MAC Preseason Poll to Tip-Off Historical BGSU Men’s Basketball Season

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

MAC Preseason Poll to Tip-Off Historical BGSU Men’s Basketball Season

October 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

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Bowling Green, Ohio – The 2015-16 Bowling Green State University men's basketball season will be a historical one, as not only has a former Falcon in Michael Huger returned to lead the program, but the Falcons will be competing in their 100th year of intercollegiate basketball in Bowling Green, Ohio.

"We are looking for big things from our guys this season," commented Coach Huger. "We've been practicing very well and practicing hard. They're picking up the system very well, as the guys are learning all of our plays and all of our defensive strategies. Our ultimate goal is always to win a MAC Championship. First a regular season championship and then of course a conference tournament championship to go on to the NCAA Tournament."

The Centennial Season

The 2015-16 season will be The Centennial Season for the Bowling Green State University men's basketball program, as BGSU is celebrating 100 years of men's basketball this season. Sponsoring a men's basketball team for the first time in 1915-16, the new program played its first game on Jan. 8, 1916 versus what is now Eastern Michigan University. The Normals or Teachers, the Falcons' nickname until 1927, lost the game 33-15. However, the Normals, who were coached by F.G. Beyerman and led by team captain Charles Branigan, would go on to win its first home game five days later on Jan. 13 with a 26-10 win over Defiance.

"As a former player it means the world. It's 100 years of Bowling Green basketball. To just to be a part of it as a student-athlete and now as the head coach, and being the coach of the 100th anniversary is awesome," continued Huger. "I mean what more can you ask for. Being at your alma mater, a place that you love and now I'm able to lead my team."

Click here for more on the Centennial Season.

Marquee Games Slated for 2015-16
While the Falcons' 2015-16 schedule will be a challenging one, BGSU will host two marquee games this season in the Bill Frack Challenge on Nov. 18 and the Centennial Game on Jan. 23.

The second annual Bill Frack Challenge will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. when the Falcons will host the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Stroh Center. Each season the BGSU men's basketball program will host a home game tabbed the Bill Frack Challenge in honor of long time BGSU supporter and philanthropist William "Bill" D. Frack, who passed away on May 28, 2014.

The Orange and Brown will cap off the 100 year anniversary with the Centennial Game set for Saturday, Jan. 23, versus MAC East rival Kent State at 4 p.m. in the Stroh Center. All BGSU alumni, especially former BGSU men's basketball student-athletes, coaches, support staff and managers, are invited back to celebrate a "Falcontastic" 100 years of men's basketball by honoring the past while our student-athletes on the court work to create the future.

Click here to see the complete 2015-16 BGSU men's basketball schedule.

Falcon Now Leading the Falcons
It seems fitting that a former Falcon would lead the program during its 100th year, as former BGSU standout and 1994 graduate Michael Huger returns to his alma-mater as the head coach in 2015-16. Huger, who returns to his alma mater where he was a standout player for the Falcons from 1989-93, most recently wrapped up his fourth season at the University of Miami and his eighth season as an assistant coach for head coach Jim Larrañaga, whom he played for at BGSU. While a player at BGSU, Huger helped the Falcons to a pair of NIT appearances. Tabbed the BGSU Team MVP in 1992-93, he earned Mid-American Conference all-conference honors in his final two seasons, and was a Naismith Award nominee and the runner-up for MAC Player of the Year his senior year.

Overall, the first-year head coach brings 10 years of collegiate coaching experience and nearly a dozen years of professional basketball experience with him back to Bowling Green.

"It means the world to me to be home. This was something that I've dreamt about in recent years and it's a dream come true to be home," Huger stated. "Take a look at what Bowling Green has to offer right now in facilities, campus life and in academics, it has everything that you could possibly want."

Falcons Returning
The Falcons have eight letter award winners returning from last year's team that posted 21 wins overall on the season and finished third in the MAC East Division and just one game behind co-champions Kent State and Buffalo. Of the eight returners, BGSU returns three starters from the 2014-15 squad in Zack Denny, Spencer Parker and David Joseph.

After missing the majority of his freshman year due to injury in 2013-14, Denny played in all 33 games last season and totaled a team-high 896 minutes of play on the year as a sophomore. He was third on the team in scoring with an average of 9.2 points and second on the team in rebounding at 5.2 boards per game. The sharp-shooting guard also led the team and ranked third in the MAC with 53 steals on the season, and was tops on the team with 50 made three-pointers on the year.

Parker returns for his senior season at BGSU after playing in all 33 games and starting 27 contests last season for the Falcons. As a junior in 2015-16, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and shot 72.8 percent from the free throw line on the season. The most experienced player on the team for the Falcons this season, Parker averaged 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2013-14.

In his first year at BGSU last season, Joseph played in all 33 games on the season and started in 26 contests overall in 2014-15. Playing the point guard position, Joseph averaged 4.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. The junior college transfer led the team and ranked 10th in the MAC with 109 assists, an average of 3.3 per game, and ranked fifth in the MAC with a 1.9 assist/turnover radio last season.

Also returning this season for Coach Huger and his staff are redshirt-senior Josh Gomez, senior Brandon Busuttil, junior JD Tisdale, redshirt-sophomore Garrett Mayleben, and sophomore guard Matt Fox.

Gomez came on strong at the end of last season to score 24 points and haul in 20 rebounds over the last five games for the Falcons when Richaun Holmes was in-and-out of the lineup due to an injury, while Tisdale, who saw limited minutes last season, played in a total of 32 games, including starting two contests, as a freshman in 2013-14.

With the loss of Holmes to the NBA, Mayleben will see more time on the court this season after coming off the bench in 22 games last year as a redshirt-freshman, while Fox will look to break into the lineup this year following a freshman campaign in which he saw action off the BGSU bench in 15 contests last season.

Familiar Face, New Addition
Although he is a familiar face on the BGSU bench, redshirt-freshman Rasheed Worrell will be a new addition so to speak to the Falcon lineup this season having sat out last year as a redshirt. The 6-8, 215 pound post player has put on close to 30 pounds since arriving in Bowling Green in the summer of 2014 and spent all of last season fine tuning his overall game. Worrell, who will step into the Falcon lineup this year for Coach Huger and his staff, lettered at Sipsey Valley High School in Alabama where he led his team to back-to-back 20-win seasons over his final two years of play and was tabbed a Second-Team Class 3A All-State selection his senior season in 2013-14.

New Falcons
There will be a handful of new Falcons wearing the orange and brown this season in Wes Alcegaire, Ismail Ali, Malik Hluchoweckyj, Demajeo Wiggins and Antwon Lillard.

Juniors Alcegaire and Ali will both have two seasons of eligibility at BGSU after transferring in from the junior college ranks this season. Alcegaire, who played one season at Liberty University before transferring to the JUCO ranks, played last year at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he was a Mid-Florida Conference First-Team All-Conference selection with an average of 17.1 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field, 37.4 percent from the three-point line and 73.7 percent from the free throw line on the year. Ali, who played two years at Antelope Valley College in California, averaged 8.9 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting overall and 42.1 percent shooting from behind the three-point line in 2014-15 as a sophomore. He also led the team with 6.3 assists per game, which also ranked fourth in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).

Hluchoweckyj, Wiggins and Lillard are all incoming freshmen this season for Coach Huger and his staff and will be asked to contribute right away for the Falcons in 2015-16.

Hluchoweckyj was named to the 2015 Nebraska Associated Press All-State Class A First-Team and a First-Team Super-State selection as a high school senior last year at Bellevue West H.S. in Bellevue, Neb. The 6-1 guard led his team to a 20-7 overall record and a No. 3 ranking in the state of Nebraska his senior season in which he averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The first junior to be named to The World-Herald's All-Nebraska First-Team since 2012, he averaged a team-best 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2013-14 where he was also named to the First-Team Super-State after leading the Thunderbirds to the Class-A State Championship Title for the first time since 2005.

A local product from nearby Springfield H.S. in Toledo, Ohio, Wiggins led the Blue Devils to a 17-5 overall record, a sectional title win, and a third-place finish in the Northern Lakes League with a 10-4 conference mark his senior season. The 6-9 forward averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils to earn All-Northern Lakes League First-Team honors last season. He was also named to the Division I All-District Second-Team and received All-Ohio Honorable Mention accolades in 2014-15.

Lillard, another Ohio product, lettered at Cleveland Central Catholic for four years and led his team to a 20-6 overall record and a spot in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division II state title game his senior season for the first time since 2011. The 6-5 guard was tabbed the Division II Lakes District Player of the Year, was a First-Team All-Ohio honoree and a Cleveland.com First-Team All-Star selection in 2014-15. Named to the NCL First-Team All-League in 2014-15, Lillard averaged 22.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game his senior year.

MAC Preseason Poll
With the loss of its top three scorers from last season in Richaun Holmes to the NBA, and both Jehvon Clarke and Anthony Henderson due to graduation, the Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the MAC East Division in the 2015-16 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, which was determined by a 23-member MAC News Media Panel. The Falcons garnered 42 points overall.

Click here for the 2015-16 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.

#MACtion on TV
This year's MAC men's basketball linear TV package (national & regional) is the most extensive in conference history. All Saturday conference games are seen as wildcard selections and can be moved up to the Friday night before if selected by ESPN or the CBS Sports Network. Once those selections are made the Saturday regional wildcard selections can be finalized. All regional productions will also air on ESPN3. All Wildcard Selections will be made 14 days in advance of the game.

BCSN

Wednesday, Jan. 6: Miami @BGSU, 7 pm ET
Saturday, Jan. 16: Wildcard Selection, 2 pm ET
Tuesday, Jan. 19: Toledo @ BGSU, 7 pm ET
Saturday, Jan. 30: Wildcard Selection, 7 pm ET
Saturday, Feb. 13: Wildcard Selection, 7 pm ET
Saturday, Feb. 20: Wildcard Selection, 12 Noon ET
Friday, March 4: Wildcard Selection, 9 pm ET

TWC Sports Channel