Falcons Hit Home Stretch By Hosting Akron

Bowling Green Falcons (12-13, 7-4 MAC) vs. Akron (15-10, 6-5 MAC)
Feb. 15, 2011 • 7:00 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: BCSN (Greg Franke)
Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio)/Live Video
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Youth Basketball Night/BG Community Day
All-Anderson Team Trading Card Giveaway (Anthony Stacey and Bob Dwors)

Bowling Green begins its second trek through the Mid-American Conference East Division Tuesday by hosting Akron at 7 p.m. The Falcons are looking to avenge a 73-68 road loss to the Zips earlier this year and make a push towards a bye in the first round of the MAC Tournament. At 7-4 in the MAC, Bowling Green sits one game in front of Akron and currently has the inside track to one of the top four seeds for the MAC Tournament.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• At 7-4, Bowling Green has already won more Mid-American Conference games than it did a year ago when the team went 6-10 and were the No. 10 seed for the MAC Tournament. If the postseason were to start today, BGSU would be the No. 4 seed for the MAC Tournament and would earn a trip to Cleveland for the quarterfinals with a bye through the opening round.
• Bowling Green ranks fifth in the country in steals, averaging 9.6 per game. The Falcons have at least six steals in every conference game this year and at least eight in 9-of-11 league games. Scott Thomas leads the MAC in steals in conference games with 2.09 per game.
• The Falcons have struggled on the boards lately and have been outrebounded by at least five rebounds in each of the past four games. Bowling Green is -10.3 on the boards during that stretch and have given up 59 offensive rebounds, while grabbing just 34.
• Bowling Green is 7-1 in the team's last eight home games and 8-3 overall at home. Akron, on the other hand, is 1-4 on the road this year, defeating Toledo in its last road tilt but losing to Buffalo, Miami, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan away from home.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 24-21 all-time against Akron. The 45 meetings are the second-least for the Falcons against a current MAC school although the series does date back to 1938. The Zips won that early contest as well as winning the three most recent games in the series, sweeping the Falcons a year ago. Amazingly, Akron has won the last six meetings in Anderson Arena since Bowling Green earned a 74-60 home win during the 2002-03 season.

SCOUTING THE AKRON ZIPS
Akron is 15-10 overall and has won three consecutive league games by an average of 15.0 points per game to move to 6-5 in Mid-American Conference play. Nikola Cvetinovic leads the Zips at 11.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while Brett McClanahan is at 11 points per game. Akron is the best team in the MAC in turnover margin, averaging 2.9 less turnovers per game than opponents. The Zips attempt just over 23 three-pointers per game but can also turn to Zeke Marshall inside, who averages 9.6 points per game, while shooting 54 percent, and has blocked 60 shots on the year.

CMU COMES FROM BEHIND TO BEAT FALCONS
Bowling Green shot 67 percent from the floor in the first half and built a 37-31 halftime lead but Central Michigan came back to defeat the Falcons 69-64 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Saturday. Dee Brown had 20 points and five assists, while A'uston Calhoun added 15 points and Joe Jakubowski scored 12, but the Falcons allowed Central Michigan to shoot 49 percent from the floor. The Chippewas outrebounded Bowling Green 32-27 and forced BGSU into 16 turnovers.

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.

FALCONS AND PENGUINS TO TANGLE FOR BRACKETBUSTERS
For the sixth time in nine years, Bowling Green will face a team from the Horizon League for ESPN's BracketBusters series when the Falcons play at Youngstown State Feb. 19. It is the second time that BGSU has met Youngstown State for the event. Bowling Green is 5-3 all-time in BracketBusters contests and 6-1 in the follow-up return games. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.

THAT MAKES NO SENSE
Bowling Green shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half against Central Michigan Saturday 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.

THE BIG APOSTROPHE
A'uston Calhoun has turned up his game lately, scoring 20 or more points five times in the past 15 contests and posting his first two career double-doubles in the last six games. 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 15 games, Calhoun is averaging 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds, while shooting 48 percent from the floor. He also has a team-high 13 blocked shots during that stretch.

CALHOUN COMFY AT THE LINE
Along with improved scoring and rebounding numbers, A'uston Calhoun has been a consistent free-throw shooting on a team that has ranked among the bottom teams in the MAC all year. He went 15-for-17 at the line over the course of the past four games and is seventh in the conference at 80.6 percent from the stripe in league games only. When he was trying to find his rhythm in the early-going, Calhoun shot just 70 percent from the line in non-conference games.

BLOCK PARTY
Through the first 21 games of the season, sophomore forward Danny McElroy had just one blocked shot. However, he has at least one blocked shot in each of the last four games and swatted away three shots against both Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.

WHAT A STEAL
Scott Thomas ranks 16th in the nation in steals at 2.29 per game and leads the conference in MAC games only with 2.09 per contest. With a total of 55 steals this year, he is just three away from breaking into the top 10 in a single-season in BGSU history. With six regular season games left and at least one MAC Tournament contest, he is on pace for 71 steals, which would be the fifth-most in program history.

VERSATILITY
Junior forward Scott Thomas really knows how to fill up a stat sheet. He is the only player in the Mid-American Conference to rank in the top 10 in the league in both rebounding and assists, ranking sixth on the boards and 10th in passing. He is also among the top 10 in the conference in steals, assist/turnover ratio, defensive rebounds, and minutes played.

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 six in five of the last nine games. He also has 16 steals in the last nine games and ranks fifth in the conference in steals.

THIEVERY
Bowling Green leads the MAC and ranks fifth nationally in steals, averaging 9.6 per game. The Falcons have had nine 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 16th nationally with 2.29 steals per game and Jordon Crawford is fifth in the league at 1.84 steals per game. The Falcons rank third in the country in steals per possession, picking up a theft on 14.0 percent of their opponents' possessions (only Oregon State and Alabama are better).

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 8-3 so far in 2010-11, winning six straight at one point. The Falcons are 464-188 (.712) all-time in Anderson Arena and 178-62 (.742) in the past 18 years.

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 15.2 per game, much less than the 19.9 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 82 assists and just 32 turnovers in the team's 12 victories (a 2.56 assist/turnover ratio). In 13 losses, the duo has 66 assists and 50 turnovers (a 1.32 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 47.2 percent over the course of the past 16 games, including identical 27-of-53 shooting nights in four victories. The team is 9-3 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 11-5 in the past 16 games and have shot better than 50 percent in seven of those wins.

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 22 of the first 25 games after reaching that total in 27-of-30 games a year ago. Bowling Green has outscored its opponents in the paint 17 times (and tied Florida International, Manhattan, and Ball State) after doing it in 23-of-30 games a year ago. The team had a season-high 50 in the win at Buffalo, as well as 44 at Milwaukee, 42 at Saint Louis, and 40 at Central Michigan.

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 10-of-12 wins this year. In fact, the Falcons are just 6-30 in Head Coach Louis Orr's first four years when an opponent shoots better than 45 percent, including 2-8 this year. The two victories came against Manhattan (48.9 percent shooting) and Ohio (45.8 percent).

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.

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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