Falcons Welcome Zips To Stroh Center Wednesday

Bowling Green Falcons (7-7, 1-0 MAC) vs. Akron Zips (9-6, 1-0 MAC)
Jan. 11, 2012 • 7 p.m. • Bowling Green, Ohio • Stroh Center (4,347)
Radio: Falcon Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play)/Kirk Cowan (Color)
Television: BCSN • Greg Franke (Play-by-Play)/Kevin Brechmacher (Color)
Live Stats: http://www.BGSUFalcons.com
Live Video: America One
Live Audio: Stretch Internet
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
PURCHASE TICKETS

QUICK HITS
* BGSU and Akron meet in a battle of two of the three Mid-American Conference East unbeaten teams at 1-0. The Falcons are now 6-1 at home in the Stroh Center, while Akron is 3-4 on the road.
* Bowling Green holds a 24-23 lead in the all-time series with Akron, dating back to 1938. The Zips have won the last five contests between the two programs and have picked up victories in seven consecutive meetings in Bowling Green.
* Torian Oglesby's NCAA Division I record for made field goals was snapped at 26 straight against Ohio. However, he is still 35-of-40 on the year from the field for 87.5 percent.
* Scott Thomas had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Ohio for his second double-double of the year. Both have come in the past four games.
* BGSU has led at the half just three times this year, winning all three contests.
* Cameron Black has 20 blocked shots on the season, fifth in the MAC. He had 18 during his entire freshman campaign.
* The Falcons have averaged 20.0 turnovers in the past three games. After posting more turnovers than their opponents just once in the first 11 games, the team has now had more turnovers in each of the last three games.
* BGSU is shooting .693 from the free-throw line. The last time a Falcon team shot better for a season was the 2005-06 team that was .720 at the stripe.
* Jordon Crawford is averaging 14.5 points over the past six games, scoring in double-figures five times. He reached 10 or more points just once in the first eight games.

BGSU AND AKRON LOOK TO TAKE CONTROL IN EAST
Coming off of wins in both of their Mid-American Conference opener, Bowling Green and Akron are looking to take control in the East Division Wednesday. The two teams are tied with Buffalo atop the division standings heading into both teams' second league games. BGSU has been tough to beat in the new Stroh Center, posting a 6-1 home record this year, outscoring opponents by an average of 9.5 points per game. Akron opened conference play with a 65-60 road win at Miami.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 24-23 all-time against Akron dating back to 1938 but the Zips have owned the series lately. Akron has won the past five meetings and have won a remarkable seven in a row in Bowling Green, although all of those meetings came in Anderson Arena. Last year, Akron set an Anderson Arena record by making 16 three-pointers in an 89-54 win. The contest in Akron was much more competitive with the Zips coming away victorious, 63-58.

SCOUTING AKRON
Akron opened the season with a stunning 10-point win at Mississippi State but the Zips were inconsistent early. Lately, however, Akron has played well and is 6-1 in its last seven games with the only loss coming in overtime against VCU, a team that went to the Final Four a year ago. The Zips are impressive from long range, leading the MAC by making 40.2 percent from three-point distance and holding opponents to only 28.9 percent. Inside, Zeke Marshall and Nikola Cvetinovic create havoc. Marshall ranks 10th in the nation in blocked shots at 3.1 per contest, while Cvetinovic averages 10.1 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game. Head coach Keith Dambrot is 171-81 in eight years at Akron and has a career mark of 279-151. Famously, he was LeBron James' high school coach at St. Vincent St. Mary before eventually taking over the Akron program.

LAST GAME: FALCONS CLOSE ON 11-1 RUN TO UPSET OHIO
Torian Oglesby's NCAA Division I record of 26 consecutive made field goal attempts came to an end, but his alley-oop dunk with less than two minutes remaining propelled the Falcons to a 67-57 win over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. Ohio used a 17-4 run to tie the game at 56-56 with 1:59 to play but Oglesby slammed home an alley-oop and was fouled. After missing the ensuing free-throw, Bowling Green came up with the rebound and Oglesby scored on a putback as the Falcons built a 60-56 lead and make 7-of-8 free-throws down the stretch for the win. Those were Oglesby's only field goals of the game, but he added nine rebounds as well. Jordon Crawford led Bowling Green with 16 points, 12 in the second half, and Scott Thomas had 10 points and 10 rebounds, including earning possession via a jump ball after Oglesby's free-throw miss.

THE RECORD SETTER
Senior forward Torian Oglesby set an NCAA Division I record by making 26 consecutive field goal attempts, a streak that ended with a first-half miss against Ohio. Despite the miss, Oglesby has made 35-of-40 shots on the year, shooting 87.5 percent. The old record of 25 consecutive field goal attempts without a miss was set by Ray Voelkel of American University in 1978, a mark which stood for 33 years.

STAT STUFFER
While Scott Thomas has proven to be the team's most consistent scoring threat this year, he will also go down as one of the most versatile players in program history. A two-time All-MAC honorable mention performer, Thomas was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in both rebounding and assists a year ago. This year he is the only player to rank in the top 11 in both categories. With a three-pointer early in the Duquesne game, he became the first player in BGSU history to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 150 steals, and 100 three-pointers. On top of that, he also has reached 250 career assists. He could finish his career in the top 10 in BGSU history in rebounds, steals (already seventh), three-pointers made, and assists.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
Bowling Green ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference in turnover margin, but the Falcons have struggled over the past three games, committing 20 or more turnovers twice. Through the first 11 games, BGSU had more turnovers than their opponents just once and averaged 3.9 less turnovers. In the past three contests, the Falcons have committed 20.0 turnovers per game, averaging 7.0 more than their opponents.

A NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION
BGSU men's basketball played on New Year's Day for the second consecutive season as the Falcons lost to Texas San Antonio in overtime, 86-79. Bowling Green is 4-2 all-time when breaking in the New Year and the Falcons were just one of eight NCAA Division I programs to play on New Year's Day in each of the past two seasons (joining Syracuse, DePaul, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, and Evansville).

WHERE MY FALCONS AT?
Bowling Green finally returns home after playing away from the Stroh Center for a month with five consecutive road games in five different States. According to Google Maps, the team traveled a total of 6,442 miles, or slightly more than a quarter of the way around the planet.

WHAT A STEAL
Over the course of the past two seasons, Bowling Green has been one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference in steals, leading the conference in that category a year ago. This year, the team is third in the conference and, once again, Scott Thomas and Jordon Crawford are leading the way individually. The duo has combined for 55 steals, including six in the MAC opener, and Thomas ranks second in the conference, while Crawford is tied for seventh. No other MAC team has two players in the top seven in the league. Thomas is seventh in BGSU history with 157 career steals and Crawford just went over the century mark and has 103.

HEIGHT IS OVERRATED
At 5-feet-6, junior point guard Jordon Crawford is the fourth-shortest player in NCAA Division I basketball. Green Bay's Eric Valentin measures in as the shortest player at 5-4, while Denver's Charles Webb and George Washington's Malik Tonkins are both 5-5. None of those players have the type of impact that Crawford has on the Falcons though as none of the three have started a game and none are averaging more than 1.0 point per contest. Crawford, on the other hand, is third on the Falcons at 10.9 points per game and has started 12-of-14 contests.

IMPROVING EFFICIENCY
While Scott Thomas does just about everything on the floor for the Falcons, the area in which he most needed to improve coming into the 2011-12 season was shooting from three-point range and the free-throw line. A year ago, Thomas shot 29 percent on three-pointers and 59 percent from the charity line. This year, he has made 20-of-52 three-pointers (38.5 percent) and 29-of-41 free-throws (70.7 percent).

JORDON IS SCORIN'
Junior point guard Jordon Crawford started the first five games of the season and then came off the bench for the next two. Since being moved back into the starting lineup for the last seven contests, Crawford is averaging 13.0 points, while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and a team-best 38.9 percent from three-point range. He scored a career-high 22 points against Valparaiso and has scored in double-figures in five of the last six games.

THE BIG APOSTROPHE
Junior A'uston Calhoun has turned his game up as the 2011-12 season has worn on. He averaged just 2.5 points in the first two games of the season, improved to 12.4 points over the next five, and has averaged 16.1 in the last seven. He has also improved his field goal percentage throughout the year.

1,000 POINT SCORERS
With a three-pointer against Duquesne, Scott Thomas became the 38th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Senior Dee Brown also has a chance to reach 1,000 points this year, which would be just the seventh time in school history that two players have reached the milestone in the same year. Considering 16 regular season games remaining and a minimum of one MAC Tournament game, Brown needs to average 9.4 points through the remainder of the year to reach that total as he sits at 840 career points.

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 32-7 in head coach Louis Orr's four years when making at least half of their shots. This year, Bowling Green shot over 50 percent in wins over Temple, Malone and Ohio, but lost to Valparaiso and Duquesne despite making more than half their shot attempts.

DOWN LOW
Head coach Louis Orr's philosophy is always to play inside-out and the Falcons have done that well during his tenure. This year, the Falcons have scored at least 20 points in the paint in 13-of-14 games with a season-high 58 against Malone. In fact, the 58 points in the paint represents the most in a game in Orr's tenure. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, the Falcons scored 20 or more points in the paint in 57-of-63 games.

THE STROH CENTER
BGSU played its first regular season game ever in the Stroh Center against Howard. After 51 years in venerable Anderson Arena, the Falcons opened one of the newest facilities in the country.

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.

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 6-1 (.857) in the Stroh Center, which is on pace for the team's best home record since going 13-1 during the 2001-02 season.

FALCONS TO PLAY ON REGIONAL/NATIONAL TELEVISION
BGSU will play a minimum of five games on ESPNU, SportsTime Ohio, or the Big Ten Network this year. The Falcons played on ESPNU at Georgia on Nov. 13 and then played on the Big Ten Network Dec. 17 at Michigan State. The Falcons will also 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 30 of the Falcons' 35 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 already equaled that win total but are just 2-5 when an opponent shoots over 45 percent. Bowling Green actually won for the first time in Louis Orr's tenure when a team shot 50 percent as Austin Peay scored at a 51 percent clip, but the Falcons won 82-72.

THOMAS NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Scott Thomas was named MAC East Division Player of the Week on Nov. 28 after guiding the Falcons to a 3-1 week, including a win over Temple. Thomas scored in double-figures in all four games, averaging 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. He also had seven assists, nine steals, and two blocked shots.

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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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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