Falcons Open MAC Play At Buffalo Saturday

Bowling Green Falcons (5-9) at Buffalo Bulls (8-4)
Jan. 8, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. • Buffalo, N.Y. • Alumni Arena (6,100)

Radio: Falcon Radio Network (99.1 FM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)
Television: None

Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/buffalo/
Online: Buffalo Video (live video)/Stretch Internet (audio)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

Bowling Green will look to extend its three-game winning streak Saturday when the Falcons open Mid-American Conference play on the road at Buffalo at 7 p.m. The last time Bowling Green opened MAC play on the road and came away with a win was during the 2001-02 season when the Falcons beat Central Michigan 82-81 on the way to a 24-9 season and a trip to the NIT.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Bowling Green's torrid shooting continues as the Falcons are knocking down 50.7 percent of their shots in the last five games (going 4-1 during that time). BGSU has shot 50 percent or better four times and shot a season-best 52 percent in a road win against Saint Louis the last time out. The team failed to shoot better than 45 percent in a game during the first nine contests.
• Bowling Green picked up its first road win of the year at Saint Louis Saturday, beating the Billikens 67-61. The Falcons are 1-7 away from Anderson Arena and 1-5 in true road games.
• Bowling Green is 0-4 in games decided by five points or less this year, losing such contests to Howard, Niagara, Albany and Milwaukee. All of those games were on the road or in neutral site games.
• The Falcons did not make a three-pointer in the win at Saint Louis, going 0-for-4. It is the first time in more than a decade that the team did not make at least one long-range shot.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 14-7 in 21 meetings all-time against Buffalo with the series starting in 1999. Last year, the Bulls won both meetings but the Falcons swept the season series two years ago. Bowling Green is 5-5 against Buffalo all-time on the road.

SCOUTING THE BUFFALO BULLS
Buffalo has had an impressive non-conference slate, going 8-4 and winning four of its last five games. The Bulls lead the MAC in scoring margin, field-goal percentage, field-goal percentage defense, three-point shooting, rebounding margin, and blocked shots while ranking second in points scored, points allowed, steals, and assists. Zach Filzen is the team's leading scorer at 16.0 points per game and is shooting 44.8 percent from three-point range, while leading the country with 3.6 three-pointers made per game. Byron Mulkey follows at 14.5 points per game and is second in the country with 41 steals.

FALCONS GET FIRST ROAD WIN; BEAT SAINT LOUIS 67-61
Dee Brown scored 21 points and A'uston Calhoun added 20 as Bowling Green won on the road for the first time in the 2010-11 season, defeating Saint Louis 67-61. The Falcons shot 52 percent from the field and held a 42-18 edge in points in the paint. Saint Louis led 44-43 with 8:43 to go, but Bowling Green went on a 12-3 run in which Calhoun scored 10 points to build a cushion. The Falcons made free-throws down the stretch to ice the victory.

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 rebounding, assists, steals, and three-pointers made, while ranking second in scoring and free-throws made. He ranks in the top nine in the MAC in rebounds, assists, steals, assist/turnover ratio, defensive rebounds, and minutes.

WHO NEEDS THREE?
Bowling Green made at least one three-pointer in every game for more than a decade before going 0-for-4 in Saturday's win at Saint Louis. The Falcons had made a three-pointer in 356 consecutive games since going 0-for-8 in a 64-55 win over Northern Illinois on Feb. 3, 1999.

BUT IF YOU TRY THEM, YOU BETTER MAKE THEM
Joe Jakubowski has made eight of his last 11 three-point attempts after going just 4-of-16 in the first 10 games of the year. He made his only attempt against Milwaukee and was 3-of-4 in a win over Manhattan. Jakubowski then made 4-of-5 in last Thursday's victory over UTSA before an 0-for-1 Saturday at Saint Louis. He is now shooting 44.4 percent from long range this year, which would rank second in the MAC if he had made just two more on the season. He is shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range over the course of his career, just outside the top 10 all-time at BGSU, and is eighth in career three-pointers made in school history with 120.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Junior guard Dee Brown was named MAC Player of the Week Monday 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.

THIEVERY
Bowling Green leads the MAC and ranks 10th nationally in steals, averaging 10.1 per game. The Falcons have had six 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 2.46 steals per game and Jordon Crawford is sixth in the league at 1.86 steals per game. Dee Brown is also over a steal a game at 1.14. A year ago, the Falcons averaged just 6.8 steals per game.

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 33 assists and just eight turnovers in the team's five victories. In the team's current three-game winning streak, Jakubowski and Crawford have combined for 53 points on 18-of-31 shooting, 18 assists, eight steals, and just six turnovers.

LARGER ROLES
Four players on this year's team are averaging at least seven minutes per game more than they did a year ago. Jordon Crawford, A'uston Calhoun, Luke Kraus, and Danny McElroy combined to play 666 minutes a year ago but have already played 1,099 this season.

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 50.7 percent over the course of the past five games, including identical 27-of-53 shooting nights in three victories. The team is 5-1 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).

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 12 of the first 14 games after reaching that total in 27-of-30 games a year ago. Bowling Green has outscored its opponents in the paint nine times (and tied both Florida International and Manhattan) after doing it in 23-of-30 games a year ago. The Falcons have scored at least 28 points in the paint in each of the past five games, including a season-high 44 against Milwaukee and 42 against Saint Louis.

STARTING A CAREER
Freshman Cameron Black has started the first 14 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. While Black is not scoring at the same rate Stacey did as a freshman, the rest of his statistics compare favorably.

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 5-28 in Head Coach Louis Orr's first four years when an opponent shoots better than 45 percent, including 1-11 a year ago and 1-6 this year. Duquesne shot a remarkable 60.7 percent, while Michigan, Niagara, Detroit, Michigan State, and Milwaukee all shot over 45 percent. The Falcons' lone victory this year when a team shot better than 45 percent came against Manhattan, as the Jaspers shot 48.9 percent.

CONSISTENT INCONSISTENCY
Head Coach Louis Orr has used seven different starting lineups in 13 games this year with nine different players picking up at least one start. Only freshman Cameron Black has started every game so far and Orr has not used the same lineup for more than three consecutive games. A year ago was a different story, however, as Orr used just three starting lineups all year and only seven different players got at least one start.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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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