Falcons Set For Black Friday Bash With Weber State At Arizona Tip-Off

Friday, November 29

Tempe, Ariz.

1 p.m. EST

Bowling Green State University

Weber State

Photo by: Owen Fink, BGSU Athletics

Falcons Set For Black Friday Bash With Weber State At Arizona Tip-Off

November 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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Winner Will Face Winner Of Pepperdine-New Mexico State Saturday

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team will head west to the Arizona Tip-Off, scheduled for two games this weekend. The Falcons begin with Weber State on Friday (Nov. 29), set for a 1 p.m. EST tip. The two winners and losers from Friday's games, pairing with Pepperdine-New Mexico State, will go head-to-head on Saturday (Nov. 30) with a 2 p.m. EST start in the third-place game and a scheduled 4:30 p.m. EST beginning for the championship game. All games will be available to stream through Pass The Ball Live while Learfield's Varsity Network will have the call both days for BGSU.

Opening Tip
The Falcons and Wildcats will be meeting for the first time in program history, making Weber State the 323rd unique opponent in BGSU's program history. Weber State is the third new addition this season, joining Southern Miss and Taylor University. While Weber State is a new opponent for the Falcons, head coach Todd Simon has faced the Wildcats 12 times previously in his head coaching career. The winner of BGSU-Weber State will advance to face the winner of Pepperdine-New Mexico State in the Desert Division Championship of the Arizona Tip-Off. Both the championship and third-place game will be on Saturday, Nov. 30.

A Bowling Green Win Would…

Mark Coach Simon's 150th career win as a head coach, making him the eighth youngest active head coach with 150 wins.
Grant BGSU a spot in the Arizona Tip Off Desert Division Championship on Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. EST against the winner of Pepperdine vs. New Mexico State.
Go down as the first over Weber State in program history, giving the Falcons wins against 266 different opponents in program history.

Simon Nearing Career Milestone
Bowling Green head coach Todd Simon is currently drawing closer to a career milestone. Simon is sitting with 149 career wins as a head coach, needing one more to reach 150 at the collegiate ranks. For Simon, he would become the eighth-youngest active head coach with 150 wins. He's also one of 15 coaches currently with four-consecutive 20-win seasons, capturing 20 last year with BGSU after three-straight at Southern Utah. Going back to the start of 2020-21, Simon has tallied 87 wins with a winning percentage over .650.

Scouting The Wildcats
Like the Falcons, Weber State will go into the game with a 2-4 record on the season. The Wildcat wins have come against Northwest Indian College and Justice College while they've come up short to Oregon State, Nevada, Hawaii and UC Irvine. Weber State is led by senior guard Blaise Threatt. Threatt leads the Wildcats in points per game (17.7), assists per game (4.7) and steals per game (2.5) while shooting a team-best 55.7-percent from the field. He's scored at least 13 points in every game so far this season.

BGSU vs. Weber State, All-Time
This will be the first meeting between Bowling Green and Weber State in program history. The Wildcats will be the 323rd unique opponent during the history of BGSU men's basketball, joining Southern Miss and Taylor as new additions this season. While Weber State will be new for Bowling Green, Coach Simon has faced them 12 times previously across his time at Southern Utah. Simon's teams posted a 4-8 record against the Wildcats, but Simon and SUU won the last meeting, 80-70, on March 5, 2022 at Weber State.

Efficiency For The Falcons
Entering the Arizona Tip-Off, the Falcons are shooting 77.3-percent from the free throw line and 39.0-percent behind the three-point arc. The marks have BGSU ranked 34th in the nation and first in the MAC from three while being second in the MAC and 42nd in the nation at the line. There are only five teams in the nation to rank inside the top 35 from three and the top 45 at the line with Bowling Green being one. BGSU is joined on the list by Butler, Texas Tech, UC Irvine and Xavier. The Falcons also have two players inside the Top 50 in the nation at the line. Marcus Johnson is a perfect 14-of-14 at the stripe this year while Youssef Khayat is shooting 93.8-percent at the line.

Falcons Heating Up From Three
So far this season, Bowling Green has had a player hit five three-pointers in four of the first six games, coming from three different players. Trey Thomas was the first to do it, hitting five in the season opener at Southern Miss. Marcus Johnson followed suit, hitting five in back-to-back games, coming in the first two home games of the season against Davidson and Taylor. The most recent outing was by Derrick Butler, hitting five on the road against Bellarmine. As a team, Bowling Green is averaging 10 threes a game, hitting double-digit three pointers in four of the first six games, including a season-high 16 against Taylor.

Campbell's Success With Steals
Javontae Campbell tallied 78 steals last season for Northern Oklahoma. This year, he's already registered 16 for the Falcons in the first six games. Campbell is averaging 2.67 steals per game, ranked second in the MAC and tied for 27th in the nation. As for his total of 16 steals, he's tied for 15th in the nation. With 31 games on the regular season schedule, Campbell is on pace for 82 steals this year, which tie Bowling Green's single-season steals record.

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