Falcons Go For Season Sweep Of Kent State Tuesday

BGSU at Kent State
Tuesday, March 5, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
M.A.C. Center (6,327) / Kent, Ohio
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2012-13 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Akron	13-1	23-5
Ohio	12-2	21-8
Buffalo	7-7	12-17
Kent State	7-7	17-12
Bowling Green	6-8	12-17
Miami	3-11	8-19
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Western Michigan	9-5	18-10
Toledo	8-6	13-13
Eastern Michigan	7-7	14-15
Ball State	6-8	13-14
Central Michigan	3-11	10-18
Northern Illinois	3-11	5-22

QUICK HITS (SIZED FOR YOUR TWITTER ADDICTION)
* Bowling Green goes for a season sweep of Kent State Tuesday as the Falcons face the Golden Flashes on the road at 7 p.m.
* With wins in its final two games, BGSU should earn one of the five byes in the MAC Tournament.
* Chauncey Orr had a career-high 18 points as BGSU beat Kent State 70-55 in the Stroh Center earlier this year.
* BGSU is just 1-11 on the road this year (1-6 in MAC games). Kent State is 10-6 at home, 4-3 in league games.
* BGSU is 82-67 all-time against Kent State. The Falcons, though, have not beaten the Flashes twice in a season since 1996-97.
* If the MAC Tournament started today, BGSU would be the No. 7 seed and host No. 10 seed Miami in the first round.
* With 67 blocked shots this year, Richaun Holmes is BGSU's all-time single-season leader.
* Luke Kraus has made 15 of his last 39 three-pointers after starting the year just 4-of-35 from long range.
* With his 24 points against Ohio, A'uston Calhoun moved into 20th place in career scoring at BGSU.
* With a three-pointer against Ohio, Jordon Crawford moved into 10th place in career trifectas at BGSU.
* Richaun Holmes' .620 field-goal percentage is currently the seventh-best single-season in BGSU history.
* Luke Kraus recorded a career-high six rebounds against Ohio Saturday.
* Cam Black has at least six rebounds in each of the past four games, averaging 7.5 per game during the stretch.
* BGSU has outrebounded four straight opponents, winning the battle on the glass by at least nine in each of those contests.
* Bowling Green will close the regular season at home for Senior Night on Friday, March 6 against Buffalo at 6 p.m.

FALCONS LOOK FOR SWEEP OF KENT STATE TUESDAY
The Bowling Green men's basketball team will go for its first season sweep of Kent State since the 1996-97 season on Tuesday night as the Falcons head on the road to face the Golden Flashes at 7 p.m. While BGSU is currently holding on to the No. 7 seed for the MAC Tournament, a victory would vault the Falcons back into contention for a top five seed and a bye for the postseason tournament. Kent State has won five of its last six contests to move to 17-12 overall and 7-7 in conference action.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green is 82-67 all-time against Kent State and the Falcons did beat the Golden Flashes 70-55 in the Stroh Center earlier this year. BGSU, though, has lost the last two head-to-head meetings in Kent since posting a 76-70 win on Jan. 17, 2010. The Falcons are looking for their first season sweep of Kent State since the 1996-97 team, coached by Jim Larranaga and led by Jay Larranaga and Antonio Daniels.

LAST GAME: CALHOUN SCORES 24 IN LOSS TO OHIO
Bowling Green battled back from a 13-point first half deficit to take a brief second-half lead but Ohio took over late for a 78-65 victory Saturday in the Stroh Center. A'uston Calhoun scored 24 points, 16 in the opening half, and added seven rebounds, making all seven of his free-throw atttempts. He was the only Falcon to score in double-figures. BGSU held a 35-26 rebounding edge and Cam Black had seven rebounds to help the Falcons control the glass. Craig Sealey scored nine points off the bench, while Richaun Holmes had four points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

THE MAC TOURNAMENT
If the MAC Tournament started today, Bowling Green would be the No. 7 seed for the league tournament. However, the Falcons are one of five teams that sit just one game apart in the league standings.

MAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
There will be three first round games in the MAC Tournament at campus sites on March 11. The winners of those three contests, along with the top five seeds, will advance to Cleveland for four consecutive days of games March 13-16. The winner of the MAC Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

TIEBREAKERS
Among the four teams that Bowling Green could end up tied with in the final conference standings, the Falcons would hold two-team tiebreak advantages over Eastern Michigan and Ball State. BGSU would lose a two-team tiebreak with Buffalo and the winner of a head-to-head tiebreak between Bowling Green and Kent State is yet to be determined.

BLOCK PARTY
With four blocked shots at Akron, Richaun Holmes broke the BGSU single-season record of 59, set by Cornelius Cash in 1973-74. Holmes has 67 blocks this year and ranks 36th in the country with 2.3 per game. He has blocked at least four shots seven times this year and had a string of 15 consecutive games with at least one blocked shot earlier this year. On top of that, Holmes' 67 blocks rank as the 21st best season in MAC history.

10 ORR MORE
Sophomore Chauncey Orr, son of head coach Louis Orr, has put together the strongest stretch of his young career, scoring at least 10 points in seven of the past 13 games and becoming the Falcons' answer for a third scorer. He had a career-high 18 points in a win over Kent State and is shooting 53.6 percent from the field during the stretch. Orr has also made 11-of-24 three-pointers (45.8 percent) and 23-of-29 free-throws (79.3 percent) to go with 24 assists and 16 steals.

THE SHOOTING TOUCH
While Chauncey Orr has made 11-of-24 three-pointers over the past 13 games, teammate Luke Kraus has turned things around and is shooting just about as well. Kraus has made 15-of-39 three-pointers (38.5 percent) in the last 13 games, connecting on three in a game three times (at Toledo, Northern Illinois and Akron). Those numbers stand in stark contrast to his start when he made just four of his first 35 attempts over the first 16 games of the season.

THE SPLITS
Bowling Green's home and away free-throw shooting numbers are eye-popping. On the road, the Falcons have attempted 35 fewer free-throws than opponents have made, shooting just 67.6 percent. At home, Bowling Green has attempted 32 more free-throws than opponents, shooting 72.0 percent at the stripe. In 12 road games, BGSU has been outscored by an average of 6.9 points per game at the free-throw line.

STIFLING
Five times this year Bowling Green has held an opponent to 44 points or fewer in a game. The last time a BGSU team held their opponents to that few points five times or more came in the 1949-50 season when Harold Anderson's crew kept seven teams below 45 points.

1-2 PUNCH
Senior forward A'uston Calhoun and senior guard Jordon Crawford are one of three sets of teammates in the Mid-American Conference averaging at least 30.0 points per game combined at 30.3 points this year. Toledo's Rian Pearson and Julius Brown, along with Kent State's Chris Evans and Randal Holt, are averaging 31.4 points per game.

67 OR FEWER
Bowling Green is 0-12 this year when opponents score at least 68 points and 12-5 when holding those teams to 67 or less. To go one step further, the Falcons have held their opponents to 60 points or less in each of their last nine wins.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
In just over one year, the Stroh Center has proven to be a difficult place for opponents to play. The Falcons are 10-4 this year at home after going 12-4 a year ago, including a mark of 3-0 against teams that eventually went to the NCAA Tournament (victories over Detroit, Temple and Ohio). The 22-8 record in the Stroh Center comes out to a .733 winning percentage, which is higher than the program's .709 winning percentage in Anderson Arena, the home for the Falcons from 1960-2011.

STROH IN THE 70'S
BGSU is 10-0 all-time when scoring at least 70 points in the Stroh Center. The Falcons went 5-0 last year and are again 5-0 this year with wins over Detroit, Kent State, Ball State, Western Michigan and New Orleans when scoring 70 or more.

DOUBLE-DIGIT HOME WINS
With Wednesday's home victory over Miami, the Falcons have won at least 10 home games in each of the past three years.

50% IS GREATER THAN 80%
Under Head Coach Louis Orr, Bowling Green has won more than 80 percent of its games when its shoots at least 50 percent from the floor. A year ago, the Falcons went 8-3 in such games and are 39-9 in Orr's five years at Bowling Green when reaching that total. BG has shot 50 percent from the field three times this year, beating Ball State and Western Michigan at home after losing to Miami on the road.

HINDSIGHT IS 20-20
When Jordon Crawford and A'uston Calhoun each scored 21 points at Miami, it marked the second time this year that the senior duo has each reached the 20-point mark in the same game. Unfortunately, the Falcons have lost both of those contests (the other being a triple overtime loss at South Florida). In fact, Bowling Green has lost all three games in their careers when they both scored 20 points (losing at Valparaiso a year ago).

BLOCKING OUT
Bowling Green has blocked as many or more shots than its opponent in 22-of-29 games this year, including a season-high 10 against USF. It marked the first time the Falcons had 10 blocked shots in a game since blocking 11 at Illinois State on Dec. 6, 2008. Sophomore transfer Richaun Holmes has led the way with 67 blocks, ranking third in the MAC.

WINNING UGLY
One sign of a good team is the ability to win games when not playing at its best. Four times this year, the Falcons have won games when shooting below 40 percent from the field, beating Lake Erie, Wright State, Samford and Eastern Michigan. A year ago, BGSU lost all seven contests when it show below 40 percent. The Falcons also won when shooting exactly 40 percent Wednesday against Miami.

D-FENSE! D-FENSE!
Earlier this year, Bowling Green held Wright State and Samford to 42 points or less in back-to-back games. It was the first time the team had done that in successive games since doing so against Loyola and Pepperdine on Dec. 22 and Dec. 27, 1949. It also marked the first time the team held back-to-back opponents to 83 points or less since holding Western Ontario and Miami to 82 points on Dec. 8 and Dec. 12, 1962.

NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE OVERTIMES
While the school record for overtimes in a single game is four, Bowling Green played a triple overtime contest for the first time in 20 years against South Florida earlier this year. The last time the Falcons went that deep into the night came in a 91-88 loss to Ball State on Jan. 29, 1992. Overall, the Falcons have played in four overtime sessions this year, the most since the team played four overtime games in the 2001-02 season.

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