BGSU Men's Hoops Game 1 of a Play 4Kay Doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 13

Saturday, February 13

Bowling Green, Ohio

2:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

Tickets

BGSU Men's Hoops Game 1 of a Play 4Kay Doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 13

February 12, 2016 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, BGSU Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

STARTING FIVE
(1) ONE GAME AT A TIME: First-year Falcons' head coach Michael Huger has preached to his team all season long to take it one game at a time. The Falcons, who have stumbled to an 0-3 record thus far in February, will look to heed Coach Huger's advice on Saturday afternoon versus Western Michigan and look for its first home win since Jan. 6 versus Miami (Ohio).

(2) SEARCHING FOR NUMBER SEVEN: Since the Falcons opened up the Stroh Center in 2011-12, BGSU has won seven or more games at home in the Stroh in the building's five year history. This season the Falcons have tallied six wins in the Stroh and are just one away from that seventh home win, giving BGSU five straight years with seven or more home victories at the Stroh Center and making it 10 straight years overall with seven or more home wins.

(3) SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE: The Falcons enter Saturday afternoon's contest on a season-high four game losing streak with their last win coming on the road at Western Michigan on Jan. 26. WMU is also on a season-high losing streak, as the Broncos have dropped three straight games with their last win coming at home over Eastern Michigan on Jan. 30.

(4) CORRALLING THE BRONCOS: With BGSU's 79-78 win over WMU back on Jan. 26 in Kalamazoo, Mich., the Falcons have won five straight games over the Broncos with the last loss to WMU coming back at the 2011 MAC Championship Tournament. BGSU is also a stellar 41-15 overall at home versus the Broncos in Bowling Green, Ohio.

(5) IN THE LAND OF THE BIGS: BGSU guard Zack Denny leads the team and is ranked seventh in the MAC in rebounding with an average of 7.4 rebounds per contest on the season. Denny, at just 6-feet, 2 inches tall, is the shortest player in the top-10 in rebounding with the next smallest guy measuring in a 6 feet, 6 inches. In fact, the average height of the other top-nine rebounders in the MAC sits at 6 feet, 8 inches tall.

(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.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
You can follow the Falcons in many different ways this 2015-16 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.

ASSIST WITH THE FALCONS
Fans are encouraged to assist Flint, Mich., as that community's water crisis continues. BGSU Athletics will be collecting unopened cases of water at the north and south lobbies of the Stroh Center during both the men's an women's basketball games. For each case of water donated, fans will receive a voucher good for $5 off a general admission ticket for any remaining regular-season basketball game (excluding women's basketball's game vs. Toledo). JD Tisdale Instagram Video

PLAY 4KAY
Saturday's game is the Falcons' annual Play 4Kay game. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game in support of breast cancer awareness. Additionally, all fans in attendance will receive a free pink bandanna courtesy of Kroger. Fans will be able to make a donation to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund on behalf of BGSU Men's Basketball at the game by visiting the Marketing Kiosk at the Stroh.

The Play 4Kay initiative (formerly known as WBCA Pink Zone) is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise awareness and funds for women's cancer research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has helped the Kay Yow Cancer Fund support $5.18 million in women's cancer research and related projects.

Coach Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. More information on Coach Yow and the Play 4Kay initiative can be found on the web at KayYow.com and Play4Kay.org.

HELP US BIKE FOR A CURE
BGSU Athletics is asking fans to help us Bike for A Cure on Feb. 13 during the men's and women's basketball doubleheader! In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and the annual Play 4Kay Pink Game, we are asking Falcons to help us raise awareness and fundraise in this fight! During both games, in partnership with BGSU's Department of Recreation and Wellness, two stationary bikes will be located on the concourse of the Stroh Center. The goal is have riders on each bike at all times during the games. BGSU students and organizations can reserve a bike for an hour during the games to ensure that the pedals never stop moving! Fans can also sign up for any available time to take their turn at helping to raise awareness. While raising awareness is impactful, donations to the Kay Yow Foundation are also important. Fans can donate based on the combined mileage of the bikes, the total time the bikes are in motion, or a set amount. Anyone interested in helping to Bike For A Cure and who can commit to one hour should contact Director of Marketing David Theby at thebyd@bgsu.edu. For more information click here.

MASCOT REVEAL
The University's annual mascot reveal will take place at halftime of the men's basketball game versus Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon, as Freddie and Frieda Falcon will be unmasked.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan enters Saturday afternoon's contest BGSU looking for its first true road win of the season, as the Broncos are 0-8 overall on the road and 0-4 in MAC road games this season. The Broncos, who are 9-15 overall and 3-8 in MAC play on the year, are on a three-game losing streak and have dropped four of their last five games dating back to a 79-78 loss at home to the Falcons on Jan. 26 in Kalamazoo, Mich. WMU has been led all season long by the duo of Thomas Wilder and Tucker Haymond. Wilder leads the Broncos and is second in the MAC in scoring at 18.4 points per game on the season, while Tucker is sixth in the MAC at 16.2 points per contest on the year. Kellen McCormick, who has come off the bench for the Broncos in all 24 games thus far this season, is averaging 7.1 points per game and leads the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at 50.6 percent on the year. Wilder, who also leads the team in assists at 3.0 per game and in steals at 1.4 per contest, is seventh in the MAC in shooting from long range at 41.8 percent. In the two teams' first meeting of the season back on Jan. 26, Haymond led the Broncos with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting overall, while Wilder, who struggled from behind the three-point line at just 1-of-5, finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals.

ALL-TIME SERIES BETWEEN BGSU AND WMU ON THE HARDWOOD
BGSU leads the overall series over the Western Michigan Broncos 70-46, as the two teams first met back in 1946. BGSU has won each of the last five meetings over the Broncos, a streak that dates back to 2012, including each of its last two home contests versus the Broncos in the Stroh Center (2013 & 2015). In fact, the Falcons are a stellar 41-15 at home versus WMU all-time in Bowling Green, Ohio.

SINCE THE LAST TIME THESE TWO TEAMS MET
Since the last time these two teams met back on Jan. 26 in Kalamazoo, Mich., which was a 79-78 win by the Falcons, both teams have stumbled over their last four games. BGSU is 0-4 since edging Western Michigan with losses at Central Michigan, versus Ball State, at Miami (Ohio) and against Akron. The Broncos have gone just 1-3 since hosting the Falcons with the lone win coming at home over Eastern Michigan. WMU's losses have come on the road at both Toledo and at Ball State, as well as in a home loss to Miami (Ohio).

NO LOVE IN FEBRUARY
Neither the Falcons or the Broncos have been shown any love thus far for the month of February, as the two teams are a combined 0-6 overall during the second month of the year. Both BGSU and WMU will be looking for its first win for the month of February on Saturday afternoon inside the Stroh Center.

COACH'S CORNER
"As a coach your focus is on coaching one of two things, effort or skill. If your team consistently puts forth a consistent effort, then you can spend your time teaching the game. If they don't, then you are spending most of your time trying to get your players to simply play hard. Over the past seven games my staff and I have spent more time trying to improve and maximize our team's effort. Over this stretch of losses, we have not been playing with the same level of energy that we had in the non-conference season. With that said, I was pleased with our effort against Akron last week. Obviously, the result was not what we wanted, and there were plenty of areas we need to improve in, but our energy was consistent. That is the kind of effort we need to play with each and every game in order for us to be successful. Our next opportunity to get back on track is Saturday against Western Michigan. Our first meeting in Kalamazoo came down to the final seconds and some clutch shooting by Matt Fox. Western is a talented and dynamic team who will be looking to revenge the home loss we dealt them in January. It will be another challenging MAC game. As we go through the season, it is easy to lose sight of the larger issues happening in the world. Tabbing this as our cancer awareness game, is a great opportunity to take a moment, count our blessings and honor all the cancer survivors and people whose lives have been affected by cancer. There are no bigger and stronger fighters in this world than those who have beat or are battling cancer. Our players will wear pink socks and our staff will wear pink ties in honor of cancer awareness."

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
BGSU will hit the road for a two-game road swing at Northern Illinois on Feb.16 at 8 p.m. ET and at Buffalo on Feb. 20 at 12 p.m. ET.

A FALCON WIN WOULD ...
* Put the Falcons at 14-11 overall on the season.
* Extend the Falcons streak to 10 straight seasons with seven or more home wins on the year.
* Give BGSU a regular season series sweep of Western Michigan.
* Hand the Falcons their first win for the month of February.
* Snap a season-high four-game losing streak.
* End a five-game home losing streak at the Stroh Center.
* Extend BGSU's winning streak to six straight games over the Broncos.

LAST TIME OUT - AKRON 83, BGSU 68 (FEB. 9)
Senior forward Spencer Parker scored his 1,000th career point less than five minutes into the contest and led the Falcons with a game-high 23 points, yet it wasn't enough to overcome 16 three-pointers from the Akron Zips who defeated the Falcons 83-68 in MAC East Division play on Tuesday night in the Stroh Center. The Zips hit a Stroh Center record 16 three-pointers on Tuesday night in the win, surpassing the BGSU mark of 14 made three-pointers versus Morehead State on Feb. 18, 2012. The 16 treys are also the most by a BGSU men's basketball opponent inside the Stroh Center eclipsing the previous record of 13 set by Kent State on Mar. 3, 2015. The loss drops the Falcons to 13-11 overall and 4-7 in MAC play, while the win propels Akron out to a 20-4 record and keeps the Zips atop of the MAC standings at 9-2 in league play. BGSU outscored the Zips 34-22 in points in the paint, 10-0 in fast break points and edged Akron 10-9 in points off turnovers. However, Akron outscored the Falcons 48-15 in points off of three-point field goals, as BGSU was 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from long range compared to the Zips 16-of-32 (50 percent) shooting from behind the three-point line, and almost doubled the Falcons in bench points at 27-14 for the game.

MAC WILDCARD SELECTION FOR THE FALCONS
Bowling Green's road contest at Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 20, was selected as the MAC Wildcard and will be televised by BCSN and Time Warner Cable Sports. ESPN3 will also cover the game. The start time was moved to 12 p.m. (noon) in Buffalo, N.Y.

BGSU & AKRON REMATCH PICKED UP BY THE CBS SPORTS NETWORK
The MAC office announced on Feb. 11 that the CBS Sports Network (CBSSN) has selected the BGSU versus Akron men's basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 27, in Arkon, Ohio as its MAC Wildcard selection. With the wildcard selection, the televised contest will move up to Friday night, Feb. 26, and will begin with a 7 p.m. ET tip-off on CBSSN. Fans can watch the game live on the CBS Sports Network, as well as on ESPN3.

1000 AND COUNTING FOR PARKER
In the Falcons contest on Feb. 9 versus Akron, senior forward Spencer Parker recorded his 1,000th career point on a three-pointer at the 15:56 mark of the first half. He became the 43rd player in BGSU men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career points mark. Parker finished the game with 23 points and enters Saturday's contest with 1,017 points overall, which ranks 42nd overall.

SHOOTING FOR 100
Junior shooting guard Zack Denny is closing in on 100 made three-point field goals for his career, as he has drained a total of 99 career treys over his three years at BGSU. After making just three three-pointers in just three games due to injury as a freshman in 2013-14, Denny knocked down a team-high 50 three-balls last season. He has made a team-high 46 three-pointers for the Falcons thus far this season.

DISH FROM ISH
Junior point guard Ismail Ali leads the team with a total of 91 assists thus far this season. The first-year Falcon is only nine assists shy from the 100 mark on the year. The Falcons have had at least one player record 100 assists or more in each of the last seven seasons, a streak that dates back to the 2008-09 campaign.

DOUBLE DIGIT SWIPES
The Falcons tied a season-high in steals as a team on Feb. 9 at home versus Akron, as BGSU picked up 10 steals in the contest. The Falcons also recorded 10 steals in the home win over UMBC on Dec. 2, 2015.

LINE OF DEFENSE = UTMOST IMPORTANCE
The defense has been vital to the Falcons success this season, as BGSU is just 1-10 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 12-1 when shooting better from the floor than its foe and is a solid 8-2 overall when holding its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the game. The Falcons are 8-2 when limiting their opponents to 69 points or less for the contest, but are 0-5 when allowing their opponents to score 80 points or more for the game.

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 12-1 on the season when shooting better than their opponents from the field as a team overall with the lone loss coming at Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 6.

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 12-2 when grabbing the same number or more rebounds than their foes in a game this season. The Falcons are just 1-9 on the year when losing the battle of the boards with the lone win coming versus Miami (Ohio) at home on Jan. 6, 2016.

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 opponents in 16 of their 24 games this season. BGSU has attempted 20 or more free throws in 18 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 seven 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 eight of the 11 conference contests with the Falcons matching the Eastern Michigan Eagles in one of those other two contests. In league play, BGSU has totaled 258 bench points, an average of 23.5 points per game. Their opponents have combined to score at total of 161 bench points, an average of 14.6 per contest.

HOME SWEET STROH
BGSU has called the Stroh Center home since the 2011-12 season and has posted an overall record of 47-29 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 6-6 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.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
The duo of Zack Denny and Spencer Parker have each tallied multiple double-doubles this season and have combined for nine double-doubles on the year overall. Denny recorded his six 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 picked up 12 points and 10 rebounds in the road win at Ohio on Jan. 12 and then registered 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the home contest versus Ball State on Feb. 2. 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 13 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 13.9 points per game and is second in rebounding with 5.5 rebounds per game, both of which are career highs. He has scored in double figures in 18 games and has already posted six 20-plus point games with 22 points at FGCU, 20 points versus UMBC, a career-high 33 points at Detroit, 22 points at Ohio, 21 points on the road at EMU and most recently 23 points at home against Akron.

DENNY DIALING IN FROM LONG DISTANCE
This season, Zack Denny is shooting a career-high 40.7 percent from behind the three-point line and leads the team with 46 made treys on the season. The junior guard is shooting 40.4 percent overall from long distance for his career, as he is 99-of-245 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 20 of 24 games this season for the Falcons and has made multiple treys in 12 different games on the year.

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.

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 Feb. 20 at Buffalo and on Mar. 1 at Kent State. The Falcons will also be on the CBS Sports Network on Feb. 26 at Akron. 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.