Falcons Roll To Muncie To Face Ball State

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green made up a lot of ground in the MAC East Monday night by defeating rival Toledo. With losses by Buffalo and Akron, the Falcons remain right in the hunt for a MAC Tournament first round bye at the midway point of the conference season. Ball State is 3-0 against MAC East schools, including two road wins, and has played three overtimes in those three contests, winning those contests by a total of 13 points.
• Bowling Green is now 7-2 against MAC West teams over the course of the past two seasons. The Falcons lost to Eastern Michigan a year ago and to Central Michigan this year for the only defeats.
• In Monday's win over Toledo, Bowling Green was outrebounded 26-22. It was the first time all year that the Falcons won a game in which it was outrebounded, losing the first eight times that occured. Ball State ranks second in the MAC in rebounding average, posting 3.6 more rebounds per game than opponents.
• Senior Erik Marschall has scored in double figures in four of the past five games and is shooting 67 percent from the field during that stretch. He had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Central Michigan and is averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last five games.

THE SERIES
Thursday's game will be the 73rd meeting between the Bowling Green and Ball State programs with the Falcons holding a 39-33 lead in the all-time series. Last year, BGSU beat the Cardinals 62-58 in Anderson Arena, the third straight win over the school from Muncie. The series began in 1965 as Bowling Green beat Ball State 91-74 on Dec. 1 in the 1965-66 season opener. The Falcons won the first 10 contests in the series until Ball State finally picked up a 77-53 win on Jan. 31, 1976.

SCOUTING THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
Ball State enters Thursday evening's game with an identical overall record as Bowling Green at 11-9. But the Cardinals have beaten three consecutive MAC East schools to get to 5-3 in league play, just 1/2 game behind Central Michigan in the West Division. The Cardinals have scored at least 65 points in three straight games and 5-of-6 overall but still rank just 11th in the MAC in scoring average at 59.8 points per game. Ball State shoots an exceptional percentage from long range (36.1 percent) but looks to shoot deep less than anybody, ranking dead last in the country in three-pointers made (3.5 per contest). Ball State has won with suffocating defense, ranking first in the MAC and 27th nationally with 60.5 points allowed per game. The Cardinals allow opponents to shoot just 31.0 percent from three-point range and they outrebound opponents by an average of 3.6 per game. Jarrod Jones is the catalyst, ranking third in the MAC with 7.5 rebounds per contest and leading the team at 12.4 points per game. Malik Perry averages just 8.3 points per game but is leading the league in field goal percentage at 56.8 percent.

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 143-119 in his ninth season and 43-39 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Ball State Head Coach Billy Taylor is in his third season leading the Cardinals after spending five years as the coach at Lehigh. He has a career record of 112-119, including 31-50 at Ball State but that is a misleading record. He took over a program that went 6-24 in his first season, 14-17 a year ago and is in position to finish above .500 this year.

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 nine games, the team has shot 76.4 percent and the Falcons lead the MAC in free-throw shooting in conference games only at 75.5 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 22 blocked shots this year and is already the school's all-time blocked shot leader with 144, 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 78 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 58. 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 tied for second on the team with 14 on the season. Four players have at least 13 blocks this season and the Falcons are the only team in the Mid-American Conference 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 posted his first career double-double Saturday with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Central Michigan and is averaging 8.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest as a starter, while shooting 51 percent from the field. 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 22.3 points and 16.6 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 7.2 rebounds per game (fifth in the MAC) and has been especially strong on the offensive glass, ranking second in the Mid-American Conference with 3.3 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 11 wins, the bench has played fairly even with the opposition, being outscored 157-146, but in the nine losses has been outscored 235-119.

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 17-of-20 games and at least 30 points seven times, including each of the past two contests. The team peaked against Towson when Bowling Green held a 50-21 scoring edge in the paint. In all, BGSU has outscored 15 opponents in the paint and 6-of-8 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 among the top 100 nationally) with a 1.97 assist/turnover ratio, while Crawford has a solid 1.40 ratio, which would rank in the top 10 in the MAC if he had enough assists to qualify. As well, Scott Thomas has a respectable 1.33 assist/turnover ratio and Dee Brown has stepped up in this area over the past four games with 17 assists and just three turnovers (5.67 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 11.9 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounding, assists, steals, blocked shots, and free-throw percentage. He has an active streak of seven consecutive double-digit scoring outings and is averaging 17.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, while shooting 81.6 percent from the line during that stretch.

THE CLOSER
Call him The Closer because Scott Thomas has been unstoppable in the second half of the past seven games. During that time, he has scored just 29 first-half points (4.1 per game) and 90 second-half points (12.9 per game). He is shooting just 29 percent (10-of-35) from the field and 15 percent (3-of-20) from three-point range during the first half of those games and 57 percent (28-of-49) from the field and 56 percent (9-of-16) 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 against Milwaukee. Since that time, Brown has scored in double figures in 12-of-17 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 47.3 percent three-point shooting and ranks second on the team in scoring (10.5 points per game) and third in field goal percentage (44.8 percent). Over the past four games, he has added 17 assists and just three turnovers.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
The Falcons came back from halftime deficits of at least seven points in three of its four conference wins, outscoring Kent State, Ohio and Eastern Michigan 138-87 over the final 20 minutes.

THE SECOND HALF OFFENSE
In each of the last six games, Bowling Green's second half offense has far exceeded its first half scoring. The Falcons have scored at least 31 points in the second half in all six contests and have not scored more than 28 in the first half of any of those games. Bowling Green has shot 51.0 percent (75-of-147) in the second half of the past five games, as well as 20-of-44 (45.5 percent) from three-point range and 53-of-69 (76.8 percent) from the free-throw line.

MAKE HALF OF THEM
Bowling Green is 19-2 in three years under Louis Orr when shooting at least 50 percent from the field, including a perfect 4-0 this year. In fact, in three of those four games this year, the Falcons were exactly 26-of-51 from the field (wins over Wayne State, Fordham, and Kent State). Against Toledo, Bowling Green was 22-of-39 shooting.

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 17 games, Bowling Green has been to the line an average of 19.5 times (331 total), 26 more than opponents.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 6-3 in 2009-10. The Falcons are 453-183 (.712) all-time in Anderson Arena and 167-57 (.746) in the past 17 years.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green has held opponents below 45 percent shooting in all 11 of its victories, a trend for success that has been the norm under Head Coach Louis Orr. In all, the team has held 15-of-20 opponents below 45 percent shooting and the team is just 3-17 under Head Coach Louis Orr when an opponent reaches that threshold, including 0-5 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. In the Falcons' last 16 games, of which BGSU is 10-6, the team has been very similar to a year ago, holding opponents to 39.9 percent shooting and 60.6 points per game.

BASKETBALL U.
Bowling Green's men's and women's basketball teams have a combined record of 29-14 overall and 12-5 in MAC play. That is the best combined overall record in the Mid-American Conference and trails only Kent State for the top combined MAC record as the Golden Flashes are 12-4. Last year, Bowling Green's men's and women's programs easily led the league with a combined record of 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, 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. Bowling Green is 2-2 in MAC road games in 2009-10.

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

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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