Falcons Open MAC Tournament At Western Michigan Sunday

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
MAC Tournament Bracket (.pdf)
MAC Tournament Central

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW
• Bowling Green and Western Michigan meet in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Sunday with a trip to Quicken Loans Arena on the line. The Falcons are the No. 10 seed and Western Michigan is the No. 7 seed.
• For the past three seasons, the MAC Tournament First Round was held in Cleveland but this will be the first year of campus sites since the 2005-06 year. That year, Bowling Green lost a road game at Toledo in the opening round 77-52.
• Despite an 82-60 loss to Ohio Thursday night to close out the regular season, freshman Luke Kraus made an impact. He scored a career-high 16 points (he had scored just 15 points all season prior to the game) on 7-of-11 shooting, making a pair of three-pointers. He played a career-best 18 minutes in the loss.
• Bowling Green has shot at least 54 percent from the field for one of the two halves in each of the past eight games. However, the Falcons are only 3-5 during that stretch as they have not been able to play well on offense consistently for 40 minutes.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green holds a 66-42 advantage in the all-time series with Western Michigan but the Broncos pulled out a 65-64 win earlier this year in University Arena. In that contest, David Kool had a steal and bucket with 4.2 seconds left to give his team a win, coming back from 11 points down in the second half. The two programs have only met once in the MAC Tournament before with Bowling Green picking up a 74-68 home win in the first round in 2001.

SCOUTING THE WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS
One of the leading candidates for MAC Player of the Year, 6-foot-3 senior guard David Kool is the key for Western Michigan and leads the league at 21.0 points per game (18th nationally). Along with his tremendous scoring ability, Kool leads his team in steals, ranks second in assists, and shoots 89.8 percent from the free-throw line (11th nationally). A hard-nosed rebounding team, the Broncos average 3.7 rebounds per game more than opponents and shoot 72.6 percent from the free-throw line. Western Michigan also holds opponents to just 41.4 percent shooting on the season. On the other side, however, the Broncos block just 2.6 shots per game and only shoot 31.7 percent from three-point range.

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 146-126 in his ninth season and 46-46 in his first three years at Bowling Green. Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins is in his seventh season at the helm of the Broncos and 10th season overall on the staff. He is 121-98 overall in those seven seasons, including a mark of 71-46 in league contests.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Bowling Green is 17-27 all-time in the MAC Tournament but has lost three consecutive first round contests. A year ago, the Falcons got a bye through the opening round of the MAC Tournament and then defeated Ohio 74-61 in the quarterfinals. Bowling Green has advanced to the championship game three times, losing in that contest in 1980, 1983, and 2002. The Falcons have squared off with Western Michigan just one time in tournament history, defeating the Broncos 74-68 in Anderson Arena in the first round of the 2001 tournament.

THEY AREN'T CALLED "FREE" THROWS FOR NOTHING
Joe Jakubowski has an active streak of 21 consecutive made free-throws, just four shy of the longest streak in the Mid-American Conference this year. Ball State's Brawley Chisholm had a string of 25 in a row earlier in the season. The streak is the longest by a BG player since Martin Samarco made 24 in a row in January of 2006. When Jakubowski started the run, he was shooting just 69.1 percent from the free-throw line on the year but has now raised that average to a team-best 77.6 percent.

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 the next game, a win over Miami, with a +13. On the season, Marschall's +53 is easily the best on the team, while Matt Karaffa (+3) and Joe Jakubowski (+2) are the only other players on the positive side.

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 18 games, the team has shot 73.2 percent from the line, including 71.1 percent in MAC games.

TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
Bowling Green has had less than 10 turnovers three times in the past month (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).

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Bowling Green senior Marc Larson was named ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American. With a 3.97 grade point average in engineering technology, Larson became just the fifth Bowling Green men's basketball player since the award began in 1952 to be honored as an All-American. He joins Matt Lefeld (third team in 2007), Steve Martenet (third team in 1988), Joe Faine (second team in 1980), and Al Hairston (third team in 1968) to be honored.

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 36 blocked shots this year, which is tied for the ninth highest single-season total in program history. He is already the school's all-time blocked shot leader with 158, 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 recorded his 83rd career block against Valparaiso to take over 10th place on BGSU's career list. Marschall now has 64 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 19 blocks this season and the Falcons are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have that many players with 19+ 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 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest as a starter, while shooting 53 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 23.7 points and 16.5 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, leading 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. 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 26-of-29 games and at least 30 points 16 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 11 games and 40 in five of the last eight. In all, BGSU has outscored 22 opponents in the paint and 12-of-16 conference opponents (as well as tying Kent State). The Falcons scored a season-high 52 points in the paint in a win over Valparaiso, the second 50+ point outing of the year.

DIRECTING THE OFFENSE
Junior Joe Jakubowski has done an excellent job of running an efficient offense from the point guard position in the 2009-10 season. Jakubowski ranks third in the MAC, and 101st nationally, with a 1.94 assist/turnover ratio and has also had some help in that area.

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.

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. Since that time he has picked up two more double-doubles (against Ball State and Valparaiso) and scored 26 points, 17 in the second half, in a comeback win over Northern Illinois. He leads the team in scoring with with 12.9 points per game and steals with 47. He also ranks second in rebounding and assists. He had a streak of 10 consecutive double-digit scoring outings snapped against Miami but is averaging 15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, while adding 34 steals and 11 blocks, in the last 16 games.

THE CLOSER
Call him The Closer because Scott Thomas has been unstoppable in the second half of the past 16 games. During that time, he has scored just 82 first-half points (5.1 per game) and 173 second-half points (10.8 per game). He is shooting just 35 percent (31-of-88) from the field and 12 percent (4-of-33) from three-point range during the first half of those games and 50 percent (55-of-110) from the field and 33 percent (12-of-36) 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 18-of-26 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. He added 20 points in the team's ESPNU BracketBusters win over Valparaiso. Brown ranks fourth in the MAC at 42.5 percent three-point shooting and ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. Lately, he has become a more willing distributor as well. He had just 18 assists in the first 15 games of the year (1.2 per contest) but has more-than-doubled that with 38 assists in the last 14 games, an average of 2.7 per game.

TALE OF TWO HALVES
For much of the second half of the season, Bowling Green has played well for one half of a game but has struggled to put together 40 minutes of strong basketball. For example, against Kent State, the Falcons shot 64 percent in the first half to take a 12-point lead but was outscored by 18 in the second after shooting just 32 percent. In the last 12 games, Bowling Green has shot 50 percent or better in a half 11 times and has shot 60 percent or better four times. But the Falcons have also shot 35 percent or worse five times. Over the past eight games, Bowling Green has shot 54 percent or better for an entire half each time out.

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 26 games, Bowling Green has been to the line an average of 19.6 times (510 total), 35 more than opponents.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons finished 9-5 in 2009-10. The Falcons are 456-185 (.711) all-time in Anderson Arena and 170-59 (.742) in the past 17 years.

DEFENSE WINS
Bowling Green has held opponents below 45 percent shooting in 13 of its 14 victories (Valparaiso shot 46.4 percent), a trend for success that has been the norm under Head Coach Louis Orr. In all, the team has held 18-of-29 opponents below 45 percent shooting and the team is just 4-22 under Head Coach Louis Orr when an opponent reaches that threshold, including 1-10 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.

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.

THESE GUYS ARE SMART TOO!
Joe Jakubowski and Marc Larson were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team 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.

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.

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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