Falcons Welcome Ball State to the Stroh for Dollar Day on Tuesday Night

Tuesday, February 2

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

Tickets

Photo by: Larry Clapper

Falcons Welcome Ball State to the Stroh for Dollar Day on Tuesday Night

February 01, 2016 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

STARTING FIVE
(1) SNAP OUT OF IT: The Falcons will look to snap out of a three-game home losing streak at the Stroh Center with a win on Tuesday night versus Ball State. BGSU has dropped three straight MAC home contests with losses versus Central Michigan (Jan. 9), versus Toledo (Jan. 19) and against Kent State (Jan. 26).

(2) NO LOVE FOR THE CARDINALS: BGSU has showed no love to the Ball State Cardinals over the last four years, as the Falcons have posted seven straight wins over Ball State since 2011. BGSU defeated Ball State three times last season, twice in the regular season and in the first round of the 2015 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. In fact, BGSU has won 12 out of the last 14 meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2004-05 season.

(3) THE "O" IN STROH: The BGSU Falcons are a perfect 4-0 at home in the Stroh Center versus the Ball State Cardinals. BGSU defeated BSU 65-64 on Feb. 9, 2011, upended the Cardinals 70-59 on Feb. 2, 2013 and beat BSU 58-46 last year on Jan. 17, 2015. The Falcons also defeated BSU 88-75 on Mar. 9, 2015 in the first round of the 2015 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament to advance to Cleveland for the quarterfinals.

(4) 1 OF 43: Spencer Parker is looking to become just the 43rd player in BGSU men's basketball 100-year history to score over 1,000 career points as a Falcon. The senior from Detroit, Mich. enters Tuesday's game with 976 career points, only 24 shy of the career milestone.

(5) SURPRISE!!!!: Both the Falcons (MAC East) and the Cardinals (MAC West) were picked last in their respective divisions in the 2015-16 MAC Preseason Poll back in October. The two teams enter Tuesday night's contest with identical records of 13-8 overall and 4-4 in MAC play.

(6th man) CENTENNIAL SEASON: The 2015-16 is the Centennial Season for the BGSU men's basketball program, which began playing basketball in 1915-16.

SCOUTING THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
Picked to finish last in the MAC West Division in the 2015-16 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, the Ball State Cardinals enter Tuesday night's contest against BGSU at 13-8 overall and 4-4 in MAC play. BSU, who is 2-5 on the road this season, has dropped each of its last two contests with a road loss at Buffalo (Jan. 26) and a home loss versus Akron (Jan. 30). The Cardinals have been strong on the defensive end this season, as Ball State is second in the MAC in scoring defense by holding its foes to just 65.8 points per game and is third in the MAC in three-point field goal defense with its opponents shooting just 33.4 percent from long range on the season. Ball State is also fourth in blocked shots with 3.7 per game and in fifth in steals with 6.4 thefts per contest. Offensively, the Cardinals are averaging 70.0 points per game on the season and rank third in the MAC with an average of 8.3 made three-pointers per contest. Ryan Weber leads the team with 11.6 points per game on the season and is second on the team with 41 made three-point field goals. Franko Harris is shooting a team-high 55 percent from the floor overall on the year, which ranks in the top-five in the MAC, and is averaging 11.1 points per game on the season. Bo Calhoun is averaging 10.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, which ranks in the top-five in the MAC on the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES BETWEEN BGSU AND BALL STATE
BGSU is 46-34 all-time versus the Ball State Cardinals in men's basketball action with the two teams first meeting back in 1965. BGSU is 29-10 all-time versus the Cardinals at home in Bowling Green, Ohio, including a perfect 4-0 at home in the Stroh Center. The Falcons have won seven straight over the Cardinals in the series with Ball State's last win coming back on Feb. 4, 2010 in Muncie, Ind.

KEY TO THE GAME: CONTROLLING THE BACKBOARDS
The key to the game will be on the glass, as the two teams feed off of grabbing more rebounds than their opponents. BGSU is 11-1 on the year when out-rebounding its foes for the contest, while the Cardinals are 12-2 on the season when they pull down more boards than their opponents for the game. The Falcons lead the MAC in defensive rebounding with an average of 27.8 rebounds per game on the defensive end of the court.

MIRROR RECORDS
Both BGSU and Ball State enter Tuesday's contest with identical records. Both teams are 13-8 overall and 4-4 in MAC play thus far this season.

DOLLAR DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday night is Dollar Day for the men's basketball game versus Ball State. General Admission tickets are just $1 up until 5 p.m. on game day, Tuesday, Feb. 2. At the game, junior popcorns, sodas and hot dogs will be just $1 all night long!

COACH'S CORNER
"I was very disappointed in our offensive and defensive execution at Central Michigan. On defense we allowed CMU to get open looks, and on the offensive end we did not execute effectively. Despite competing hard, we missed way too many open layups which ultimately cost us the game. Our next opponent on the schedule is Ball State. They are a much improved team from last season and will be another good MAC challenge. From top to bottom, this league has a lot of contenders. Their offense has a ton of movement which will force our defense to focus and communicate for 40 minutes. The guys know we owe our home fans a win, and we will look to reward their loyalty Tuesday night."

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
BGSU will return to the road to take on the Miami University RedHawks on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio.

A FALCON WIN WOULD ...
* Put the Falcons at 14-8 overall on the season.
* Give Bowling Green seven wins at home on the season inside the Stroh Center.
* Put the Falcons at 3-3 versus the MAC West Division on the season.
* Start the Falcons off at 1-0 for the month of February.
* Snap a three-game home losing streak at the Stroh Center.
* Extend BGSU's winning streak to eight straight games over the Ball State Cardinals.
* Keep BGSU perfect over Ball State at the Stroh Center with a 5-0 record all-time.

LAST TIME OUT - CENTRAL MICHIGAN 77, BGSU 65 (JAN. 30)
Looking for its fourth straight Mid-American Conference road win of the season, Bowling Green State University struggled on the offensive end with 14 turnovers and shot just 37.1 percent from the field overall for the game as the Central Michigan Chippewas clipped the Falcons for a 77-65 win in MAC cross-divisional play on Saturday evening in Mount Pleasant, Mich. BGSU's 14 turnovers led to a total of 19 CMU points for the game, while the Chips also hit nine three-pointers (9-of-22, 40.9 percent) from long range. BGSU was just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from behind the three-point line on the night. The Falcons' bench outscored the CMU bench 19-5 for the game, while the visitors in black also outscored the Chippewas 38-24 in points in the paint, 17-14 in second chance points and 10-4 in fast-break points. Bowling Green shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field over the first 20 minutes of play, however, the Falcons could not slow down Fowler and the CMU attack, as the Chips shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the floor overall to take a 41-30 lead at the halftime break.

PARKER APPROACHING 1,000
Senior Spencer Parker is quietly approaching the 1,000 career points mark in his final year at BGSU. He enters Tuesday's contest with 976 career points, 24 points away from the career milestone. Parker, who is averaging 14.0 points per game this season, would need to average 2.4 points per game over the remaining 10 regular season games for BGSU to reach the mark and become just the 43rd player in BGSU history to score over 1,000 career points.

ABOVE .500
BGSU has posted a record of over .500 for each month of play thus far this season. The Falcons went 4-2 for the month of November, as well as December, and concluded January with a record of 5-4 overall.

RESILIENT FALCONS
The Falcons have proved to be "fighting" Falcons throughout the 2015-16 season, as Coach Huger's squad have trailed by five points or more in six of their 13 wins this season. In fact, BGSU have been behind on the scoreboard in 11 of their 13 wins on the year. In two of their last three wins, the Falcons have erased a double digit deficit for a come from behind win. BGSU deleted a 14-point deficit at Ohio to defeat the Bobcats 91-75 on Jan. 12. The Falcons most recently overcame a 10-point deficit at Western Michigan to upend the Broncos 79-78 in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Jan. 26.

SOLID START A NECESSITY
BGSU has relied on solid starts this season, as the Falcons are 10-0 on the season when leading at the halftime break. Bowling Green is just 3-7 on the season when going into the locker room trailing at the halftime intermission and 0-1 on the year when tied at the half.

LINE OF DEFENSE = UTMOST IMPORTANCE
The defense has been vital to the Falcons success this season, as BGSU is just 1-8 on the season when its opponent records a higher field goal percentage than the Falcons for the game. While on the flip side, BGSU is 12-0 when shooting better from the floor than its foe and is a solid 8-1 overall when holding its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the game. The Falcons are 8-1 when limiting their opponents to 69 points or less for the contest, but are 0-4 when allowing their opponents to score 80 points or more for the game.

CONSISTENCY ACROSS THE STARTING FIVE
Head Coach Michael Huger has sent out the lineup of David Joseph, Zack Denny, Wes Alcegaire, Spencer Parker and Rasheed Worrell to start all 21 games this season for BGSU.

KEY IS CLEANING THE GLASS
BGSU has done well this season when out-rebounding its opponents for the game. In fact, the Falcons are a stellar 12-1 when grabbing the same number or more rebounds than their foes in a game this season. The Falcons are just 1-7 on the year when losing the battle of the boards with the lone win coming versus Miami (Ohio) at home on Jan. 6, 2016.

SHARP SHOOTING FALCONS
The Falcons have shot over 44 percent from the floor as a team in each of their 13 wins this season, including shooting a season-high 55.7 percent overall from the field in the blowout win over Urbana on Nov. 29. The Falcons are also a perfect 12-0 on the season when shooting better than their opponents from the field as a team overall.

GETTING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE
Bowling Green has made it a habit to get to the free throw line this year, as the Falcons have shot more foul shots than their opponent in 14 of their 21 games this season. BGSU has attempted 20 or more free throws in 17 games on the year, including a season-high 35 attempts at Detroit on Dec. 12. The Falcons have made more free throws than their opponents have even attempted in six different contests this season.

BENCH HELP
The BGSU bench has been big for the Falcons thus far in MAC play, as Coach Huger's subs have outscored their opponent's bench in seven of the eight conference contests with the Falcons matching the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 10 bench points apiece in the other game. In league play, BGSU has totaled 204 bench points, an average of 25.5 points per game. Their opponents have combined to score at total of 94 bench points, an average of 11.8 per contest.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 47-27 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 have recorded double digit home wins at the Stroh in three of the last four years. BGSU is 6-4 this season at home in the Stroh with wins over New Orleans, Urbana, UMBC, Drake, Oakland City (Ind.) and Miami.

THAT 70'S STROH
BGSU is an impressive 25-2 at the Stroh Center when scoring 70 points or more in a contest. BGSU is 6-1 at the Stroh this season when scoring 70 points or more.

ANSWERING THE CALL
BGSU's Matt Fox was ready when his name was called on Jan. 26, at Western Michigan. Fox, who had not played in each of the Falcons' first six MAC games and last saw playing time on Jan. 2 versus Oakland City, knocked down two three-pointers in the final 3:45 of the tight contest versus the Broncos to help BGSU pick up the 79-78 road win. Fox's first trey tied the game up at 68-68 with 3:45 left to play. His second three-ball gave the Falcons a 77-74 lead with 53 seconds to play in the contest, a lead that BGSU would not surrender in the win.

A STROH CENTER ANOMALY
An anomaly occurred in the Stroh Center on Jan. 19, as the Falcons suffered a loss at home despite scoring over 70 points for the game in the 81-74 defeat to the Rockets. The loss is only the second ever loss inside the Stroh Center for the Falcons when scoring over 70 points for the game. The only other loss in which the Falcons scored over 70 points in the Stroh Center was to Kent State, 81-80, last year on Senior Night, Mar. 3, 2015. BGSU is 25-2 all-time in the Stroh Center when scoring 70 points or more for the contest.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
The duo of Zack Denny and Spencer Parker have each tallied multiple double-doubles this season and have combined for eight double-doubles on the year overall. Denny recorded his five double-doubles with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over YSU, followed by 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the FGCU Eagles. He then tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds in the road win at Cleveland State to close out the month of December and then totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds in the very next game versus Oakland City (Ind.). He recently picked up 12 points and 10 rebounds in the road win at Ohio on Jan. 12. Parker has registered three double-doubles this season with 16 points and 12 rebounds versus North Dakota, 22 points and 10 boards in the win at FGCU and a career-high 33 points and 11 rebounds at Detroit.

MINUTES, MINUTES, EVERYONE GETS MINUTES!
A total of nine players are averaging double digit minutes of playing time on the court thus far this season for the Falcons. In fact, at least nine different players have notched 10 minutes or more of playing time in 12 different games for the Falcons this season. Seven different Falcons are averaging 20 minutes or more of playing time on the year.

SPENCE LEADING BY EXAMPLE
As the most experienced player on the Falcons' roster, senior forward Spencer Parker has been leading by example with career numbers this season. Parker leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.0 points per game and is second in rebounding with 5.8 rebounds per game, both of which are career highs. He has scored in double figures in 16 games and has already posted five 20-plus point games with 22 points at FGCU, 20 points versus UMBC, a career-high 33 points at Detroit, 22 points at Ohio and 21 points on the road at EMU.

DENNY DIALING IN FROM LONG DISTANCE
This season, Zack Denny is shooting a career-high 40.6 percent from behind the three-point line and leads the team with 39 made treys on the season. The junior guard is shooting 40.4 percent overall from long distance for his career, as he is 92-of-228 from long range, which has him currently ranked fifth in career three-point field goal percentage. He has also made at least one three-pointer in 17 of 21 games this season for the Falcons.

TWO GOING FOR 20-PLUS
With Spencer Parker's 21 points and Zack Denny's 20 points in the road win at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 16, the duo became the first pair of Falcons to score 20 points or more in the same game since BGSU's Anthony Henderson and Jehvon Clarke each poured in 23 points at Toledo on Feb. 5, 2014.

HUGER FIRSTS ON THE SIDELINE
BGSU first-year head coach Michael Huger picked up his first career win as a head coach in the 79-61 win over New Orleans in the season opener. His first MAC win as a coach with the Falcons' 73-62 home win over Miami (Ohio) in the two teams' conference opener on Jan. 6, at the Stroh Center. He recorded his first MAC road win at Ohio, 91-75, on Jan. 12.

10 POINT POSSESSION
BGSU recorded a 10-point possession in only 37 seconds late in the second half in the win over Ohio on Jan. 12. The Falcons got a three-pointer from Ismail Ali (3), who was also fouled on the play. After the foul, a scuffle ensued with both teams which drew four technical fouls, three to Ohio and one to BGSU. With the technical fouls, BGSU got four free throws on top of Ali's foul shot from being fouled on the play. Ali hit his free throw from the foul (4) and then calmly knocked down 3-of-4 attempts from the Ohio technical fouls (7). BGSU then got the ball out of bounds, where Zack Denny abruptly drove down the lane, hit the layup (9) and was fouled on the play. He then drained the free throw (10) to cap of the possession. BGSU is 9-2 on the season when making more free throws than its opponent compared to just 3-4 overall when its foe makes more free throws than them for the game.

NON-CONFERENCE WINS
The Falcons finished their non-conference regular season slate with a 9-4 record this season. The nine non-conference wins, not including postseason play, are the most by a Falcons' team in a single season since posting 10 non-conference wins in 2006-07.

CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2015-16
The Falcons have three team captains for the 2015-16 season in junior JD Tisdale, junior Wes Alcegaire and redshirt-sophomore Garrett Mayleben.

A FALCON NOW LEADING THE FALCONS
It seems fitting that a former Falcon would lead the program during its Centennial Season, 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 where he was a standout player for the Falcons from 1989-93. 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 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.

WATCH ME: BGSU ON ESPN3, BCSN AND THE TWC SPORTS CHANNEL
Every Falcons' home game over the 2015-16 season will broadcast live on ESPN3. A number of road contests will also be video steamed live over the ESPN3 network, while the Falcons will also still appear locally on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) as well as the Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (TWCS). Of the remaining games left this season, BGSU will be on BCSN and TWCS on Mar. 1 at Kent State. A number of other BGSU games could be chosen for TV by either ESPN or the CBS Sports Network throughout the season as wildcard selections.

PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN THE MAC EAST IN 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.