Falcons Look For BracketBusters Win Saturday

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green takes a break from Mid-American Conference play Saturday to host the Horizon League's Valparaiso Crusaders for the eighth annual ESPN BracketBusters series. The Falcons are 4-3 all-time in BracketBusters games but dropped a 71-66 decision to Canisius a year ago. Valpo did not compete in the first two BracketBusters, but are 3-2 in the last five years.
• The Falcons have not played a non-conference game since defeating St. Louis 59-50 in Anderson Arena on Jan. 2. Bowling Green is 7-5 in out-of-conference games this year and is 4-1 at home. Valparaiso is 5-7 in non-conference action in 2009-10, including a mark of 1-6 on the road, although three of those losses came against teams ranked in the top six in the country at the time of the contest (North Carolina, Michigan State, and Purdue).
• In MAC action, Bowling Green is now 6-7 in league play with three games to go. The Falcons are in position to get a home game in the opening round of the conference tournament, which would take place March 7. Bowling Green has officially been eliminated from winning the MAC regular season title but still has an outside shot of earning a bye through the first round of the conference tournament.
• Scott Thomas scored 21 points in the Falcons' most recent game, a 64-51 loss to Buffalo. It marked Thomas' fourth 20-point game of his sophomore season. He attempted just 14 shots, making eight, and added a career-high four steals. He is averaging 17.7 points in the past three games.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green holds a perfect 7-0 advantage in the all-time series with Valparaiso but the two programs have not played since a 60-59 Falcons' win on Dec. 17, 1979.

SCOUTING THE VALPARAISO CRUSADERS
Valparaiso has won four of its last five games heading in Saturday's BracketBusters game to move above .500 on the season at 15-14. The Crusaders played a strong non-conference schedule, going on the road to play three teams ranked in the top six in the country at the time of the game -- North Carolina, Michigan State, and Purdue. Valpo is comfortable playing at a higher tempo than Bowling Green and is averaging 73.2 points per game, almost 12.0 more than the Falcons, but the Falcons are also giving up 73.4 points, 9.2 more than BGSU. The Crusaders rank among the top 40 teams in the country in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage and make an average of 7.8 three's per game. Brandon Wood and Cory Johnson make for quite the scoring combo, averaging 18.2 and 15.1 points respectively. Johnson's 56.6 field-goal percentage ranks 16th in the country.

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 145-123 in his ninth season and 45-43 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Valparaiso Head Coach Homer Drew is in his 21st season at the helm of the Crusaders' program. He is one of the ten active winningest coaches in the country with a career mark of 617-412. His 1997-98 team went to the Sweet 16 with stunning upsets over Ole Miss and Florida State. Drew's son Bryce, an assistant coach on this Valpo team, made one of the most famous shots in NCAA Tournament history that season, knocking down a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the 70-69 first round win over Ole Miss.

MARSCHALL LAW
The NBA uses a stat called +/- much more extensively than college basketball and it calculates scoring differential when an individual is on the floor. Senior Erik Marschall was an amazing +29 in a recent win over Northern Illinois as the Falcons outscored the Huskies 62-33 when he was on the floor and was outscored 36-11 when he was on the bench. Marschall again led the team in Saturday's win over Miami with a +13. On the season, Marschall's +67 is easily the best on the team, while Joe Jakubowski ranks second at an even +0.

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 14 games, the team has shot 73.8 percent and the Falcons lead the MAC in percentage in conference games only at 72.5 percent.

TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
Bowling Green has had less than 10 turnovers in three of its last six games (eight vs. Toledo, nine at Ball State, and eight vs. Miami) after posting a single-digit turnover total just once in the first 19 games of the season (seven at Xavier). However, that may not be the best of trends for the Falcons. Prior to winning two of the last three games in which it had a single-digit turnover total, Bowling Green had lost four straight such contests (the loss to Xavier and losses to Eastern Michigan, Akron in the MAC Tournament, and Creighton in the NIT a year ago).

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 33 blocked shots this year, which is just two shy of cracking the top 10 single-season total in program history, and is already the school's all-time blocked shot leader with 155, 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. With two against Northern Illinois, Larson has 82 career blocks moving him into a tie for 10th on BGSU's career list. Marschall now has 61 career blocked shots and forward Scott Thomas has become a factor in this area as well, posting three consecutive multi-block games at one point this year. All four of those players have at least 16 blocks this season and the Falcons are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have that many players with at least 16 blocks.

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 posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Central Michigan and is averaging 8.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest as a starter, while shooting 52 percent from the field. Larson posted eight points and a career-best nine rebounds against St. Louis in 26 minutes off the bench and then reversed those numbers with nine points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes against Ball State. He 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 16.9 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 7.5 rebounds per game (fourth in the MAC) and has been especially strong on the offensive glass, leading the Mid-American Conference with 3.5 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. BGSU is 4-2 this year in games in which Polk has at least 10 rebounds.

PAINTIN' THE TOWN
Head Coach Louis Orr's philosophy is to play an inside-out game and the Falcons have done that for much of the year, scoring at least 20 points in the paint in 22-of-25 games and at least 30 points 12 times. Lately, however, Bowling Green has taken it to an even higher level. The Falcons have scored 30 points or more in the paint in each of the past seven games and 40 for three straight games at one point. In all, BGSU has outscored 20 opponents in the paint and 11-of-13 conference opponents.

DIRECTING THE OFFENSE
Junior Joe Jakubowski and freshman Jordon Crawford have done an excellent job of running an efficient offense from the point guard position so far in the 2009-10 season. Jakubowski ranks fourth in the MAC with a 1.77 assist/turnover ratio, while Crawford has a solid 1.35 ratio, which would rank 10th if he had enough assists to qualify. Forward Scott Thomas and shooting guard Dee Brown have been doing a solid job in this area as well. Thomas has a 1.35 ratio and Brown has 26 assists and just 13 turnovers in the past nine games (2.00 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 then picked up his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Ball State and scored 26, 17 in the second half, in the Falcons' comeback win over Northern Illinois. He leads the team with 12.6 points per game as well as steals, with 36. He also ranks second in rebounding, assists, and blocked shots. He had a streak of 10 consecutive double-digit scoring outings snapped against Miami but is averaging 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while adding 23 steals and 10 blocks, in the last 12 games.

THE CLOSER
Call him The Closer because Scott Thomas has been unstoppable in the second half of the past 12 games. During that time, he has scored just 58 first-half points (4.8 per game) and 138 second-half points (11.5 per game). He is shooting just 35 percent (23-of-65) from the field and 14 percent (4-of-28) from three-point range during the first half of those games and 51 percent (44-of-87) from the field and 34 percent (10-of-29) from three-point range during the second half.

DEE-LIGHTFUL
Sophomore guard Dee Brown has risen to the occasion since posting his first career double-digit scoring game early in the season against Milwaukee. Since that time, Brown has scored in double figures in 16-of-22 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 ranks second in the MAC at 44.4 percent three-point shooting and ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. Over the past nine games, he has added 26 assists and just 13 turnovers, a 2.00 assist/turnover ratio.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
The Falcons came back from halftime deficits of at least six points in five of their six conference wins, outscoring Kent State, Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Miami 224-149 over the final 20 minutes, an average of 15.0 points per game more than opponents in the second half.

THE SECOND HALF OFFENSE
In the last 12 games, Bowling Green's second half offense has consistently exceeded its first half scoring. In fact, the Falcons have not scored more first half points than second half points since the Akron game on Jan. 9. The Falcons have scored at least 31 points in the second half in all 12 contests but have reached 30 or more points in the first half just once. Bowling Green is shooting 50.5 percent from the field in the second half of the past 12 games, as well as 37.3 percent from three-point range. The Falcons have also gone to the free-throw line 90 more times in the second half than the first half.

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 22 games, Bowling Green has been to the line an average of 18.9 times (415 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 8-3 in 2009-10. The Falcons are 455-183 (.713) all-time in Anderson Arena and 169-57 (.748) in the past 17 years.

ROAD WARRIORS
In the past two seasons, Bowling Green has won eight Mid-American Conference road games, tied with Buffalo for the second-most in the league during that time frame. 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 5-9 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. Bowling Green is 2-5 in MAC road games in 2009-10.

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

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green has held opponents below 45 percent shooting in all 13 of its victories, a trend for success that has been the norm under Head Coach Louis Orr. In all, the team has held 18-of-25 opponents below 45 percent shooting and the team is just 3-19 under Head Coach Louis Orr when an opponent reaches that threshold, including 0-7 this year. A year ago, opponents shot just 39.3 percent from the field, 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.

THESE GUYS ARE SMART TOO!
Joe Jakubowski and Marc Larson were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team Thursday by voting of 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 and both will now be place on the ballot for Academic All-American status. Larson (3.97 gpa) and Jakubowski (3.32 gpa) joined Dayton's Kurt Huelsman, Wright State's Cooper Land, and Michigan's Zack Novak on the District 4 first team.

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.

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.

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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