Falcons Welcome Northern Illinois To Stroh Center Saturday

OPENING TIP
* Bowling Green and Northern Illinois will meet on the hardwood for the 61st time on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons lead the all-time series, 32-28, and have won seven of the last ten meetings.
* NIU won the only meeting of the 2015-16 season on Feb. 16, 2016 by a score of 71-60. The game was played at NIU's Convocation Center.
* For the second-straight season, BGSU and NIU will play just one game in the regular season.
* Earlier in the week (Jan. 10), Eastern Michigan defeated Bowling Green in the Falcons' MAC home opener, 81-53. The loss snapped BGSU's six-game winning streak at the Stroh Center.
* In the EMU game, senior Zack Denny moved into 10th place all-time on the program's three-point field goals list. Denny has made 124 triples across his career.
* Demajeo Wiggins is averaging 12.9 points and 7.9 rebounds over the last eight games. He is averaging a team-high 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three MAC games.

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON NORTHERN ILLINOIS
"Our effort and intensity was unacceptable against EMU. As coaches, we can deal with off days shooting the basketball and in-game mistakes, but effort and intensity are non-negotiables. NIU is next on our schedule. They are big, tough, strong and very talented. I expect us to come out with a fight and desire to win the basketball game. Day in and day out, our defense needs to lead to our offense. Every team in the MAC is capable of winning the conference, and we need to understand that there are no easy games when it comes to conference play. The tougher team will almost always win."

SCOUTING THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES
After losing by two points at Miami to open up conference play, NIU defeated Central Michigan at home, and earlier in the week, knocked off Kent State on the road to improve to 2-1 within the MAC. The Huskies are 10-6 overall. Northern Illinois scores a large percentage of its baskets inside the three-point line, as the Huskies are averaging fewer than five three-point field goals a game, while shooting a poor 29.0 percent from downtown. The Huskies like to drive the basketball into the paint, and their aggressive offensive style has led to them scoring 16.8 points per contest from the free throw line. Senior center Marin Maric leads the team in scoring (13.8) and rebounding (6.8). Senior guard Aaric Armstead, who leads the Huskies in steals (1.4), is the only other Huskie averaging double figures, as he's scoring 10.1 points per ballgame. Northern Illinois also has three other players – sophomore guard Laytwan Porter (9.1), sophomore forward Jaylen Key (8.9) and senior guard Dontel Highsmith (8.6) – scoring over 8.5 points per game. Sixth-year head coach Mark Montgomery, a product of the Tom Izzo coaching tree, owns a 70-103 record at NIU.

A BGSU WIN WOULD…
• Move the Falcons back to .500 in MAC play at 2-2
• Improve BGSU's overall record to 8-9
• Bump BGSU's home record up to 7-3 on the season
• Give BGSU its first win over NIU in the Michael Huger Era
• Mark BG's first win over NIU since Feb. 7, 2015
• Give Bowling Green its second-straight win over NIU at the Stroh Center
• Increase the Orange and Brown's advantage in the all-time series to 33-28

FALCONS DROP CONFERENCE HOME OPENER TO EASTERN MICHIGAN
Bowling Green dropped to 1-2 in the MAC on Tuesday (Jan. 10) night, as Eastern Michigan downed the Falcons in BG's conference home opener by a score of 81-53. Eastern Michigan shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55), which is the highest mark that BGSU has allowed all season. The Orange and Brown made a run late in the first half to trim EMU's lead to seven points, but the Eagles outscored the Falcons by a 45-24 margin over the final 20 minutes to pull away with the win. Bowling Green pulled down a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, but shot just 33.3 percent (17-of-51). Senior Zack Denny scored 14 points with six rebounds, while sophomore Demajeo Wiggins registered 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

DIAPER DANDIES MAKE IMPACT AGAINST EAGLES
Famous college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is known for creating the term, "Diaper Dandy," where refers to college basketball's top freshmen. In the Falcons home MAC opener against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 10, BGSU's diaper dandies made an impact in the defeat. Dylan Frye has increased his point total by three points in each MAC game so far. After scoring two points against Akron (Jan. 3) and five points against Ball State (Jan. 7), the Floridian poured in a conference career-high eight points, and also had a personal MAC-best three assists. Rodrick Caldwell scored seven points versus Eastern Michigan, and totaled a conference career-high five assists. The Dayton native also posted three rebounds, which tied his career best in MAC play.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE AT THE STROH CENTER
BGSU saw its six-game winning streak at the Stroh Center come to an end on Tuesday (Jan. 10) night, when the Falcons lost to Eastern Michigan in their conference home opener. Bowling Green went 51 days in between losses, and had last lost to Green Bay on Nov. 20 prior to the EMU defeat. Over the Orange and Brown's six-game winning streak, BGSU was winning its games by an average of 15.7 points. The Falcons scored an average of 81.3 points, while holding opponents to an average of 65.6 points. Opponents shot a combined 39.2 percent from the field, and an anemic 29.3 percent from three-point range across Bowling Green's six-game streak.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL AND TAKING THE BALL
When looking at where the Falcons rank nationally, Bowling Green ranks highly in a number of statistics related to taking care of the basketball. BGSU has a plus-1.9 turnover margin, which ranks 77th in the country. On a related note, the Falcons rank 102nd in the land in steals per game, as BGSU is averaging 7.0 steals per contest. Zack Denny leads the way in that category, and sits third in the MAC, averaging 2.0 steals per ballgame. Assist-to-turnover ratio is another related statistic that stands out, as senior Ismail Ali leads the MAC with a 2.3 ratio.

MORE SCORING IN HUGER'S SECOND SEASON
In Michael Huger's first season, BGSU finished the year scoring 70.6 points per game. Through 16 games this season, BGSU is up to 73.2 points. Even more encouraging is the fact that BGSU is shooting 42.4 percent after shooting at a 44.4 percent clip last year. With some more efficient shooting, BG's production could continue to rise. Furthermore, with about half the season to go, the Falcons have scored 80-plus points four times, after hitting the 80-point mark eight times in 2016-17.

BGSU EARNS FIRST MAC WIN & FIRST ROAD WIN OF 2016-17 SEASON IN MUNCIE
After starting the 2016-17 season with six-consecutive losses on the road, the Falcons held off Ball State for a 76-71 victory on Jan. 7 in Muncie, Indiana. Bowling Green earned its first road win, and first MAC win of the season in the process. With less than two minutes to go in the game, sophomore Antwon Lillard scored tough baskets inside. In both scenarios, Lillard's basket bumped BGSU's advantage from one point to three points. The Falcons contested a few late threes to perfection, and Ball State's game-tying triple with less than ten seconds left hardly drew iron. Senior Zack Denny hit two clutch free throws to secure the victory for the Orange and Brown.

ALL FIVE FALCON STARTERS SCORE IN DOUBLE DIGITS IN MAC OPENER
Bowling Green played a heck of a road game at Akron on Jan. 3. BGSU shot a season-high 54.1 percent from the field, and twice narrowed double-digit deficits to a single possession. Furthermore, all five of BGSU's starters – Demajeo Wiggins (21), Ismail Ali (16), Zack Denny (16), Antwon Lillard (16) and Wes Alcegaire (10) – scored in double figures, marking the first time that has happened since Dec. 15, 2013. For Wiggins, his point total established a new career high, while Ali's 16 points was a season high. But in the end, Akron escaped with an 89-84 victory. The Zips shot 56.6 percent from the floor and a ridiculous 45.5 percent from downtown on 22 three-point attempts.

IN A GOOD WAY, ALI WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE AT AKRON
Senior guard Ismail Ali had possibly the best game of his career on Jan. 3 in BGSU's MAC opener at Akron. In 25 minutes of play, the senior had a season-high 16 points, and added five assists, five steals and four rebounds. The five steals marked a new career high. Ali went 6-for-9 from the floor, and tied his season high for field goals made with six. The South Hayward, California native, who averaged 5.4 points in his first season as a Falcon in 2015-16, is now averaging 5.8 points per contest. Ali has scored in double figures four times this season, and in each game, he's also recorded at least five assists.

WINNING TEAMS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO BOWLING GREEN'S ROAD WOES
The Falcons are 1-6 on the road in 2016-17. Although five of those losses have been by single digits, and four of them have been by two possessions or fewer, the Falcons' opponents deserve a large amount of credit for BGSU's struggles away from home. Bowling Green has played seven really difficult road games. In fact, all seven of BGSU's opponents on the road – Oakland (14-3), South Dakota (12-8), Cincinnati (13-2), Evansville (10-8), San Jose State (8-7) Akron (13-3), and Ball State (10-6) – own winning records. The seven opponents, six of which have won 10-plus games already, have a combined record of 80-37. Furthermore, BGSU's next two road opponents – Toledo (9-7) and Central Michigan (10-6) – have winning records, as well. As of now, the Falcons are on track to play their first team with a losing record on Feb, 14, when the team travels to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan. If that holds up, it will have been 95 days into the 2016-17 season.

FINISHING THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE OUT STRONG
BGSU finished its non-conference schedule with a pair of home wins over Alabama A&M (Dec. 22) and Norfolk State (Dec. 30). The two victories allowed BGSU to finish the out-of-conference slate with a 6-7 record. In the Norfolk State win, BGSU shot 65.2 percent in the second half. In the victory over Alabama A&M, BGSU closed the first half on a 13-2 run to take an eight-point lead into the break. The two victories improved BGSU's non-conference record under second-year head coach Michael Huger to a solid 17-12.

NATE THURMOND BOBBLEHEAD DAY SET FOR JAN. 28
Bowling Green will honor Falcon legend Nate Thurmond on Jan. 28 by handing out Thurmond bobbleheads to the first 400 fans through the doors for the Falcons' game against MAC-East foe Ohio. Thurmond, who passed away in July, was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 after an All-American career at BGSU from 1959-63. A seven-time NBA All-Star, Thurmond scored 1,356 points across his career as a Falcon, while leading Bowling Green to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1962 and 1963.

DEMAJEO DOMINATING THROUGH FIRST THREE MAC GAMES
Sophomore Demajeo Wiggins was playing at a high level through Bowling Green's 13 non-conference games, but the Toledo native has taken his game to another level during conference play. Through the first three games of the conference slate, Wiggins is averaging 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and is shooting 57.1 percent (20-of-35) from the field. In the MAC opener at Akron (Jan. 3), the Toledo native went 10-for-17 from the field and scored a career-high 21 points. Wiggins then went 6-for-11 from the floor at Ball State (Jan. 7) to finish with 17 points, and in BGSU's home MAC opener versus Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10), he totaled 11 points and seven rebounds. Wiggins' 10 field goals at Akron was a career high, and at Ball State, he had 15 points and seven rebounds in the second half. He pulled down eight rebounds apiece in the first two conference games of the season. Additionally, the sophomore has scored in double figures in five-consecutive games, dating back to the Falcons' last two non-conference games. Wiggins is now averaging 10.7 points and 7.5 rebounds after averaging 4.6 and 4.4 last season as a freshman.

WIGGINS CONTINUES TO "BEAT THE RIM"
Heading into the offseason, free throw shooting, among other aspects, was a huge focus for sophomore forward Demajeo Wiggins. Michael Huger tried to get Wiggins to narrow his focus, and reminded the sophomore that the only obstacle in his way was the rim. Huger constantly told his player to "beat the rim." This season, Wiggins is experiencing one of the biggest turnarounds from the free throw line in college basketball history. After shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) in 2015-16, the Toledo native is, incredibly, up to 72.6 percent (61-of-84) in 2016-17. He's made eight-plus free throws in three games this year, including a pair of 9-for-10 contests. Wiggins, despite having shot just 26 more free throws than he did in 2015-16, has already made 39 more free throws this season. Wiggins has made a team-high 61 free throws, while making a team-high 84 trips to the charity stripe. When counting just players that have taken at least 10 free throws, Wiggins' 72.6 percent ranks second on the squad.

BREAKING DOWN THE SIX FINAL-MINUTE LOSSES
In the Falcons' MAC opener on Jan. 3 at Akron, Bowling Green lost a game that went down to the wire for the sixth time this season. The Falcons have now lost six games by single digits, three games by one possession, two games by two possessions, including two games on a shot with less than three seconds left. Prior to the Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10) game, Bowling Green had lost its last three games by a combined nine points.

DENNY JOINS BGSU'S THREE-POINT FRATERNITY
Senior guard Zack Denny went 2-for-3 in Bowling Green's last game versus Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10) to move into 10th place all-time on the program's three-point field goals list. He entered the game tied with Jordon Crawford (2009-13) at 122 career triples, but he hit his first attempt from downtown to break the tie and move into 10th place. The three-pointer that pushed Denny over the top gave BGSU a 12-11 lead with 13:18 to go in the first half. Denny now has 124 career three-pointers. The Germantown, Ohio native, who has made at least one three-pointer in 12 of BGSU's last 13 games, is shooting 37.1 percent from downtown for his career.

LILLARD PLAYING AT AN ELITE LEVEL
After a relatively quiet stretch of games, sophomore guard Antwon Lillard has been making a large impact over the last six contests. Over the current six-game stretch, Lillard is shooting 56.4 percent (22-of-39) and averaging 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per ballgame. After a 0-for-10 night at Cincinnati (Dec. 4), the Cleveland native has shot at least 50.0 percent in seven of the last eight games. And his three-point shooting has also risen dramatically since the Cincinnati game, as he's gone 7-of-13 over that period to increase his percentage up to 32.4 percent. Lillard started the MAC schedule with a pair of big games last week. He shot 5-for-7 from the field and scored 16 points at Akron (Jan. 3). In Bowling Green's most-recent win at Ball State (Jan. 7), Lillard carried the Falcons down the stretch and finished with a game-high 19 points, which tied his season high. He also chipped in with eight rebounds and three assists. For the season, Lillard is shooting a team-high 47.5 percent.

ALCEGAIRE AVERAGING 12.9 POINTS OVER LAST 10 GAMES
Senior forward Wes Alcegaire has scored 10-plus points in seven of the last 10 games, and is averaging 12.9 points over that stretch. Additionally, the senior is shooting 47.0 percent (47-of-100) from the floor across the 10-game span. Alcegaire is second on the team in scoring (12.3), and leads the 2016-17 Falcons in total field goals (73), and three-point field goals (25). His field goal percentage (47.0) ranks second on the team and he is averaging 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists, which are both career bests. He already has two more assists (23) than he did all of last season. The Miami, Florida native has been BG's most efficient scorer, as well. He's shot at least 50.0 percent in nine games this season, including four out of the last six games. Despite his scoring numbers being down over the last three games, Alcegaire still scored 10 points at Akron (Jan. 3) and eight points at Ball State (Jan. 3). He's scored in double figures 10 times in 2016-17.

ALI RANKED FIRST IN THE MAC IN ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO
Heading into Saturday afternoon's game versus Northern Illinois (Jan. 14), senior guard Ismail Ali ranks first in the Mid-American Conference with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ali has 74 assists compared to 32 turnovers. Last season, Ali finished with a 1.8 ratio after racking up 130 assists and committing 73 turnovers. Additionally, the senior sits fifth in the MAC in assists per game with 4.9. He's had 10 games with at least five assists, including seven games with at least six assists. Ali has had a pair of seven-assist games at San Jose State (Dec. 18) and versus Morgan State (Nov. 26), and dished out a season-high nine assists on Nov. 29 in a win over Notre Dame College.

ZACK "DOUBLE-FIGURE" DENNY
Although his streak of scoring 10-plus points ended at 10-consecutive games in Bowling Green's last non-conference game of the season against Norfolk State (Dec. 30), Denny has taken his offensive game up a notch in 2016-17. After averaging 10.6 points as a junior, 9.2 points as a sophomore and 3.3 points as a freshman, Denny currently leads the team in scoring, as he's averaging 12.6 points per game. Along with fellow senior Wes Alcegaire and sophomore Demajeo Wiggins, Denny is one of three Falcons averaging double digits this season. The senior is averaging 15 points and 5.3 rebounds in three MAC games. He posted 14 points and six rebounds last game versus Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10). He's had 46 double-digit nights across his career, and he's now 123 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. The Germantown, Ohio native has scored at least 10 points in 14 of Bowling Green's 16 contests this season.

FRYE AVERAGING 9.7 POINTS AND SHOOTING 49.1% OVER LAST SEVEN GAMES
Over the last seven ballgames, freshman guard Dylan Frye is averaging 9.7 points and shooting 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field. He's also shooting 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from downtown over that seven-game stretch. Prior to a nine-point night against Norfolk State (Dec. 30), Frye scored 10-plus points in three-consecutive games for the first time in his career. The young sharp shooter dropped a career-high 18 on Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10), and then scored 10 points at San Jose State (Dec. 18) and 16 points versus Alabama A&M (Dec. 22). Frye leads the Bowling Green bench in both scoring (7.3) and minutes (19.5). Frye is shooting 45.7 percent from the field, and 42.2 percent from three-point range. He's up to 70.6 percent at the line after making his last five attempts.

#DeepFrye
Freshman guard Dylan Frye is shooting the three-ball at a silly clip, especially over Bowling Green's last 12 games. Over that current 12-game stretch, Frye is 19-for-41 (46.3 percent) from deep. He has made at least one triple in nine of those 12 games, and is shooting 42.2 percent (19-for-45) from downtown for the season, which ranks 10th in the MAC. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native hit four triples against Alabama A&M on Dec. 22, which marked the second time in three games that he made four three-pointers, as he went an identical 4-for-7 from deep versus Detroit Mercy on Dec. 10. Frye connected on 3-of-4 triples in the Falcons' victory over Morgan State (Nov. 26) earlier in the season. The freshman has hit multiple three-balls in five games this season, and has shot at least 50.0 percent from three-point land in a total of seven contests. In the Falcons' first MAC win of the season at Ball State (Jan. 7), he nailed his first triple in MAC play with a nasty crossover, and step-back move in the second half.

FOX IS FILLING IT UP FROM DEEP
Junior guard Matt Fox, who was put on scholarship just hours before BGSU's win over Murray State (Nov. 21), continues to shoot the three-ball at a high clip. Fox has hit a three in nine of Bowling Green's last 12 games. Over that 12-game stretch, Fox is 14-for-26 (53.8 percent) from downtown. In Bowling Green's most-recent game against Eastern Michigan (Jan. 10), the Maumee, Ohio native hit at least two triples for the fifth time this season, as he went 2-for-4 and finished the game with six points. Fox has also had a 4-for-7 game from three-point land versus Morgan State (Nov. 26). Fox ranks fifth in the MAC in three-point percentage at 43.9 percent.

JUSTIN TURNER'S CAREER NIGHT AGAINST NORFOLK STATE
After missing the first 11 games of the season with a lower body injury, freshman guard Justin Turner returned to the floor against Alabama A&M on Dec. 22. He scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting in 12 minutes. In the Falcons' next game, Turner doubled his minutes and doubled his production, as he scored a career-high 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. He also recorded the first assist and steal of his career. Turner pulled down two rebounds in each of his first two games as a Falcon.

CALDWELL TIES HIS CAREER HIGH WITH 13 POINTS VERSUS NORFOLK STATE
Freshman guard Rodrick Caldwell found his scoring touch at the end of non-conference play. Caldwell has had three double-digit scoring nights, and all three of them came over BGSU's last five games of the non-conference slate. The freshman tied his career high against Norfolk State (Dec. 30) with 13 points. He was 4-for-7 from the field, had four assists, zero turnovers, three rebounds and one steal. Earlier in December, Caldwell had consecutive nights with 10-plus points, as he scored 10 at Evansville (Dec. 6) and 13 versus Detroit Mercy (Dec. 10). In 18.3 minutes this season, Caldwell is averaging 6.1 points, 2.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds.

THE BGSU SPLASH BROTHERS
Bowling Green has six players on the 2016-17 roster that have made 11-plus attempts from three-point range this season. As a team, BGSU is shooting 36.5 percent from downtown. This mark is virtually all due to the team's six sharp shooters. Bowling Green's Splash Brothers – Wes Alcegaire (25-of-70; 35.7 percent), Dylan Frye (19-of-45; 42.2 percent), Zack Denny (19-of-60; 31.7 percent), Matt Fox (18-of-41; 43.9 percent), Rodrick Caldwell (14-of-40; 35.0 percent), and Antwon Lillard (11-of-34; 32.2 percent) – have combined to make a total of 106 triples. Collectively, they are shooting 36.6 percent from deep (106-of-290).

FALCONS REGISTER WIN NO. 50 AT THE STROH CENTER
Bowling Green's 90-58 win over Morgan State (Nov. 26) marked the program's 50th victory at the Stroh Center. The Falcons now own an overall record of 54-34 at the Stroh Center, which opened for the 2011-12 season. The Orange and Brown have won 11-plus games in three seasons at the Stroh, as BGSU went 12-4 in the facility's inaugural season, prior to finishing 11-5 in 2012-13, and 11-6 in 2014-15. BGSU owns a .614 winning percentage at the Stroh Center.

YEAR TWO OF THE MICHAEL HUGER ERA
After guiding the Falcons to a 16-18 record last season, head coach Michael Huger has begun his second season at the helm of his alma mater. Huger has brought some needed stability to the program, as the 2016-17 season will mark the first time that the Falcons will have a head coach for back-to-back seasons since 2013-14. The former Falcon guard will look to build off an exciting run at last year's MAC Tournament. The Orange and Brown defeated both Kent State and Central Michigan, two team's that beat BGSU twice during the regular season, to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

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