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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Sunday, November 13
Athens, GA
6:00 pm
Bowling Green State University
at
Georgia
Photo by: Doug Sampson
Falcons Hit The Road For Georgia On ESPNU
November 12, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Full Game Notes vs. Georgia
BGSU HITS THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2011-12
Bowling Green will be on the road for the first time this year as the Falcons face a quick turnaround from its season opener Friday. BGSU plays at Georgia on ESPNU Sunday night at 6 p.m. Both teams enter the game coming off double-digit wins in their season openers Friday. Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
THE SERIES
Bowling Green and Georgia have never faced each other and the last time the Falcons faced a Southeastern Conference came during the 2002-03 season. Bowling Green faced then-No. 2 Alabama and battled tough but came up on the wrong end of a 72-63 decision. The Falcons' last win over an SEC team came on Nov. 15, 2001 in an 82-78 victory over Ole Miss.
SCOUTING THE GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Georgia opened the 2011-12 season with a 62-49 win over Wofford Friday night. Freshman Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, a 6-foot-5 guard, led the way with 15 points and 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Donte' Williams was a force on the boards with 13 rebounds. Gerald Robinson, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, was selected as preseason second team All-SEC by vote of the coaches. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago but did graduate three starters from a team that went 21-12. Georgia was picked to finish eighth in the SEC in the preseason media poll.
FALCONS DOMINATE DEFENSIVELY TO WIN OPENER
Bowling Green won its 20th consecutive home opener and christened the brand new Stroh Center with a 63-48 win over Howard Friday. The Bison shot just 38 percent and the Falcons held Howard without a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the game. Four Falcons scored in double-figures, led by a 14-point, eight rebound effort from senior forward Scott Thomas. Sophomore Craig Sealey came off the bench to score 13 points and grab a career-high six rebounds.
EXHIBITING SUCCESS
Bowling Green dominated Tiffin in its exhibition game, defeating the Dragons 85-40 in the Stroh Center. Fourteen of BGSU's 15 roster players scored at least one point and grabbed at least one rebound as the Falcons jumped out to a 39-20 halftime lead and outscored Tiffin 46-20 over the final 20 minutes. Junior point guard Jordon Crawford led Bowling Green with 14 points and six assists, while junior shooting guard Luke Kraus had 11 points on three three-pointers.
MR. VERSATILITY
Senior forward Scott Thomas really knows how to fill up a stat sheet. He was the only player in the Mid-American Conference to rank in the top 10 in the league in both rebounding and assists a year ago, ranking seventh on the boards and 10th in passing. He was also among the top 10 in the conference in steals, assist/turnover ratio, defensive rebounds, and minutes played. This year, he has again shown his ability to fill up a stat sheet, posting 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in the season-opening win over Howard.
SAY WHAT?
Bowling Green shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half against Central Michigan a year ago but still lost the game. In fact, the Falcons have lost the last five games when they have shot at least 61.5 percent from the floor in a half.
A NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION
BGSU men's basketball will play on New Year's Day for the second consecutive year as the Falcons play at Texas San Antonio on Jan. 1. The Falcons are 4-1 all-time when breaking in the new year, including last year's 67-61 win at St. Louis. Bowling Green is just one of eight NCAA Division I programs playing on New Year's Day in both 2011 and 2012 (joining Syracuse, DePaul, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, and Evansville).
THE BIG APOSTROPHE
After playing just two games of organized basketball in a two-year stretch, it was understandable that A'uston Calhoun took some time early in the year to shake off the rust in 2010-11. Over the first 10 games, he averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 31 percent from the field. But over the final 23 games of the season, he became one of the best players in the MAC, averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from the floor. He turned those totals up again in the MAC Tournament, averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, while shooting 63 percent from the floor in two postseason games.
CRAIG'S LIST
As a freshman, Craig Sealey showed flashes of potential, especially in a 14-point effort against Ohio a year ago. As a sophomore, Sealey has fulfilled that potential in the early going. He scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the team's season opener against Howard, posting a career-high six rebounds. Sealey also had two steals and an assist in the win. Just as impressively, he went 3-for-3 from the free-throw line in the opener just a year after going 10-of-28 (36 percent) from the charity stripe for the year.
THIEVERY
Bowling Green continued to cause havoc defensively in the season opener against Howard. A year after ranking 19th nationally in steals with 8.6 per game, the Falcons had nine steals in the win over the Bison to begin the year. A year ago, Bowling Green had at least 10 steals on 10 different occasions and recorded 15 steals three times, including a 19-steal effort against Western Kentucky. Scott Thomas and Jordon Crawford are the main contributors to the effort and both finished in the top four in the MAC in steals last year. Thomas' 65 steals were the fifth-most in school history and he ranks 10th in career steals at Bowling Green.
1,000 POINT SCORERS
In BGSU basketball history, 37 different players have scored 1,000 points in their careers. This year both Scott Thomas and Dee Brown could reach that plateau. Only six times in BGSU history have two players reached 1,000 career points in the same year.
WHO NEEDS THREE?
If there was a major area where the Falcons struggled a year ago it came in long range shooting. The team snapped a string of 356 games with at least one three-pointer by going 0-for-4 in a road win at St. Louis. The Falcons also went without making a three-pointer in a late season loss to Akron. The Falcons ranked last in the MAC in three-point makes and three-point attempts.
THE STROH CENTER
BGSU played its first regular season game ever in the Stroh Center Friday against Howard. After 51 years in venerable Anderson Arena, the Falcons opened one of the newest facilities in the country.
DISHING OUT THE ASSISTS
Junior point guard Jordon Crawford came into his own as a point guard midway through last year. In late February, he set a career-high with nine assists against Youngstown State and then followed that up with 10 at Ohio for his first career double-double. In the next game, he was inserted into the starting lineup and had nine more assists at Miami. Over the final seven games of the year, he averaged 5.7 assists and ranked second in the MAC with 5.0 assists per game in conference action only.
DOWN LOW
Head coach Louis Orr's philosophy is always to play inside-out and the Falcons have done that well during his tenure. In the season opener, BGSU outscored Howard 26-18 inside. Bowling Green scored at least 20 points in the paint 30 times a year ago and 57-of-63 times during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
PARKER/HOLMES SIGN WITH THE FALCONS
Louis Orr announced the signing of Spencer Parker and Richaun Holmes during this year's early signing period. Parker is from West Bloomfield, Mich. and is playing for Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va. this year. He will have four years of eligibility remaining. Holmes is from Lockport, Ill. and is playing this year at Moraine Community College. As a full qualifier out of high school, he will transfer to Bowling Green and be able to play immediately with three years of eligibility remaining.
50 PERCENT PROVIDES BETTER THAN A 50/50 CHANCE
When Bowling Green shoots at least 50 percent from the floor, the Falcons have an excellent chance of winning the game. The Falcons went 8-1 a year ago in such instances and are 29-5 in head coach Louis Orr's four years when make at least half of their shots.
FOREIGN TOUR
The BGSU men's basketball team got the opportunity to travel to Toronto for a summer foreign tour and play three games. The Falcons went 2-1 on the trip, gaining experience and the opportunity for extra practices.
THE NEW HOUSE
Anderson Arena provided BGSU with an excellent home court advantage as the Falcons went 466-190 (.710) all-time in The House That Roars. Bowling Green will attempt to build a new home court advantage after going 10-5 in Anderson Arena a year ago. This year, the Falcons are 1-0 in the Stroh Center.
FALCONS TO PLAY ON REGIONAL/NATIONAL TELEVISION
BGSU will play a minimum of four games on ESPNU or SportsTime Ohio this year. The Falcons will play on ESPNU at Georgia on Nov. 13 and will play three games on STO (Jan.7 vs. Ohio, Jan. 28 at Eastern Michigan, Feb. 4 vs. Northern Illinois). On top of those contests, there are approximately a dozen other opportunities for STO or ESPN to choose the Falcons for television games.
DEFENSE WINS
Over the course of the past three years, Bowling Green has held its opponent to 45 percent shooting or worse in 26 of the Falcons' 29 wins. A year ago, Bowling Green went just 2-12 when an opponent shot at least 45 percent, posting victories against only Manhattan (48.9 percent shooting) and Ohio (45.8 percent). This year, the Falcons have not let an opponent shoot 45 percent from the floor.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON?
Head coach Louis Orr was an All-American at Syracuse and he will have the opportunity to help his son, freshman Chauncey Orr, grow into a strong collegiate player. Chauncey was a first team all-state player at Bowling Green High School.
FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE
Bowling Green has brought in an Associated Press Division I First Team All-State player Ohio first team all-state player for three consecutive years. Junior Luke Kraus was named first team all-state at Findlay High School in 2008-09. Redshirt freshman Anthony Henderson earned the honor at Toledo Start High School in 2009-10 and Chauncey Orr was named to the team from Bowling Green High School in 2010-11. BGSU is the only school in the country with three players from the AP Division I First Team All-State teams from the past three years on the roster. Miami (Ohio) and Ohio State each has two.
SHOTS FROM THE HEART
Assistant coach Dennis Hopson is competing in the second annual Shots From the Heart Tournament, benefitting the Skip Prosser Foundation. Hopson is competing in a 64-person, bracket-style single elimination free-throw shooting tournament with 63 other NCAA Division I assistant coaches. His first round opponent is Michigan's LaVall Jordan. Each coach will shoot 25 free-throws at their convenience and report the results. First round competition will be complete at the end of November.
FALCONS PICKED SIXTH
Bowling Green was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the preseason media poll. Defending MAC champion Kent State was selected to win the East while Western Michigan was selected to win the West.
MAC Preseason Media Poll
East Division - 1. Kent State (132 points/16 first-place votes), 2. Akron (104 points/8 first-place votes), 3. Ohio (94 points), 4. Miami (80 points), 5. Buffalo (62 points), 6. Bowling Green (32 points)
West Division - 1. Western Michigan (128 points/14 first-place votes), 2. Ball State (111 points/9 first-place votes), 3. Central Michigan (92 points/1 first-place vote), 4. Toledo (76 points), 5. Northern Illinois (59 points), 6. Eastern Michigan (38 points)
Tournament Champion - Kent State 12, Akron 6, Ball State 3, Western Michigan 2, Central Michigan 1
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