Falcons Head To YSU For BracketBusters

Bowling Green Falcons (12-14) at Youngstown State (8-18)
Feb. 19, 2011 • 7:05 p.m. • Youngstown, Ohio • Beeghly Center (6,300)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network (99.1 FM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)
Television: None
Live Stats: http://www.bgsufalcons.com
Online: Stretch Internet (audio)/Horizon League TV Video
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

FALCONS HIT ROAD FOR BRACKETBUSTERS
Bowling Green plays its final non-conference game of the year Saturday at Youngstown State for the annual ESPN BracketBusters series. The Falcons are 5-3 all-time in BracketBusters games. The Falcons won three consecutive non-conference games leading into MAC play and will look to extend that streak.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• While Bowling Green and Youngstown State have not played any regular season games against each other since 2004, the two teams are familiar with each other as they have met in closed-door scrimmages in each of the past two years. This is also the second time the two programs have been paired up for a BracketBusters game.
• Bowling Green ranks fifth in the country in steals, averaging 9.6 per game. Scott Thomas leads the MAC in steals in conference games with 1.92 per game but has gone without a steal in each of the past two contests.
• The Falcons have struggled on the boards lately and have been outrebounded by at least five rebounds in each of the past five games. Bowling Green is -10.4 on the boards during that stretch and have given up 70 offensive rebounds, while grabbing just 50.
• Bowling Green went without making a three-pointer for the second time this year in Tuesday night's loss against Akron. The Falcons also had no three-pointers made in a win at Saint Louis in the team's last non-conference game on New Year's Day.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 8-2 all-time against Youngstown State but the two programs have not met since an 81-59 Falcons road win on Dec. 11, 2004 as a BracketBusters return game. The Falcons won a BracketBusters home game against Youngstown State on Feb. 21, 2004 by a score of 76-64.

SCOUTING THE YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Saturday evening's game with a record of 8-18 overall and the Penguins are just 2-14 in the Horizon League. Despite the record, YSU has played well of late, defeating Butler at home, pushing Valparaiso to overtime, and losing a close game to Cleveland State on the road. Damian Eargle, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, is an intimidating force inside, ranking in the top 15 in the country in blocked shots, while scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 6.1 rebounds. Vytas Sulskis is the team's leading scorer at 13.2 points per contest. The Penguins struggle on the boards, getting outrebounded by 5.8 per game, and shoot free-throws at just a 60.1 percent clip. However, the team makes an average of 8.0 three-pointers per game and rank in the top 50 in the country in assist/turnover ratio.

AKRON USES LONG BALL TO BEAT FALCONS
Akron set an Anderson Arena record for opponents by making 16 three-pointers to beat Bowling Green 89-54 Tuesday night. After making 7-of-13 three-pointers in the first half, the Zips made 9-of-11 to start the second half and cruised to the win. A'uston Calhoun led Bowling Green with 18 points and added six rebounds. Scott Thomas had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Danny McElroy had six points off the bench. The Falcons tied a season-low with just eight turnovers but were outrebounded by eight and shot just 31 percent from the floor.

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.

BRACKET BUSTING
Bowling Green is facing a Horizon League team for the sixth time in nine years of BracketBusters games and the Falcons are 5-3 in the first eight contests. In each contest, the home team is required to "return" the game over the course of the next two years at the home of the visiting team. Bowling Green is 6-1 in such road games (the Falcons will play at Valparaiso next year for last year's return game).

FINAL GAME ANNOUNCED
The final BGSU men's basketball game in Anderson Arena will be held on Saturday, March 5 against Buffalo. That game will also serve as All-Anderson Team recognition night as the Athletics Department will honor the 13 greatest BGSU men's basketball players of the Anderson Arena era. Game time is yet to be determined.

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.

THE BIG APOSTROPHE
A'uston Calhoun has turned up his game lately, scoring 20 or more points five times and posting his first two career double-doubles. 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 16 games, Calhoun is averaging 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from the floor. He also has a team-high 13 blocked shots during that stretch.

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 five games and swatted away three shots against both Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.

SAY WHAT?
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.

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 22nd nationally with 2.20 steals per game and Jordon Crawford is fifth in the league at 1.77 steals per game. The Falcons rank fourth in the country in steals per possession, picking up a theft on 13.8 percent of their opponents' possessions (only Oregon State, Alabama and Duquesne 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 went without making a three-pointer for a second time this year in Tuesday night's loss to Akron. Bowling Green is attempting just 14.9 three-pointers per game, while opponents are shooting 20.2 per contest.

WHAT A STEAL
Despite being held without a steal in the past two games, Scott Thomas still ranks 22nd in the country with 2.20 steals per game and leads the conference in MAC games only at 1.92 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.

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 10 games. He also has 16 steals in the last nine games and ranks fifth in the conference in steals.

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 14 losses, the duo has 69 assists and 51 turnovers (a 1.35 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 46.1 percent over the course of the past 17 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 six times. The Falcons are 11-6 in the past 17 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 23 of the first 26 games after reaching that total in 27-of-30 games a year ago. Bowling Green has outscored its opponents in the paint 18 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.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE (THAT ROARS)
Anderson Arena has always been a difficult place for opponents and the Falcons are 8-4 so far in 2010-11, winning six straight at one point. The Falcons are 464-189 (.711) all-time in Anderson Arena and 178-63 (.739) in the past 18 years.

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 2-9 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 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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