Falcons Look to Remain Unbeaten on the Road in MAC Play on Saturday at CMU

Saturday, January 30

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

4:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Central Michigan

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

Falcons Look to Remain Unbeaten on the Road in MAC Play on Saturday at CMU

January 29, 2016 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

Bowling Green (13-7, 4-3 MAC) vs. Central Michigan (11-9, 4-3 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 * 4:30 p.m.
Mount Pleasant, Mich. * McGuirk Arena

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STARTING FIVE
(1) TAKE TWO: Saturday afternoon's contest in Mount Pleasant, Mich. will be the second time this season, in fact this month, that the BGSU Falcons and the CMU Chippewas will face off in cross-divisional #MACtion. The Falcons will look to even the series with a win, as the Chips defeated BGSU 79-67 on Jan. 9 inside the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio.

(2) ROAD WARRIORS VERSUS HOME DEFENDERS: The Falcons enter Saturday's MAC contest on the road at Central Michigan at 3-0 in MAC road games this season and 6-2 in true road games on the year. CMU is 9-1 at home overall in McGuirk Arena and 2-1 in MAC play.

(3) AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: BGSU is just one of two Mid-American Conference teams remaining that is still undefeated on the road in league play this season. The Falcons are 3-0 on the road in MAC play with wins on the road at Ohio, at Eastern Michigan and at Western Michigan. The only other team that is still unbeaten on the road in MAC play is Kent State, who leads the MAC regular season standings at 6-1 in league play.

(4) FINAL GAME IN MICHIGAN: BGSU's game at Central Michigan on Saturday in Mount Pleasant will be the Falcons' final regular season game in the state of Michigan this year. The Falcons are 2-1 this year when playing on Michigan soil with wins at EMU and WMU.

(5) COACHES VS. CANCER: Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week is a nationwide event when basketball coaches across the county unite for a common cause saving lives from cancer! Coaches and their staff wear sneakers with their suits while coaching games to raise awareness, share the importance of nutrition and physical activity, and to promote the American Cancer Society as a place for people facing cancer to turn to for free information, help, and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. BGSU's coaches and support staff will be wearing sneakers on the sidelines for the game on Saturday afternoon at CMU. To make a donation click here.

(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 CHIPPEWAS OF CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan enters Saturday's contest at 11-9 overall and 4-3 in MAC play. The Chippewas are on a two-game winning streak having posted back-to-back wins over Ohio (Jan. 23) and Miami (Jan. 26). At 9-1 at home in McGuirk Arena this season, the Chips are fifth in the league in scoring at 76.6 points per game and are fourth in the MAC in both free throw percentage (71.4 percent) and field goal percentage (44.8 percent). CMU, who drained 10 three-pointers in the first meeting of the season between the two teams, are second in the MAC with an average of 9.8 made three-pointers per game. The Chips have a trio of players averaging double digit points in Braylon Rayson with 16.7 points per game, which ranks in the top-five in the MAC, Chris Fowler at 15.3 points per game and Rayshawn Simmons at 13.7 points per outing. John Simons is fourth on the team at 9.6 points per game, but leads the Chips and ranks in the top-10 in the MAC in rebounding at 6.8 boards per contest, while Luke Meyer, who averages 8.6 points per game, is second in the MAC with field goal percentage of 59.1 percent on the year. In the contest between the Falcons and CMU on Jan. 9, the five starters of Rayson, Simmons, Fowler, Simons and Meyer combined to score 76 of the Chips 79 points in the game.

ALL-TIME SERIES BETWEEN BGSU AND CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Bowling Green holds a slight 39-34 overall record all-time versus Central Michigan on the hardwood. However, Central Michigan has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, including a 79-67 win at BGSU earlier this year on Jan. 9. BGSU, who is 16-19 in true road contests versus the Chips, posted a 76-74 overtime win at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich. last season.

SINCE THE LAST MEETING THREE WEEKS AGO
Since the two teams' first meeting of the year back on Jan. 9, a 79-67 win by the Chippewas in Bowling Green, Ohio, BGSU has gone 3-2 overall with road wins at Ohio (Jan. 12), at Eastern Michigan (Jan. 16) and at Western Michigan (Jan. 26). Since their win over the Falcons on Jan. 9, the Chips have also gone 3-2 overall with home wins over Akron (Jan. 12) and Ohio (Jan. 23), as well as a road win at Miami (Jan. 26).

STRANGE SIMILARITY
The Falcons fly into McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich. on Saturday afternoon with a 13-7 overall record. Last year, BGSU went into the home of the Chips at 13-6 overall on the season before defeating CMU 76-74 in overtime to pick up its 14th win of the season.

COACH'S CORNER
"I was very proud of our guys for stepping up to a tough road challenge at Western Michigan. It is not easy to win on the road in the MAC, but our guys have shown some resiliency when their backs are against the wall. We will look to keep the road streak alive at Central Michigan this weekend. They are an extremely talented team with weapons at all five positions. Our defensive focus has to be much improved if we are to come away with a different result than our first meeting with CMU. We are at the point of the season where guys are sore and banged up, but our goal of improving each day has not changed. Over these next 11 games, we want to put ourselves in position to compete for a MAC Championship."

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
BGSU will return home for a quick MAC cross-divisional match up with Ball State on Tuesday night, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. inside the Stroh Center.

A FALCON WIN WOULD ...
* Put the Falcons at 14-7 overall on the season.
* Mean that BGSU started the MAC season off at 5-3 overall.
* Give Bowling Green an overall record of 7-2 on the road this season.
* Keep the Falcons unbeaten on the road in conference play at 4-0.
* Push the Falcons' record to 6-3 for the month of January.
* Avenge a 79-67 home loss to the Chippewas earlier this month on Jan. 9, 2015.
* Give BGSU a two-game winning streak over CMU in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

LAST TIME OUT - BGSU 79, WESTERN MICHIGAN 78 (JAN. 26)
Sophomore guard Matt Fox drained a three-pointer from the left wing in front of the BGSU bench with 53 seconds left to give the Falcons the lead, as the visitors in orange then got two free throws from senior Spencer Parker with 3.2 seconds left on the game clock to seal the 79-78 come from behind road win over the Western Michigan Broncos on Tuesday night in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Falcons improved to 13-7 overall and 4-3 in league play with the win. BGSU also improved to 3-0 on the road in MAC play on the season with wins at Ohio, at Eastern Michigan and tonight at WMU. Bowling Green out-rebounded the Broncos 40-33 for the game and outscored the home team 40-22 in points in the paint, 15-13 in points off turnovers, 11-0 in fast break points and 13-4 in second chance points. The BGSU bench was huge in the win, as the Falcon subs outscored the Broncos' bench 32-20 for the game. JD Tisdale had a career-high 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench, while Antwon Lillard finished with seven points. Fox chipped in with six points, while Ismail Ali and Demajeo Wiggins each added four points apiece off the bench. Ali also had a team-high five assists.

ANSWERING THE CALL
BGSU's Matt Fox was ready when his name was called on Tuesday night, 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.

PARKER APPROACHING 1,000
Senior Spencer Parker is quietly approaching the 1,000 career points mark in his final year at BGSU. He enters Saturday's contest with 963 career points, 37 points away from the career milestone. Parker, who is averaging 14.0 points per game this season, would need to average 3.4 points per game over the remaining 11 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.

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 3-6 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 1-7 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 20 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 perfect 12-0 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 13 of their 20 games this season. BGSU has attempted 20 or more free throws in 16 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 six of the seven 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 185 bench points, an average of 26.4 points per game. Their opponents have combined to score at total of 89 bench points, an average of 12.7 per 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 11 different games for the Falcons this season. Seven different Falcons are averaging 20 minutes or more of playing time on the year.

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.

STROLL DOWN THE MAC MEMORY LANE
Last season in 2014-15, BGSU went 11-7 in MAC play and finished in third-place overall in the East Division. Since winning the MAC East in 2008-09 with an 11-5 conference record, the Falcons have been over .500 in MAC play just twice, going 11-7 last season and then posting an 9-7 overall record in league play in 2011-12. Since 2009-10, including this year, Bowling Green has gone 51-56 in MAC play overall.

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.

GRABBING 50
For the first time in eight years, the Falcons as a team reached the 50 mark in rebounds in a single game. BGSU pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds in the win over Oakland City (Ind.) on Jan. 2, 2016. The last time a Falcons' squad totaled 50 rebounds or more was back in the 2008-09 season, when BGSU hauled in 50 boards versus Detroit on Dec. 14, 2008.

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.

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.

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.