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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, November 11
Bowling Green, Ohio
7:00 pm
Bowling Green State University
vs
Howard
Photo by: BGSU Photography
Falcons Ready To Open Stroh Center Friday Against Howard
November 06, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Bowling Green Falcons (0-0) vs. Howard Bison (0-0)
Nov. 11, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ohio • Stroh Center (4,280)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)/Kirk Cowan (Color)
Television: None
Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio)/America One (video)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
PURCHASE TICKETS
Nov. 11, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ohio • Stroh Center (4,280)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)/Kirk Cowan (Color)
Television: None
Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio)/America One (video)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
PURCHASE TICKETS
FALCONS OPEN STROH CENTER AGAINST HOWARD
BGSU will play the first regular season basketball game ever in the Stroh Center Friday against Howard. After 51 years in venerable Anderson Arena, the Falcons open one of the newest facilities in the country. Here are the NCAA Division I institutions set to open new facilities this year.
University (New Arena)
Bowling Green (Stroh Center)
Evansville (Ford Center)
North Carolina-Asheville (Kimmel Arena)
Stony Brook (Pritchard Gymnasium)
Texas-Arlington (College Park Center), opening 2/1/12
THE SERIES
Howard won the only meeting between the two programs with a 54-52 victory a year ago in Washington, D.C. In fact, that was the first contest Bowling Green had ever played against a current member of the MEAC.
SCOUTING THE HOWARD BISON
Howard was just 6-24 a year ago under first year head coach Kevin Nickleberry but Nickleberry is known as one of the top recruiters in the country and has potential to turn the program around. Although the Bison did lose their leading scorer from a year ago, Howard returns three starters, including second-leading scorer Anton Dickerson, who averaged 11.4 points. Sophomore center Alphonso Leary could pose match-up problems at 6-feet-11 and he led the team with 18 blocks and ranked second with 5.7 rebounds last year. Nickleberry is 98-100 all-time as head coach, spending five years at Hampton prior to taking over the Howard program.
EXHIBITING SUCCESS
Bowling Green dominated Tiffin in its exhibition game Saturday, 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.
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.
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.
THIEVERY
Bowling Green led the MAC and ranked 19th nationally in steals, averaging 8.6 per game. The Falcons had 10 games with at least 10 steals and three with at least 15, including a 19-steal performance against Western Kentucky, the most in a game for any MAC school a year ago. Those 19 steals were just one shy of the program record and Scott Thomas had six steals himself. Thomas ended the year ranked third in the conference with 65 steals, the fifth-best single-season total in program history. Jordon Crawford was fourth in the conference with 1.8 steals per game.
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.
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. Bowling Green scored at least 20 points in the paint 30 times a year ago and 57-of-63 times over the past two years. BGSU outscored 21 opponents in the paint (and tied three other times), posting a season-high 50 paint points in a win at Buffalo.
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.
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 two years, Bowling Green has held its opponent to 45 percent shooting or worse in 25 of the Falcons' 28 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).
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.
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
BGSU will play the first regular season basketball game ever in the Stroh Center Friday against Howard. After 51 years in venerable Anderson Arena, the Falcons open one of the newest facilities in the country. Here are the NCAA Division I institutions set to open new facilities this year.
University (New Arena)
Bowling Green (Stroh Center)
Evansville (Ford Center)
North Carolina-Asheville (Kimmel Arena)
Stony Brook (Pritchard Gymnasium)
Texas-Arlington (College Park Center), opening 2/1/12
THE SERIES
Howard won the only meeting between the two programs with a 54-52 victory a year ago in Washington, D.C. In fact, that was the first contest Bowling Green had ever played against a current member of the MEAC.
SCOUTING THE HOWARD BISON
Howard was just 6-24 a year ago under first year head coach Kevin Nickleberry but Nickleberry is known as one of the top recruiters in the country and has potential to turn the program around. Although the Bison did lose their leading scorer from a year ago, Howard returns three starters, including second-leading scorer Anton Dickerson, who averaged 11.4 points. Sophomore center Alphonso Leary could pose match-up problems at 6-feet-11 and he led the team with 18 blocks and ranked second with 5.7 rebounds last year. Nickleberry is 98-100 all-time as head coach, spending five years at Hampton prior to taking over the Howard program.
EXHIBITING SUCCESS
Bowling Green dominated Tiffin in its exhibition game Saturday, 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.
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.
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.
THIEVERY
Bowling Green led the MAC and ranked 19th nationally in steals, averaging 8.6 per game. The Falcons had 10 games with at least 10 steals and three with at least 15, including a 19-steal performance against Western Kentucky, the most in a game for any MAC school a year ago. Those 19 steals were just one shy of the program record and Scott Thomas had six steals himself. Thomas ended the year ranked third in the conference with 65 steals, the fifth-best single-season total in program history. Jordon Crawford was fourth in the conference with 1.8 steals per game.
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.
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. Bowling Green scored at least 20 points in the paint 30 times a year ago and 57-of-63 times over the past two years. BGSU outscored 21 opponents in the paint (and tied three other times), posting a season-high 50 paint points in a win at Buffalo.
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.
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 two years, Bowling Green has held its opponent to 45 percent shooting or worse in 25 of the Falcons' 28 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).
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.
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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