GETTING INSIDE

After tough road games against Xavier and Iowa in November, Bowling Green has won four of its last five games against a more friendly schedule to improve to 5-3 at the mid-point of December. BG still faces three tough road tests and a home game with St. Louis before starting Mid-American Conference play. The Falcons posted the best record in the MAC (11-5) last season and participated in the National Invitation Tournament.

A big key to BG’s success of late has been its defense.

During their current four-game winning streak, the Falcons, 5-3 overall, are allowing an average of 53.2 points per game as opponents are shooting 34 percent from the field and 27.7 percent on 3-pointers.

For the season, opponents are shooting 41.1 percent from the field against BG, including 34.9 percent on 3-pointers as of Dec. 17.

“That’s improved by leaps and bounds and that’s been the difference,” BG head coach Louis Orr said about the Falcons defense. “Our field-goal percentage defense, our 3-point field-goal percentage defense still has a ways to go. (We’re) trying to get it below that 40 percent field-goal percentage and below 30 percent 3-point field-goal percentage.

“I think they are confident they can get stops when they have to. I’ve seen a commitment there,” Orr added. “That’s probably been the biggest improvement on our team.”

The Falcons use a mixture of man-to-man and zone, which Orr adapted from his time at Syracuse, and they continue to frustrate the majority of opponents.

NOTES, QUOTES

• In his first three seasons at Bowling Green, center Otis Polk scored in double figures only 11 times. In BG’s first eight games this season, Polk has been in double figures five times and is averaging 10.3 ppg as of Dec. 17.

• Senior Marc Larson is also off to a fast start, averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as of Dec. 17, both career bests. He started the season 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.

January At A Glance:   Bowling Green opens the conference season on the road against Akron, one of the early favorites in the MAC East with the addition of 7-foot freshman Zeke Marshall. Look for the Zips, who won the MAC tournament championship last season, to be an interesting early test for the Falcons.

After a slow start last season on the road, the Falcons improved and at one point won six straight MAC games away from home.

If BG is to defend its regular-season MAC title, that same kind of road success is essential this season.

Quote To Note:   “I just feel like you should shoot free throws better, because they are free shots. There’s no defense. It’s something that you practice. You try different things to try to simulate game situations—fatigue free throws, pressure free throws.”—BG head coach Louis Orr, on his team, which is 80-for-140 (57.1 percent) from the free-throw line as of Dec. 17.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Season Recap:   The emergence of sophomore Dee Brown and the strong play of three seniors inside have been the highlights so far for Bowling Green.

Brown has shown he can be a dependable scorer. He has been in double figures in four of his last five games as of Dec. 17 and is averaging 13.4 ppg over that span. He made five of six free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to help secure a win over Canisius on Dec. 12.

Seniors Otis Polk, Marc Larson and Erik Marshall are logging strong minutes inside. As of Dec. 17, the veteran trio have combined to average 24.4 points and 17.5 rebounds per game along with 18 blocked shots.

Player Rotation:   Usual Starters—F Marc Larson, F Scott Thomas, C Otis Polk, G Dee Brown, G Joe Jakubowski. Key Subs—F Erik Marshall, F Danny McElroy, G Jordon Crawford.

Game Review:  

Bowling Green 59, Savannah State 51

Bowling Green 67, Fordham 46

Bowling Green 58, Canisius 54

Game Preview:  

at Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 19

at Temple, Monday, Dec. 28

at Towson, Wednesday, Dec. 30

vs. St. Louis, Saturday, Jan. 2

at Akron, Saturday, Jan. 9

In Focus:   The upcoming game at Detroit will be a good test for Bowling Green as Ray McCallum is rebuilding the Detroit program with transfers, including 6-feet-10 sophomore Eli Holman and 6-7 junior Xavier Keeling, both of whom started their college careers at Indiana University.

Roster Report:  

• Junior PG Joe Jakubowski is seventh in the nation in assist-turnover ratio at 3.88 (31 assists to eight turnovers) as of Dec. 17.

• Sophomore G Dee Brown was the MAC East Player of the Week on Dec. 7 after averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in wins over Savannah State and Fordham. Against Fordham on Dec. 5, Brown had 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds.