Rivalry Renewed: Battle Of I-75 Awaits Bowling Green In Savage Arena Saturday

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball program will wrap up their current road stretch with the Battle of I-75 in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday (Jan. 28). The Falcons and Rockets are scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip Saturday inside Savage Arena. The rivalry game will be available to watch on ESPN3. Fans can tune in to the action via WFRO Eagle 99. A live stat link will be provided at bgsufalcons.com with live updates available on Twitter (@BGSUMHoops).

Saturday will mark the 179th meeting all-time between the Falcons and Rockets with the all-time series leaning to UT at 95-83. The series has been close of late with the two teams splitting the last six matchups, but the Falcons have won two of the last three games played at Savage Arena. Last season over two games against the Rockets, Chandler Turner averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. Going back to the 2020-21 season, Kaden Metheny tallied 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals at Toledo.

A Bowling Green Win Would…

Give the Falcons a three-game win streak.
Grant BGSU a winning record on the road in MAC play at 3-2.
Push Bowling Green above .500 on the season with an 11-10 record.
Mark BGSU's third win at Savage Arena over the last four games played in Toledo.
Make Bowling Green 4-0-1 against Toledo in head-to-head contests across all sports during the 2022-23 season.

Scouting The Rockets
The Rockets enter Saturday's game with the highest-scoring offense in the MAC and fourth in the nation, averaging 84.8 points per game. UT also has the top field goal percentage in the conference, shooting 48.5% this season, including 38.7% from three. The Rockets are paced by the duo of RayJ Dennis and JT Shumate, averaging 18.4 and 18.2 points, respectively.

Falcons Shooting Lights Out Of Late
Over the last nine games, BGSU has registered a shooting percentage of 49% or higher eight times, including shooting at least 50% six times over the stretch. During the nine-game span, the Falcons are 271-of-526 from the field for a mark of 51.5%. As for the season, BGSU is shooting 45.6%, which ranks fifth in the MAC. Toledo tops the stat with a mark of 48.5%.

Ayers Nearing Career Milestone
Leon Ayers III has put together a stretch of four straight 20-point games, including a career-high 31-point output against Miami (OH). With the strong stretch, Ayers has brought his career point total at the Division I level to 996, needing just four to reach 1,000 career points. Ayers has tallied 373 points this season to go with 269 points last season at Duquesne and 354 points in 2020-21 at Mercer.

Me-THREE-ny Inside Nation's Top 15
Kaden Metheny has shot at least 40% from behind the arc in 10 consecutive games and has done so in 12 of the 17 games he's played this season. The consistency from Metheny has earned him a 43.8% mark from three-point range, ranking first in the MAC and 14th in the nation. Metheny has also made at least four triples in seven games this year, accumulating 2.88 three-pointers per game, which is 35th in the nation.

Curtis On Pace To Break Program Record
Samari Curtis is currently ranked sixth in the nation, and first in the MAC, for free throw percentage with a mark of 92.5%, going 74-of-80 from the line. From last season, Curtis has improved his percentage at the line by 25.4 percentage points, shooting 67.1% from the line a year ago. The current program record for free throw percentage in a single season is held by Clinton Venable who shot 88.4% during the 1989-90 season.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' men's basketball team on social media
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGSUMHoops
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsumhoops'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'

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