Falcons Open Bill Frack Tournament Saturday At The Stroh Center

THE OPENING TIP
* After hosting a single-game Bill Frack Challenge over the past two seasons, BGSU men's basketball will open the first-ever Bill Frack Tournament on Friday against UMKC.

* Bowling Green is 5-0 in home openers at the Stroh Center. The Falcons have won 24-consecutive home openers, and last lost a home opener during the 1991-92 season, which was the third year of the Jim Larranaga Era.
* The Falcons will be looking to avoid the program's first 0-3 start since the 1991-92 season. BGSU started that year 0-5, before finishing the last 24 games with a 14-10 record.
* In last year's home opener, which was the first game of the Michael Huger Era, Bowling Green defeated New Orleans, 79-61.
* Michael Huger is in his second year at the helm of his alma mater. In his first year as head coach, Huger led the Falcons to a 16-18 record. The season concluded with the program's first trip to the MAC Tournament semifinals since 2009

HUGER'S THOUGHTS ON THE BILL FRACK TOURNAMENT
"After losing two close games to start the season at Oakland and South Dakota, our guys are hungry to get back on the court and earn a few victories this weekend. With eight of our 13 guys being underclassmen, my staff and I are constantly teaching and trying to help our guys overcome the learning curve. We came back to BG, broke down the film, made some adjustments and now we are ready to put them into action this weekend. I am excited to host the Bill Frack Tournament. Bill's generous gifts have given us the flexibility to do a variety of unique things, as we continue to build our program. One thing he wanted was a tournament hosted at Bowling Green in honor of his name, and it is an honor to be able to fulfill his wishes. It will be a challenging field of mid-major competition, as we host a team in Green Bay that won the Horizon League Tournament and went to the NCAA Tournament last season, the pre-season favorite to win the OVC in Murray State, and a tough UMKC squad that is very much improved and loaded with talent. Playing three games in three days is always tough on our players bodies, but our depth will certainly help us manage minutes throughout the weekend. My players, staff and I are looking forward to getting back in front of our home crowd at the Stroh Center!"

SCOUTING THE UMKC KANGAROOS
UMKC will enter Friday's game with a 1-1 record. They recently defeated Drake on Nov. 15 by a score of 68-62. In their season opener, the Kangaroos fought No. 22 Creighton hard, before eventually falling by seven points, 89-82. UMKC returns three starters – LaVell Boyd, Martez Harrison and Dashawn King – from last season's 12-19 squad. The three returning starters were also the Kangaroos' top three scorers in 2015-16. Through two games this season, Harrison and Boyd are leading the way yet again by averaging 19.5 and 13.0 points per game, respectively. UMKC has eight newcomers, including five freshmen, a junior college transfer, and a pair of Division I transfers. Fourth-year head coach Kareem Richardson owns an overall record of 36-58 at UMKC.

THE HOME OPENER AT THE STROH
Friday's game against UMKC will begin the sixth season of Falcon basketball at the Stroh Center. All-time, Bowling Green is 48-31 at the state-of-the-art facility, and the Falcons have never lost a home opener in the Stroh Center Era. BGSU is 5-0 at the Stroh Center in home openers. The Falcons have won 24-consecutive home openers, and last lost a home opener during the 1991-92 season, which was the third year of Jim Larranaga's tenure.

SCOUTING THE GREEN BAY PHOENIX
Green Bay won a dramatic four games in four days at the 2016 Horizon League Tournament to capture the league title, before claiming a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and falling to Texas A&M. Green Bay was picked to finish third in the Horizon League this season, and returning starter Charles Cooper, who averaged 13.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 2015-16, was named to the pre-season all-league team. Cooper ranked second on the team last season in scoring, and is the only one of Green Bay's top three scorers to return for 2016-17. Freshman Trevor Anderson has provided a spark, and is leading the team in scoring (12.5) and assists (4.5) through the Phoenix's first two games. Green Bay opened the season with a victory over Northland College, but recently lost to Pacific on Nov. 15, 76-58.

THE GAME IS DECIDED AT THE LINE
A strong case can be made that Bowling Green is 0-2 because of the disparity in free throw shooting through the first two games of the season. In the season opener at Oakland (Nov. 11), BGSU shot nine less free throws, and Oakland scored 12 more points from the line. The Falcons lost the game by eight points. In a six-point loss at South Dakota (Nov. 13), Bowling Green was outscored at the line by 10 points. Green Bay makes a living at the line, and is averaging 19.5 points from the line per game. Bowling Green, on the other hand, is averaging 11.5 points per game from the charity stripe.

SCOUTING THE MURRAY STATE RACERS
After a season-opening victory over Illinois State, the Racers lost by six points at Middle Tennessee. The narrow defeat was possibly an encouraging sign, as Middle Tennessee is coming off a remarkable run at last year's NCAA Tournament. It was a run that included a victory over No. 2 Michigan State. Murray State is one of the best mid-major programs in the country, as they've experienced 29-straight winning seasons dating back to 1988. Just two seasons ago, the Racers went undefeated in conference play before losing at the buzzer in the OCV Tournament Championship Game. The Racers return three starters, and have an extremely balanced roster this year. Four players are averaging at least 15.5 points per game, including returning starters Damarcus Croaker (17.5) and Bryce Jones (15.5). Tulane transfer Jonathan Stark is leading the way in scoring. The junior has averaged a robust 21.0 points per game, and is also averaging six rebounds and six assists.

A BATTLE OF BALANCED BALL CLUBS
Both Murray State and Bowling Green have four players averaging double-digits. However, Murray State's four scorers are all averaging at least 15.5 points per game, while BGSU's leading scorer, Wes Alcegaire, is averaging 15.5 exactly. Ismail Ali, Zack Denny and Rasheed Worrell are averaging 11.0 points per game apiece for the Falcons. If Bowling Green or Murray State are able to make the other a tad more one-dimensional, it may end up being the difference in the contest.

THE FIRST-ANNUAL BILL FRACK TOURNAMENT
In 2014, the BGSU men's basketball program decided to honor Bill Frack – one of the program's biggest fans and supporters, who donated over $20 million to the program before he passed away on May 28, 2014 – by dedicating one game per season to William D. Frack. The game later became known as the Bill Frack Challenge. Over the past two years, the Falcons have hosted Cleveland State (Dec. 13, 2014) and Cincinnati (Nov. 18, 2015) for the annual game. However, this season, BGSU is making the event even larger with the inception of the Bill Frack Tournament. This weekend's four-team event will take place from Nov. 19-21, and will feature games against UMKC (Nov. 19), Green Bay (Nov. 20) and Murray State (Nov. 21). For more information on Bill Frack and his impact on the BGSU men's basketball program, visit page 10.

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.

TWO TOUGH LOSSES TO OPEN 2016 SEASON
Although Bowling Green dropped both games last weekend to open the season, the Falcons made late runs that made both games winnable down the stretch. In the season opener at Oakland (Nov. 11), BGSU trailed by 15 points in the second half before pulling within three points with under three minutes to go. The Orange and Brown trailed by 13 in the second half of the South Dakota (Nov. 13) game, and even went on to claim a five-point lead, but ultimately lost again. In the South Dakota game, Bowling Green led with under five minutes to play, marking just the third time in 16 games under Michael Huger that the Falcons lost when leading the game with five minutes to play.

ALCEGAIRE IS A SELFLESS SENIOR LEADER
Wes Alcegaire, a senior forward, continues add value to this year's team. Alcegaire, a more traditional small forward, has been tasked to start at the four this season for the Falcons, taking over the position that Spencer Parker played last season. Alcegaire leads the team in scoring after two games, as he's averaging 15.5 points per game. In the 2016 opener at Oakland (Nov. 11), Alcegaire connected on 4-of-7 attempts from three-point range, and ended up with 19 points. The 19 points were just two off from his career high, which was set last year against Youngstown State, when he played 13 more minutes than he did at Oakland.

CALDWELL CANS THREES AFTER ROUGH SHOOTING NIGHT
Freshman Rodrick Caldwell made his Falcon debut by starting the season opener. Caldwell managed the team from the point guard position nicely, as he had six assists and just one turnover in 29 minutes. He also added six rebounds, but he went on to shoot 1-of-16 from the floor. Just two days later, Caldwell showed up big at South Dakota. He went 3-of-5 from the field, and 3-of-4 from downtown. Caldwell hit back-to-back threes in the second half to single-handedly erase a six-point deficit. Across both games, Caldwell had seven assists while committing two turnovers.

UJU COMES THROUGH IN DIVISION I DEBUT
Junior Jeffrey Uju has never given up, clearly, on his goal to play Division I men's basketball. Uju played his first two seasons of college basketball in the JUCO circuit, and at two different schools, nonetheless. After playing the 2014-15 season at Eastern Wyoming College and the 2015-16 season at Western Texas College, Uju played his first Division I game on Nov. 11 in BGSU's season opener at Oakland. In 17 minutes, the junior hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, and scored five points on a perfect 2-for-2 night from the floor. Uju also connected on his only three-point attempt, which trimmed a 10-point deficit to single digits in the second half. Uju is averaging a team-best 5.0 rebounds per game.

THE BOWLING GREEN SOPHOMORE BIG MEN
Sophomore forwards Demajeo Wiggins and Rasheed Worrell are often the biggest BGSU players on the court. Wiggins has started the Falcons' last nine games dating back to the 2015-16 season, while Worrell has turned into a huge spark plug off the bench. Wiggins nearly notched his first-career double-double at South Dakota (Nov. 13), as he scored seven points and had a team-high 12 rebounds. In foul trouble in BGSU's loss at Oakland (Nov. 11), Wiggins still scored nine points in 13 minutes. Worrell went 10-of-19 from the floor over the weekend, and averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. Worrell had 14 points and five boards at South Dakota, and eight points and six rebounds at Oakland.

FOX EMBRACING INCREASED ROLE
Junior guard Matt Fox played a combined 33 minutes last weekend, and turned in a career performance at Oakland on Nov. 11. In a career-high 28 minutes, Fox went 3-of-6 from the field, and 2-of-3 from distance, while pulling down a career-best five rebounds. Two days later at South Dakota, Fox contributed with two rebounds and one assist.

DENNY APPROACHING CAREER MILESTONES
Senior guard Zack Denny is approaching a few significant career milestones. The senior connected on 52 three-pointers in 2015-16, which ran his total to 105 for his career. After nailing three triples over the weekend, Denny is just 14 made three-point field goals shy of tying Jordon Crawford (2009-13) for 10th most all-time in program history. Denny, who has made 52 and 50 three-pointers, respectively, over the past two seasons, would rank sixth all-time if he hit another 50 long balls this season. Denny is also 302 points shy of becoming the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. The Germantown, Ohio native scored 361 points last season.

THERE'S A NEW FLOOR GENERAL IN TOWN...SORT OF
With the graduation of David Joseph, who started 33 of BGSU's 34 games at point guard a season ago, the Falcons will turn the offense over to senior Ismail "Ish" Ali. Ali played in all 34 games in 2015-16, and averaged 21.1 minutes per game off the bench as a junior, which actually was more than the 20.6 minutes per game that Joseph averaged. So, although Ali only started one game last year, the Falcons' new starting point guard is extremely experienced. In his season debut at South Dakota (Nov. 13), Ali scored 11 points in 28 minutes, and registered six assists while turning the ball over twice.

LILLARD'S STARTING-FIVE, MAC-TOURNAMENT MAGIC
Sophomore guard Antwon Lillard started all three MAC Tournament games in 2016, after being the Falcons' primary scoring option off the bench all season. Lillard took his game to the next level when entering the starting five. In the three games, he shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field, 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range, and averaged 17.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. His incredible three-game stretch was highlighted by a 26-point outburst against Central Michigan in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament, where he gave the Falcons a one-point victory by nailing a last-second triple. Lillard scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting and had four rebounds in a start at South Dakota (Nov. 13) last game.

FALCONS RETURN YOUNG CORE FOR 2016-17
Bowling Green returns a large portion of last year's team that reached the conference tournament semifinals. Michael Huger has built a strong, and young foundation that will look to continue to improve. Last season, three freshmen – Antwon Lillard, Demajeo Wiggins and Rasheed Worrell – combined to make 38 starts. Additionally, eight of Bowling Green's 13 man roster are underclassmen, and BGSU returns five of last season's top six leading scorers. BGSU returns its top five field goal percentage shooters, as well as its leaders in assists (Ali), blocks (Worrell) and steals (Denny) from a season ago. Furthermore, the Orange and Brown return 74.3 percent of its rebounding and 72.4 percentage of its made three-point field goals from the 2015-16 season.

FALCONS INK FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
On the eve of the college basketball season (Nov. 10), Bowling Green announced the signing of four future student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Nelly Cummings (Midland, Pa. / Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School), Joniya Gadson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Dillard High School), Derek Koch (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern High School) and Daeqwon Plowden (Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastery Charter North School) are set to join the program for the 2017-18 season. More information can be found at BGSUFalcons.com.

RICHAUN HOLMES STUFFS THAT STAT SHEET IN WIN OVER WIZARDS
Richaun Holmes, the 2014-15 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and the 37th overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, became known at Bowling Green for making an impact in a variety of categories on the final stat sheet. This past Wednesday (Nov. 16), Holmes put up big numbers in a victory over the Washington Wizards. Holmes scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting, which included a 2-for-2 mark from three-point range. Holmes also added three rebounds, three steals and two assists. As of Nov. 16, Holmes has appeared in 61 NBA games. Holmes and the Knicks' Maurice Ndour (Ohio) are the only active players in the league from the Mid-American Conference.

#BGinItaly
Due largely in part to Bill Frack's extreme generosity, financial commitment and unwavering support towards the men's basketball program, the team went on an 11-day cultural immersion tour in Italy from Aug. 8-18. The program spent days in Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and Lake Como, and saw some of the most famous landmarks in Italian history. The Falcons traveled to The Vatican, spent time inside the Roman Colosseum, visited the Ferrari Museum and saw the famous gondolas in Venice, among many other stops, which include Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. The Orange and Brown also played four games, and accumulated a 3-1 record while playing professional and national competition.

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Wes Alcegaire

Ismail Ali

Rodrick Caldwell

Zack Denny

Matt Fox

David Joseph

Antwon Lillard

Spencer Parker

Jeffrey Uju

Demajeo Wiggins

Rasheed Worrell

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