Falcons Face Eastern Michigan For Coaches vs. Cancer

Bowling Green Falcons (9-11, 4-2 MAC) vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-14, 2-4 MAC)
Jan. 29, 2011 • 3:00 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ohio • Anderson Arena (3,500)

Radio: Falcon Radio Network (99.1 FM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)/Kirk Cowan (Color)
Television: None
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bgsu/mbball/index.htm
Online: Stretch Internet (audio)/Live Video
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Coaches vs. Cancer
First 500 Fans Receive Keith McLeod All-Anderson Team Card

Bowling Green hosts Eastern Michigan Saturday for the annual Coaches vs. Cancer game beginning at 3 p.m. The Falcons won their first game in West Division crossover by beating rival Toledo Tuesday night and sits in a tie for first atop the East Division. Eastern Michigan is just 5-14 on the year and 2-4 in MAC play, entering the game coming off of a 79-65 loss to Ohio Wednesday.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Bowling Green remains tied for first in the MAC East Division and, based on tiebreakers, would be the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament (through Wednesday's games) if it were to start today. The Falcons have reached that point despite playing just two home conference games and four road ones.
• Bowling Green has won five consecutive home games, winning by an average margin of 10.8 points. The Falcons are shooting 49.8 percent from the floor in those contests and forcing 19.6 turnovers, accounting for an average of almost six more shot attempts per game than opponents.
• A'uston Calhoun had his first career double-double Wednesday at Toledo with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He has scored in double-figures in six of the last seven games, with three 20+ point nights. He is averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds on 47 percent shooting during that stretch.
• Scott Thomas has scored in double-figures in all six conference games thus far, averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals on 47 percent shooting. A year ago, he scored in double figures in 14 of the final 15 conference games.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green holds a 44-38 edge in the all-time series with Eastern Michigan, dating back to the first ever Bowling Green basketball game, a 33-15 Eastern Michigan win on Jan. 8, 1916. Lately, the Eagles have had more success in Anderson Arena than just about any team as they have won the last two meetings in The House That Roars. In 2008-09, Bowling Green's only West Division loss came at the hands of the Eagles but the Falcons avenged that defeat with a 64-61 win a year ago in Ypsilanti.

SCOUTING THE EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES
Eastern Michigan comes into Saturday's game with a record of 5-14 overall and 2-4 in MAC play. Since beating Toledo to open conference play, the Eagles are 1-4 and have scored more than 51 points just once in those five games. On the year, EMU is shooting just 38.7 percent from the field, but is decent inside, outrebounding opponents and averaging 3.95 blocked shots per game. Individually, Brandon Bowdry is averaging almost a double-double at 19.6 points (second in the MAC) and 9.5 rebounds (first in the MAC).

FALCONS BEAT RIVAL TOLEDO FOR THIRD STRAIGHT TIME
A'uston Calhoun posted his first career double-double and Joe Jakubowski scored a season-high 16 points as Bowling Green went on the road and beat Toledo 70-64 Wednesday night. The Falcons are now 2-0 all-time in renovated Savage Hall. BGSU never trailed after the first three minutes and held off a handful of Rockets' comeback attempts. Calhoun finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Scott Thomas and Dee Brown had 11 points each. The Falcons held Toledo to 40 percent shooting and earned a 40-32 rebounding edge.

TRANSFORMING BGSU BASKETBALL
Bill Frack has watched Bowling Green basketball since 1948 and on Jan. 19, 2011, he showed his appreciation to the program by announcing the formation of an endowment that will exceed $10 million to the program. The gift is the largest in University history and the largest to a men's basketball program in MAC history. When realized, the endowment will be used to build the program to an elite non-BCS level through additional funding for buying home games against quality opponents, competitive coaching salaries, recruiting, strength and conditioning, academic support, and marketing, among other things.

PROGRESSION OF A PROGRAM
In the course of the past four years, the Bowling Green men's basketball program has had its share of headline news. Consider:

• On April 4, 2007, Louis Orr, a former Big East Coach of the Year, was named the new head coach of the men's basketball program.
• On March 1, 2008, Kermit and Mary Lu Stroh announced an $8 million donation as a lead gift for a new basketball arena, named the Stroh Center. The $8 million donation was, at that time, the largest gift in University history. The Stroh Center will open for the 2011-12 season.
• On March 9, 2009, Bowling Green beat Ohio 75-41 to win the MAC regular season championship. Orr was later named MAC Coach of the Year.
• On Sept. 30, 2009, Orr announced the hiring of Dennis Hopson as an assistant coach. Along with Orr, BGSU is one of the few programs in the country to have two college first-team All-Americans and NBA players on staff.
• On Jan. 19, 2011, longtime fan Bill Frack annnounced the formation of a $10 million endowment for the men's basketball program. The $10 million gift is the largest in University history and the largest for a men's basketball program in MAC history.

DUNK-TASTIC
Most experts measure good offense through stats like field-goal percentage, points per possession, effective field-goal percentage, or scoring average. We like to measure good offense by dunks and if that's any indication, the Falcons are on fire. Bowling Green has 17 dunks in the past four games, including seven in the last home game, a win over Ohio. Torian Oglesby has had the lion's share of those buckets, with 10 of his 12 field-goals in the last four games coming on dunks.

WHO SAW THAT COMING?
Joe Jakubowski has played a lot of games in Savage Hall during his lifetime, estimating at least 30 high school games there. On Wednesday night against Toledo, he felt right at home by scoring 16 points and making four three-pointers. That came on the heels of one of the toughest stretches of his collegiate career in which he scored a total of four points in the previous six games.

THE BIG APOSTROPHE
A'uston Calhoun has turned up his game lately, scoring 20 or more points four times in the past 10 contests. In the first 10 games of the year, he average 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 31 percent from the field, but as he's become more comfortable in his role, his numbers have gone up dramatically. In the last 10 games, Calhoun is averaging 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 49 percent from the floor.

THE MCELROY FACTOR
When Bowling Green gets strong offensive production from sophomore forward Danny McElroy, the Falcons' chances of winning increase exponentially. The team is 5-0 in McElroy's career when he scores at least eight points, including 4-0 this year. In wins over Ohio Dominican, Florida International, Buffalo, and Miami, he shot 57 percent from the floor and made at least four field goals in each.

THE STAT FILLER
Junior forward Scott Thomas really knows how to fill up a stat sheet. He leads Bowling Green in scoring, rebounding, steals, three-pointers made, and free-throws made, while ranking second on the team in assists. In fact, Thomas is one of only two players in the country (along with Loyola Marymount's Vernon Teel) to be averaging at least 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

PLAYING BIGGER THAN HIS SIZE
Sophomore point guard Jordon Crawford stands just 5-foot-6 but plays a big role for the Falcons. Even though he starts the game on the bench, he has taken over the team assist lead by posting at least seven in three of the last four games. He also has 12 steals in the last four games and is 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, while making 50 percent of his 28 field-goal attempts. Crawford had scored at least eight points in seven consecutive games before finishing with five against Toledo.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 6-2 so far in 2010-11 with five straight wins. The Falcons are 462-187 (.712) all-time in Anderson Arena and 176-61 (.743) in the past 18 years.

THIEVERY
Bowling Green leads the MAC and ranks seventh nationally in steals, averaging 9.8 per game. The Falcons have had eight games with at least 10 steals and three with at least 15 this year, including a 19-steal performance against Western Kentucky, the most in a game for a MAC school this year. The 19 steals were just one shy of the program record (the team had 20 steals against Heidelberg in 1990) and Scott Thomas had six steals individually in that game. Thomas ranks third in the MAC and 17th nationally with 2.37 steals per game and Jordon Crawford is fourth in the league at 2.05 steals per game. The Falcons rank fourth in the country in steals per possession, picking up a theft on 14.1 percent of their opponents' possessions (only Oregon State, Alabama, and Louisville are better).

WHO NEEDS THREE?
Some teams rely on the three-pointer to win games but Bowling Green is not one of those teams. The team snapped a string of 356 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer made by going 0-for-4 in a road win at St. Louis and followed that up by going 1-for-5 in a double overtime road victory at Buffalo. The Falcons are only attempting 15.7 per game, much less than the 20.0 per game opponents are shooting.

POINTING THE WAY
Point guard play has been critical for the Falcons this year and when BGSU has played well, Joe Jakubowski and Jordon Crawford have played well. Jakubowski and Crawford have combined for 67 assists and just 21 turnovers in the team's nine victories (a 3.19 assist/turnover ratio). In 11 losses, the duo has 53 assists and 42 turnovers (a 1.26 assist/turnover ratio).

SHOOTING THE ROCK
A year ago, Bowling Green led the Mid-American Conference with a 44.4 field goal percentage. After struggling to shoot through the first nine games, the Falcons have again found their rhythm. Bowling Green has shot 48.2 percent over the course of the past 11 games, including identical 27-of-53 shooting nights in four victories. The team is 8-2 when shooting at least 44 percent from the field this year but has been below 35 percent five times (all in the first nine games). The Falcons are 8-3 in the past 11 games and have shot better than 50 percent in six of those wins.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY
Through the course of the year, Bowling Green has been one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the MAC, but the Falcons have been much better lately. The team did not reach 80 percent from the line in any of the first 15 games but has done that in three of the last five, shooting a combined 50-of-66 (75.7 percent) from the stripe.

NOW TO GET TO THE LINE
While the Falcons have shot the ball better from the free-throw line in the past four contests, the trips to the line have decreased. The team averaged 19.2 free-throw attempts per game in the first 15 contests but are averaging just 13.2 attempts in the last five.

STARTING A CAREER
Freshman Cameron Black started the first 17 games of the 2010-11 season before coming off the bench against Ohio. 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.

DEFENSE WINS
A year ago, Bowling Green held opponents below 45 percent shooting in 13 of its 14 victories and have done the same in 7-of-9 wins this year. In fact, the Falcons are just 6-29 in Head Coach Louis Orr's first four years when an opponent shoots better than 45 percent, including 2-7 this year. The two victories came against Manhattan (48.9 percent shooting) and Ohio (45.8 percent).

DOWN LOW
Head coach Louis Orr's philosophy is always to play inside-out and the Falcons have continued to do that well in 2010-11. The Falcons have scored at least 20 points in the paint in 17 of the first 20 games after reaching that total in 27-of-30 games a year ago. Bowling Green has outscored its opponents in the paint 13 times (and tied both Florida International and Manhattan) after doing it in 23-of-30 games a year ago. The Falcons scored at least 28 points in the paint in six consecutive games before being held to 18 against Kent State. The team had a season-high 50 in the win at Buffalo, as well as 44 at Milwaukee and 42 at Saint Louis.

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.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Junior guard Dee Brown was named MAC Player of the Week Jan. 3 for the second time in his career after averaging 14.5 points in leading the Falcons to wins over UTSA and Saint Louis in a three-day span. Brown scored a team-high 21 in the win at Saint Louis and had eight points, six rebounds, and three steals in the victory over UTSA.

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.

JAKUBOWSKI NAMED COUSY AWARD CANDIDATE
Bowling Green senior Joe Jakubowski was named as one of 66 candidates for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award, given to the top point guard in the country. Jakubowski was BGSU's starting point guard during the last half of his freshman campaign and then started every game at the position as both a sophomore and junior. He entered the 2010-11 season with 85 career starts and is one of the most experienced point guards in the country entering the year.

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. One other Findlay resident is a large contributor to the Bowling Green program as Bill Frack, who just announced a $10 million donation to the program, is a lifelong Findlay resident.

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)

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:

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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