Hardwood Battle of I-75 Set for Saturday Night, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. at Savage Arena

Saturday, January 24

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Buy tickets

Hardwood Battle of I-75 Set for Saturday Night, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. at Savage Arena

January 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (12-4, 4-1 MAC) vs. Toledo (10-8, 2-3 MAC)
Saturday, January 24, 2015; 7:00 p.m. ET
Savage Arena (7,300) / Toledo, Ohio
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO
Radio: WFRO-FM 99.1
Twitter: @BGSUMHOOPS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)

2014-15 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Bowling Green	4-1	12-4
Kent State	4-1	13-5
Buffalo	3-2	12-5
Akron	3-2	12-6
Ohio	1-4	6-10
Miami	1-4	6-12
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Western Michigan	4-1	13-5
Central Michigan	3-2	13-3
Toledo	2-3	10-8
Northern Illinois	2-3	8-8
Ball State	2-3	7-9
Eastern Michigan	1-4	12-6

LAY UPS
* The lone Battle of I-75 on the hardwood this season will take place on Saturday night.
* The Falcons have dropped each of the last three games to the Rockets.
* BGSU was swept by Toledo last season in the home and home series.
* Bowling Green is 11-0 when making the same or more free throws than their opponent.
* BGSU is 9-1 when out-rebounding their opponents for the game on the season.
* BGSU is 10-1 on the year when scoring 60 points or more in the contest.
* The Falcons lead the MAC in scoring defense and are ranked in the top-20 in the nation at 58.0 points per game allowed this year.
* BGSU has an RPI of 61 by RealTimeRPI.com and is ranked 74th overall in the latest 2015 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings.
* Bowling Green is in its 100th season of basketball this year.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
You can follow the Falcons in many different ways this 2014-15 season. You can follow BGSU via twitter by following @BGSUMHoops and at @BGAthletics. You can also follow BGSU on instagram @bgfalcons and on facebook at BGSU Athletics. As always you can get all your BGSU Athletics information at www.BGSUFalcons.com.

SCOUTING THE ROCKETS OF UT
The Rockets, who were selected to win the MAC West Division in the preseason poll, enter Saturday night's contest at 10-8 overall and 2-3 in MAC play having suffered back-to-back conference losses to Western Michigan (81-78, OT) and at Kent State (67-60) over their last two contests. Toledo is ranked in the top-3 in the MAC in scoring offense (2nd, 74.6 ppg), free throw percentage (1st/72.9 percent), three-point field goal percentage (2nd, 38.6 percent) and in field goal percentage (3rd/45.8 percent). The Rockets potent offense is led by point guard Julius Brown at 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per game and J.D. Weatherspoon at 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Both Justin Drummond and Jonathan Williams are averaging over 10 points per game this season as well.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH TOLEDO
The Rockets of Toledo have a slight 86-79 edge over the Falcons in the all-time series, as the two teams have met on the hardwood for a total of 165 times. Despite the fact that UT has won each of the last three meetings, the two teams have split the last 10 meetings at 5-5 apiece dating back to the 2006-07 season. Prior to BGSU's current three-game skid against the Rockets, the Falcons won four straight meetings over UT from the 2008-09 season to the 2011-12 year. However, the Falcons are only 9-27 all-time in Savage Arena with the last win coming back on Jan. 25, 2011.

TOLEDO'S OWN ANTHONY HENDERSON
BGSU redshirt-senior guard Anthony Henderson is a Toledo native that played at Start H.S. Last season, Henderson averaged a team-high 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game against the Rockets. In the two meetings last year, the sharp-shooter had 15 points at the game on Feb. 5 at Savage Arena and then poured in 23 points at the contest on Feb. 20 at the Stroh Center on ESPNU.

COACH'S COMMENTS
   "I'm looking forward to participating in a rivalry game at BG. I certainly have heard a lot about it from people that work at the University and from fans that follow our program. I told our players that 'you're not going remember every regular season game that you participated in, but you're more than likely going to remember a lot of games and certainly this will be one of them'."
   "UT has had a target on their back since they were predicted to win the MAC West. They had a lot of hype coming into the season, deservingly so, as they had an excellent year last season and return a lot of players from a year ago. They are very talented across the board. They've got multiple weapons at their disposal. They shoot the cover off the ball – 39 percent from the three, 46 percent from the field, 73 percent from the free throw line – and they've got a lot of different people on the floor at the same time that can score the basketball, so they are very difficult to game plan against."

BGSU COACHES AND STAFF TAKE PART IN 'TIE ONE ON' SATURDAY NIGHT
The Falcons' men's basketball coaches, as well as the support staff, will all wear bow ties as part of the 'Tie One On' event on Saturday, Jan. 24. All proceeds from the event will benefit cancer care, awareness and outreach at The University of Toledo Medical Center. Tie One On, started by University of Toledo Vice-President for External Affairs Larry Burns, was inspired by the Coaches vs. Cancer effort, which is going on this week across the nation. Instead of tennis shoes, both the UT and the BGSU coaching staffs will wear bow ties to support the fight against cancer. Over $70,000 has been raised in the first four years in support of cancer care, awareness and outreach.

"Any time you can use sports as a way of raising awareness and dollars to support the fight to beat this horrible disease is an awesome thing to be a part of. After participating in the 2014 Coaches vs. Cancer Las Vegas Golf Classic fundraising event last spring, it probably means more to me now than it did then. I'm happy that we are able to help in this marathon fight that is going on against cancer," commented BGSU head coach Chris Jans.

A WIN WOULD ...
* Give the Falcons a 13-4 record overall on the season, surpassing their win total of all of last year.
* Put BGSU at 5-1 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since 1999-2000.
* Keep the Falcons atop of the MAC East regular season standings at 5-1.
* Make the Falcons 7-0 in games played on Saturday.
* Place the Falcons had 6-1 overall for the month of January.
* Snap a three-game losing streak to the Rockets of Toledo.
* Hand the Falcons their first win at Savage Arena since Jan. 25, 2011 (70-64).
* Give the Falcons a 3-0 record on the year versus teams in the MAC West Division.

BOWLING GREEN RECEIVES VOTES IN MID-MAJOR TOP-25 POLL - JAN. 19
BGSU received 29 votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, which was released on Monday, Jan. 19. The Falcons have received a season-high 50 votes in the weekly poll on Monday, Jan. 12.

HOT START TO MAC PLAY
The Falcons are off to a strong 4-1 start in MAC play this season. The last time BGSU went 4-1 to start MAC play was back in 2004-05. BGSU was last 5-1 in the MAC in 1999-2000, when the eventual MAC Champions started the conference slate off at 6-1 in league play.

GET TO THE FT LINE & WIN EVERY TIME
BGSU is a perfect 11-0 when making the same number or more free throws than their opponent this season. On the flip side, the Falcons are just 1-4 when making fewer foul shots than its foe.

STROLL DOWN THE MAC MEMORY LANE
Last season in 2013-14, the Falcons posted a 6-12 record in the MAC and finished sixth in the East Division. Since winning the MAC East in 2008-09 with an 11-5 conference record, the Falcons have been over .500 in MAC play just once, going 9-7 overall in league play in 2011-12, coming into this season. Over the last five seasons, since 2009-10, Bowling Green went just 36-46 in MAC play. This year the Falcons are 4-1 in MAC play.

NEW YEAR, NEW MONTH, NEW NAME OF JANSUARY
BGSU tipped off the new 2015 calendar year and the month of JANSuary with a 58-35 blowout win over Chicago State on Jan. 3. BGSU then went on to pick up at 66-64 come from behind win at Kent State on Jan. 7., before leading from start to finish in a 69-54 home win over Ohio on Jan. 10. After a 67-50 loss at Akron on Jan. 14., BGSU bounced back to defeat Ball State 58-46 on Jan. 17 and most recently flew bast Eastern Michigan in a 74-58 home win on Jan. 21. Under head coach Chris Jans, the Falcons are 5-1 for the month of JANSuary.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
The Falcons have been solid on the defensive end this season, as BGSU ranks 20th overall nationally in scoring defense at 58.0 points per game allowed. BGSU is also ranked in the top-five in the MAC in scoring defense (1st/58.0 ppg), three-point field goal defense (2nd/30.5%) and field goal percentage defense (2nd/39.5%). In fact, Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes leads the league in blocked shots with 43, an average of 2.7 per game, while Zack Denny is first in the MAC in steals with an average of 1.9 swipes per contest and 31 on the season.

SUB!!!!!!!!!!!
Coach Jans has proven early that he is not afraid to go to his bench, as 15 different players have already seen time on the floor for the Falcons this season, while eight different players are averaging 16 minutes or more of playing time per game this season. In fact, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by 128 points (367-239) in bench points this year, an average of 22.9 points per game off the bench compared to their opponents 14.9 bench points per outing.

RETURN TO SENDER
Falcon senior Richaun Holmes has posted a block in all but three games thus far this season and has totaled a season-high five blocks in four different games this year on his way to a team leading 43 blocks on the year. Holmes totaled a new BGSU school record for the most blocks in a single season last year with 88. In just his first two seasons at BGSU, Holmes became the Falcons' all-time career blocks leader and now has 204 career swats. He currently leads the MAC with 2.7 blocks per game this season.

QUARTET OF 500 POINT CAREER SCORERS
The Falcons currently have a quartet of 500 point career scorers on its roster in Richaun Holmes (858), Jehvon Clarke (679), Anthony Henderson (563) and Spencer Parker (545).

BGSU UNDEFEATED FOLLOWING A LOSS THIS SEASON
With BGSU's 58-46 win over Ball State on Jan. 17, head coach Chris Jans' squad improved to 4-0 in games following a loss in their previous contest. After a loss at Western Kentucky (52-62), the Falcons beat up on Alabama A&M (64-47). Following the tough loss at Dayton (52-56), BGSU bounced back to defeat Cleveland State by double digits (67-57). Most recently, BGSU upended USF (79-70) after suffering a loss to Ferris State (68-82) at home on Dec. 21 and went on to stifle Ball State (58-46) at home on Jan. 17 following a loss at Akron (50-67) just three days before on Jan. 14.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 38-18 at the venue. The Falcons have won seven or more games at home every season since the Stroh's opening for the 2011-12 season and are 8-1 at home thus far this year.

THAT 70'S STROH
BGSU is a perfect 18-0 at the Stroh when scoring 70 points or more in a contest. That means the Falcons have scored 70 or more points in half of their wins in front of the home fans in the Stroh. This season the Falcons have scored 70 or more points at home twice - in a 70-55 win versus Wright State on Nov. 19 and in a 74-58 win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 21.

BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR DENNY
After posting his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 58-46 win over Ball State on Jan. 17, sophomore guard Zack Denny followed with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the home rout of Eastern Michigan, 74-58, on Jan. 21. Denny is the first Falcon to post a double-double in two consecutive games since Cameron Black did it on Nov. 26 & 27 of 2013-14 at the Cancun Challenge.

MAKE IT THREE FOR HOLMES
Senior Richaun Holmes was tabbed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 12, his third MAC weekly award this season. The 6-8 forward also earned the award on Dec. 1 and then again on Dec. 29. Holmes, who led BGSU to a 2-0 record last week with wins at Kent State and over Ohio, averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 4.0 blocks per game on the week while shooting 60 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.

COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS RECOGNIZES RICHAUN HOLMES
On Jan. 12, senior Richaun Holmes was named the Madness Mid-American Men's Basketball Player of the Week by College Sports Madness (www.collegesportsmadness.com) for the second time this season. He also received the weekly honor on Dec. 29.

BLOCK NUMBER 200 FOR HOLMES
Senior forward Richaun Holmes tallied his 200th career block in the second half of the Falcons 58-46 win over Ball State on Jan. 17. Holmes, who currently has 204 career swats, is the all-time career blocks leader in BGSU history.

DENNY'S FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore guard Zack Denny posted his first career double-double in the Falcons 58-46 home win over Ball State on Jan. 17. Denny posted 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win.

NON-CONFERENCE SEASON IS OVER
BGSU went 8-3 over its 11 non-conference games this season. The eight non-conference victories is the most by a Falcons' team since both the 2009-10 and 2008-09 teams each posted eight non-conference wins on the year.

HOLMES HAULS IN 500TH REBOUND
In the Falcons' 58-35 home win over Chicago State on Saturday night, Jan. 3, senior Richaun Holmes pulled down five rebounds for the game. While that is not a game-high in rebounds for the 6-8 forward, it was enough to give him his 500th career rebound during his time at BGSU.

NEW STROH CENTER RECORDS SET TO START 2015
With BGSU's 32 three-point field goal attempts at home versus Chicago State on Jan. 3, the Falcons set a new Stroh Center record for the most three-point attempts by a BGSU team in a single game in the Stroh Center. The previous record was 26 three-point field goal attempts versus Morehead State on Feb. 18, 2012. The Falcons also set a new record in the fewest points allowed in the Stroh Center by holding Chicago State to just 35 points for the game. The new record of 35 points eclipses the old mark of 36 points set by Northern Illinois on Jan. 12, 2014.

MAGIC NUMBER FOR HOLMES IS 26
The magic number for forward Richaun Holmes has proven to be 26 - in that he has posted a career-high 26 points twice this season. Holmes had 26 points versus Ferris State on Dec. 21, but not before he matched his career-high of 26 points on Nov. 30 in a last second win at Detroit. The 6-8 forward first scored his career-high 26 points last season at Xavier.

FALCONS SHOOT DOWN THE EAGLES IN HOME WIN
BGSU as a team shot 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) for the game, including knocking down 11-of-25 (44 percent) from behind the three-point line in a 74-58 home win over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 21. The Falcons, who had six different players make at least one three-ball for the game, hit 11 three-pointers overall to match its season-high. BGSU had four players in double figures in Anthony Henderson (17), Richaun Holmes (13), Delvin Dickerson (12) and Zack Denny (10).

SMOTHERING SECOND HALF DEFENSE VS BALL STATE
BGSU held Ball State to just 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) shooting and forced the Cardinals into 10 turnovers in the second half of play in the 58-46 come from behind win on Jan. 17. The Falcons held Ball State to just 19 points over the final 20 minutes of the contest, while scoring 35 points of their own in the home MAC win.

FALCONS ICE COLD FROM THE FLOOR IN LOSS AT AKRON
In the Falcons first MAC loss of the season at Akron on Wed., Jan. 14, BGSU was ice cold from the floor as a team offensively. BGSU shot a season-low 32.8 percent (20-of-61) from the field overall and scored a season-low 50 points in the 67-50 road loss. BGSU was also just 4-of-20 (20 percent) from three-point land and only 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from the free throw line for the game.

FROM WIRE TO WIRE, FALCONS TAME BOBCATS
The BGSU Falcons led from start to finish in a 69-54 home MAC win over the Ohio Bobcats on Jan. 10. In the win, BGSU led by as much as 21 points late in the second half and outscored Ohio 35-25 over the final 20 minutes of play to secure the double digit win. BGSU controlled the paint for most of the contest, out-rebounding Ohio 41-34 and outscoring the Bobcats 30-14 in points in the paint. The BGSU defense held Ohio to just eight made baskets in the second half (8-of-27), four of which were from behind the three-point line.

RECORD SETTING DEFENSIVE EFFORT FOR BGSU
In the Falcons' 58-35 home win over Chicago State, the 35 points allowed by BGSU was the lowest points total allowed by a Falcons' team in a single game since BGSU held Denison to only 34 points in 1981-82. The 35 points scored by Chicago State is also the fewest points scored by a BGSU opponent in the Stroh Center, five points less than the previous low of 40 points by Northern Illinois back on Feb. 4, 2012.

STRONG SECOND HALF PROPELS BGSU TO WIN AT KENT STATE
The Falcons outscored Kent State 40-29 over the final 20 minutes of play to erase a 15-point first half deficit in the 66-64 MAC road win on Wed., Jan. 7. BGSU shot 50 percent (15-of-30) in the second half, including going 6-of-8 (75 percent) from behind the three-point line in the come from behind win. The Falcons also shot a season-high 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line in the win, it's largest come from behind win on the season.

SPENCER SHINES IN FINAL MINUTES OF KENT STATE WIN
After not scoring at all in the first half of play, junior Spencer Parker scored 16 points in the second half to lead the Falcons to the 66-64 road win at Kent State on Jan. 7. The forward scored a total of 12 points over the final 5:33 to play, including knocking down a three-pointer from the left wing to put BGSU in front at 58-56 and then hit another trey with 46 seconds left to push BGSU's lead to four at 64-60.

FALCONS FLY PAST CHICAGO STATE WITH THE THREE-BALL
BGSU matched its season-high with 11 made three-pointers in a 58-35 rout of the Cougars of Cleveland State on Jan. 3. The Falcons, who also made 11 three-pointers in the season opening win at Drake on Nov. 15, had five different players hit at least one three-pointer in the win.

FALCONS LIGHT UP THE SUN DOME IN 79-70 ROAD WIN OVER USF
The Falcons had four players score in double figures and shot 50 percent overall (26-of-52) from the field for the game as a team on its way to a 79-70 non-conference road win over the University of South Florida on Dec. 28. BGSU shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half alone, including knocking down 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) three-point attempts over the final 20 minutes of play. With the Falcons' hot shooting, BGSU improved to 3-0 on the year when shooting over 50 percent as a team for the game.

FALCONS FALL TO FERRIS STATE FOR ITS FIRST HOME LOSS OF 2014-15
Despite outscoring Ferris State 42-24 in points in the paint and 21-10 in bench points, the Falcons could not slow down the hot shooting Bulldogs who shot 58.3 percent in the second half, including going 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line and 11-of-13 from the free throw line to hand BGSU its first home loss of the year.

PRESEASON LOVE FOR MR. HOLMES
Senior Richaun Holmes received a lot of preseason attention this fall, as the forward was named to a number of preseason teams.
   * 2014-15 MAC East Division All-MAC Preseason Team selection
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Team by Athlon Sports
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Team by Sporting News
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-MAC Second-Team by Lindy's Sports
   * Named to the 2014-15 Preseason Mid-American All-Conference
       Second-Team by College Sports Madness (www.collegesportsmadness.com)

EXPERIENCED GROUP
The 2014-15 Falcons' roster is an experienced group, as the roster has nine upperclassmen, including six players that have played at least two years of NCAA Division I basketball. BGSU returned one redshirt senior in Anthony Henderson, three seniors in Richaun Holmes, Jehvon Clarke and Damarkeo Lyshe, as well as redshirt-junior Josh Gomez. On top of that, junior forward Spencer Parker returns along with three junior college transfers in Delvin Dickerson (Paris JC), Jovan Austin (Paris JC) and David Joseph (Howard College), who all were key parts in winning programs at the JUCO level prior to coming to BGSU.

A HANDFUL OF NEWCOMERS
Coach Chris Jans and his staff brought in a handful of newcomers in 2014-15 - five to be exact. Junior college transfers Delvin Dickerson (Houston, Texas/Paris JC), Jovan Austin (Grand Prairie, Texas/Paris JC) and David Joseph (Queens, N.Y./Howard College (Texas)) all joined the BGSU program over the summer and will have two years of eligibility for the Falcons. Freshmen Rasheed Worrell (Coker, Ala./Sipsey Valley H.S.) and Matt Fox (Maumee, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) will both have four years of eligibility at BGSU heading into the 2014-15 season.

FALCONS ON ESPN NETWORKS
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team is slated to play 11 regular season games on ESPN3 with the following games still left to play - Feb. 4 at Central Michigan at 7 p.m., Feb. 7 at Northern Illinois at 8 p.m., Feb. 10 vs. Western Michigan at 7 p.m., Feb. 18 vs. Miami at 7 p.m., Feb. 21 vs. Buffalo at 2 p.m., and March 6 at Buffalo at 7 p.m.

FALCONS PICKED FIFTH IN MAC PRESEASON POLL
The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference East Division in 2014-15, according to the MAC's annual Preseason Media Poll. The Falcons, who will be led by first year head coach Chris Jans in 2014-15, received 52 total points in the preseason poll, which included one first-place vote.

FALCONS SIGN THREE EARLY
On Nov. 12, BGSU head men's basketball coach Chris Jans announced the signings of Jalone Friday (Oklahoma City Storm HomeSchool/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Jamir Andrews (Sheridan College/Dublin H.S./Dublin, California) and Malik Hluchoweckyj (Bellevue West H.S./Bellevue, Nebraska) to National Letters of Intent to continue both their athletic and academic careers at Bowling Green State University beginning in the Fall of 2015.

ON TAP FOR THE FALCONS
BGSU will return home to host back-to-back MAC contests versus Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and Akron on Saturday, Jan. 31. Both of those games are slated for a 7 p.m. start time.

EXTRA HITS
* Purchase the MAC PAC today - You can save $20 when you purchase tickets to five home MAC games for only $55!
* Get your season tickets now - Click Here!
* Want to win a $1,000 Gift Card? Find out how by clicking here!
* Make plans to attend the next BG home game by checking out the 2014-15 schedule here!
* Buy the newest and hottest BG gear available today by clicking here!
* BGSU Men's Basketball Commercial - Click Here!
* 2014-15 BGSU Men's Basketball Digital Media Guide - Click Here!

###