0 steal per game. Last year, the Falcons averaged just 6.8 steals per game and only two players (Scott Thomas and Joe Jakubowski) averaged more than 1.0 steal per contest.

LEADING MAN
Last year, Scott Thomas led the Falcons in scoring and steals, ranking second in rebounds, assists, and blocked shots. This year, he's taking it a step further by leading the Falcons in scoring, rebounding and assists, while ranking second in steals. Thomas is averaging 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest.

THE FALCONS AGAINST TOP 25 TEAMS
While Bowling Green has won four consecutive home games against nationally ranked opponents, it has been more than 20 years since the Falcons won a road game against a Top 25 team. That victory came on Dec. 18, 1989 when Bowling Green beat this Michigan State program 81-79 in East Lansing. Bowling Green is 1-1 against Top 25 teams under head coach Louis Orr, losing to No. 18 Temple 63-39 on Dec. 28, 2009 and defeating No. 23 Kent State 89-83 on March 1, 2008. The last time Bowling Green played a ranked Big Ten opponent, the Falcons lost to No. 11 Indiana 81-55 on Dec. 12, 1998. Since the Associated Press began conducting a poll on Jan. 20, 1949, the Falcons have a record of 22-48 against nationally-ranked foes.

SHOOTING THE ROCK
A year ago, Bowling Green led the Mid-American Conference with a 44.4 field goal percentage. So far in 2010-11, the Falcons have struggled in that area and are shooting just 36.9 percent from the field. However, the Falcons have improved over the past three games since hitting a season-low 27 percent against Duquesne. The team shot 36 percent against Niagara, 40 percent against Detroit and 43 percent against Albany.

PAINTIN' THE TOWN
Head coach Louis Orr's philosophy is always to play inside-out and the Falcons have scored at least 20 points in the paint in six of the first seven games after reaching that total in 27-of-30 games a year ago. Bowling Green has outscored its opponents in the paint in 5-of-7 games this year after doing it in 23-of-30 games a year ago. The Falcons had a season-high 36 points in the paint against Ohio Dominican.

STARTING A CAREER
Freshman Cameron Black has started the first seven games of the 2010-11 season. He is the first BGSU freshman to start that many games to begin his collegiate career since Anthony Stacey started all 27 games during the 1995-96 season. Stacey went on to have one of the best careers in program history, setting the school record with 1,938 career points.

ORR SIGNS TEAMMATES IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Head coach Louis Orr announced that Canton Timken High School teammates Jehvon Clarke and Desmond Rorie signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to attend Bowling Green for the 2011-12 season. Clarke is a highly-touted 6-foot-1 point guard who averaged 15.5 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.0 steals per game as a junior. Rorie is a 6-9 post player whose best days are ahead of him. He averaged 3.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.7 blocked shots per game as a junior.

FALCONS PICKED FIFTH
Bowling Green was picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the preseason media poll. The Falcons had 42 points to edge Buffalo (32 points) in the division. Defending MAC Tournament champion Ohio was selected first, followed by Kent State, Akron, and Miami.

MAC Preseason Media Poll
East Division - 1. Ohio (128 points/12 first-place votes), 2. Kent State (114 points/8 first-place votes), 3. Akron (104 points/4 first-place votes), 4. Miami (84 points), 5. Bowling Green (42 points), 6. Buffalo (32 points)
West Division - 1. Ball State (124 points/12 first-place votes), 2. Central Michigan (122 points/8 first-place votes), 3. Eastern Michigan (88 points/2 first-place votes), 4. Western Michigan (68 points), 5. Northern Illinois (64 points/2 first-place votes), 6. Toledo (38 points)
Tournament Champion - Ohio (10), Kent State (6), Central Michigan (4), Ball State (2), Akron (2)

THOMAS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MAC
Scott Thomas was selected as one of five Preseason All-MAC East Division players by vote of the media. Thomas led BGSU in scoring and steals a year ago, ranking second in rebounds, assists, and blocked shots. He averaged 13.2 points per game on the season but improved that average to 15.4 points in conference games and 16.9 points over the final eight contests.

Preseason All-MAC Teams
East Division - Brett McKnight (Akron), Scott Thomas (Bowling Green), Justin Greene (Kent State), Julian Mavunga (Miami), D.J. Cooper (Ohio)
West Division - Jarrod Jones (Ball State), Trey Zeigler (Central Michigan), Brandon Bowdry (Eastern Michigan), Xavier Silas (Northern Illinois), Flenard Whitfield (Western Michigan)

EXPERIENCE AT THE POINT
Most experts agree that an experienced point guard can play a huge role in a team's success in college basketball. If that's the case, then Bowling Green could be primed for a big season. Point guard Joe Jakubowski enters the 2010-11 season with 85 games started, 10th most in the country.

CONSISTENT INCONSISTENCY
A year ago, Bowling Green Head Coach Louis Orr used just three starting lineups and only seven players picked up a start during the course of the year. This year, Orr has already used six different starting lineups in seven games. As well, nine different players have at least one start. Only junior Scott Thomas and freshman Cameron Black have started each of the first seven games, while junior Dee Brown has started five times.

THE PRIDE OF FINDLAY, OHIO
Sophomore guard Luke Kraus had a highly decorated prep career at Findlay High School, where he passed Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to become the school's all-time leading scorer. Since Roethlisberger officially changed his hometown to the fictional Corey Rawson, Ohio during the offseason, Kraus is now likely the most famous athlete from Findlay, Ohio.

THE WALK-ONS
Head Coach Louis Orr accepted two walk-ons to his program this year and both are seniors in eligibility. Wiley Roberts is a feel-good story who served as a team manager for the past two years at Bowling Green. Mike Dabney spent the 2006-07 season at NAIA Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he posted the third-highest single-season blocked shot total in program history with 56 rejections. Roberts saw his first collegiate action by playing one minute in the team's victory over Ohio Dominican and Dabney got his first BGSU action with one minute against Michigan. Dabney played a large role in the team's game against Detroit, picking up five points, four rebounds, a blocked shot, and a steal in 13 minutes of action.

NAME DROPPING
BGSU freshman Craig Sealey was a part of two AAU National Championship teams with the All-Ohio Red Team in 2006 and 2007. Sealey's teams included Ohio State freshmen Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, and Aaron Craft, along with Michigan State freshman Adreian Payne.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 1-1 so far in 2010-11. The Falcons are 457-186 (.711) all-time in Anderson Arena and 171-60 (.740) in the past 18 years.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green held opponents below 45 percent shooting in 13 of its 14 victories (Valparaiso shot 46.4 percent) a year ago, a trend for success that has been the norm under Head Coach Louis Orr. The Falcons are just 4-27 in Head Coach Louis Orr's first four years when an opponent shoots better than 45 percent, including 1-11 a year ago and 0-4 this year. Duquesne shot a remarkable 60.7 percent, while Michigan, Niagara, and Detroit all shot over 45 percent.

HE'S SMART TOO!
Joe Jakubowski was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team in voting by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Bowling Green was one of only five teams in the country to place multiple players on one of the eight first team all-district teams as Jakubowski and graduate Marc Larson each made the team. Larson went on to be named ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American.

IT WILL STILL ROAR
Known as "The House That Roars", Anderson Arena will play host to the Bowling Green men's basketball team for the final time in 2010-11. The team will move into the brand new Stroh Center next year and will open the building by hosting Howard on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. In honor of the final season in Anderson Arena, the Athletics Department is holding a year-long celebration titled "Closing The Doors Of The House That Roars". Here are the key events of the final year in Anderson Arena and the first year in the Stroh Center:

Jan. 29, 2011 - Men's basketball throwback game vs. Eastern Michigan
March 4/5, 2011 - All-Anderson Team recognized vs. Buffalo
March 5, 2011 - The B!G Event; One final celebration of Anderson Arena
Sept. 9, 2011 - Volleyball vs. Michigan State; Stroh Center ribbon-cutting
Nov. 12, 2011 - Men's basketball vs. Howard; First game in Stroh Center
Nov. 17, 2011 - Women's basketball vs. Purdue; First game in Stroh Center
March 17-20, 2012 - NCAA Women's Basketball Tourney in Stroh Center

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