Bowling Green 70 Chicago State 41

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Chicago State Cougars

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 7 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: None

Game Story | Box Score

It was something of a happy accident that I was able to attend this game. I knew I was due for an overnight Toledo trip for work at some point this week, and as I was starting to make arrangements, I saw this game on the calendar. Basketball season already? I thought. Hm. Home opener? First game under a new coach? I'm...going to make this happen.

Which really wasn't much of an undertaking. I've been in this job and working remotely for a long time, and I'm trusted to make my own schedule. Of course, my department does have a team-building outing scheduled for Wednesday, so I'm sure setting my trip for Tuesday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Thursday would have been the politic move. But Monday-Tuesday made more sense for actual work objectives, and with the ability to attend this game thrown in, it wasn't a tough choice.

I really liked what I saw from the Falcons tonight. I'm not sure how much more I have to say about this game, really. There's so much roster turnover from one season to the next in college basketball nowadays, and then you throw a new coach into the mix, and there were only two Falcon players I was familiar with still on the roster. Now, I did think those two players (Rashaun Agee and Sam Towns) were pretty good for BG last year, so I'm glad they stuck around. But I was definitely looking at the roster a lot tonight and trying to put names with faces and numbers.

I think it was pretty obvious that these guys were still getting used to playing together and trying to figure out their roles. I'm sure that was exacerbated by presumed starting point guard Trey Thomas, a Vanderbilt transfer, being out with an injury. But you know what? Everybody looked competent, and like they belonged. At least until the bench was emptied toward the end of the game, I wasn't looking at anyone and wondering what they were doing on the floor, to say nothing of the roster. That in itself is an improvement over some of BG's previous coaches. The new guy, Coach Todd Simon, wants to play a fast-paced style and score a lot of points. There were some flashes of that tonight; it's pretty clearly a work in progress.

Buffalo 87 Bowling Green 73

Men's Basketball

Home Team: Buffalo Bulls

Visiting Team: Bowling Green Falcons

Venue: Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)

Game Time: 7:30 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi

Box Score

Bowling Green 92 Buffalo 88

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Buffalo Bulls

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 8:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi

Game Story | Box Score

It's always good to get back to Bowling Green. That's how I looked at this game as Brandi and I were deciding to attend. I didn't really expect the Falcons to win, although I thought they could, mostly just because Buffalo is so good and BG was coming off a poor effort at Miami last weekend.

And then we went to the game. The Falcons were down by eight at halftime, and that's when I started to feel like we would win. Mostly because Buffalo was shooting lights-out and getting all kinds of lucky bounces, and yet BG was scrapping and hanging around. And of course, that couldn't keep up for the whole game, right? Then BG came out hot and started cutting into the deficit, and once they took the lead, I had a good feeling. Some missed free throws as the game went on made me a little nervous, but they hung on.

And it was awesome to see a game like that—good opponent, close, back-and-forth game—in a loud and raucous environment. There are plenty of Anderson Arena comparisons floating around out there, and this wasn't that—in Anderson Arena, BG wins this game by 10+—but it was great nonetheless, easily the best I've seen at the Stroh Center (not that I'm able to get there terribly often, but still). Hopefully there are more like this one to come.

Eastern Michigan 81 Bowling Green 53

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Eastern Michigan Eagles

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: None

Game Story | Box Score

Western Michigan 74 Bowling Green 68

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Western Michigan Broncos

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 2:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi

Game Story | Box Score

Free throws.
Free throws.
Free throws.

I'm tempted to do that seventeen times, which would equal the number of free throws the Falcons missed in this game, but what would be the point? They made only 15 of 32; hitting seven more would have put them at 68.75%—still not a stellar percentage, but enough to get the win. Instead, the Broncos held on and were able to pull out what was, in all, a pretty ugly game.

The officiating in this game was horrendous. I wouldn't say it was biased, just bad...although it did become clear at a certain point that the refs were looking for a way to call a technical foul on Coach Huger. Their opportunity eventually came around, because of course it did, and it was just a mess.

Still, I have to say it was a fun game to watch, if frustrating, because there was so much going on. After getting off to a very slow start, the Falcons battled their way back for the remainder of the game, and really had a pretty good chance to snatch a win at the end. They couldn't, though, and it came down to free throws, the bane of their existence on this day (and for much of the season).

And I can't be too upset because Brandi and I were together in BG for the first time in who knows how long, and it was nice. We arrived in time to have lunch at Mr. Spots before the game. Sometime soon (maybe after school's out) we're going to have to get back and have a nice leisurely stroll around campus, which is undergoing a series of construction projects and therefore looks much different than it did the last time we spent any time there.

Akron 83 Bowling Green 68

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Akron Zips

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: None

Game Story | Box Score

Sometimes I hate a player so much that it makes me hate their entire team. The best example I can think of is Brett Favre. I hated that guy so much, and I hated the Packers the whole time he played there. Now that he's gone, I actually kind of like the Packers. Somewhat more recently, there's the St. Louis Cardinals, who I kind of liked up until the Yadier Molina/Brandon Phillips incident; we'll see how I feel about the Cardinals after Molina moves on.

My prediction? The Cardinals suffer the same fate in my eyes as the Akron Zips, the basketball team I loathe more than any other in the MAC. That's right: more, even, than the hated Toledo Rockets. Akron simply had too many jackass players in a row, starting with Jami Bosley and continuing with Andy Hipsher and then Nick Dials. The funny thing is, I hate Akron so much that I had somehow convinced myself that I had seen BG play them on several of my all-too-rare trips to the Stroh Center; looking back, I see that this was, in fact, only the second time I've seen the Zips play there. Ah, memory.

So it goes without saying that I don't like Akron's coach, Keith Dambrot, even though I'm not sure he was there for any of the aforementioned players. I don't like him, but you can't question the fact that he knows how to coach a basketball team. (It kind of makes you wonder why he's languished at Akron for so long instead of moving up to a more high-profile job...unless, of course, you already know that he's been painted with allegations of being a racist. Then it makes sense.) The Zips have taken over from Kent State as the preeminent MAC basketball program under his tenure, and when you watch them play, it's easy to see why.

I mean, forget about talent. Akron is obviously light years ahead of Bowling Green in that area. I actually thought the Falcons played relatively well; they kept themselves in the game, but just couldn't quite make it over the hump and take the lead. The difference, to my eye, was in the poise level of the two teams. Akron never (rarely, at least) gets sloppy. And when BG would get on a run and the crowd would start to get loud, Akron never got rattled. They played through it, kept their heads, and eventually got the basket they needed to keep their lead and then extend it.

(Would they have been able to do that if the Falcons were still playing at Anderson Arena, with a loud and sweaty student section right on the floor? We'll never know...but the memory of how the old Sideline Squad utterly destroyed the confidence of Andy Hipsher after a pregame dust-up will never fail to bring a smile to my face.)

As someone who hates the Zips so thoroughly, it's frustrating. You know their dominance will eventually dry up, because that's just how these things go, but watching the games in the meantime is not the most fun I've ever had. Of course, it just so happened that this was the first game this season that coincided with my own schedule so that I could attend. On the bright side, it looks like Brandi and I will be back for a game this weekend, so hopefully we'll get some better results. Or if not, at least it won't be at the hands of Akron. Seriously, F those guys.

Bowling Green 88 Ball State 75

Men's Basketball
MAC Tournament First Round

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Ball State Cardinals

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: None

Game Story | Box Score

I travel to the Toledo area, of which Bowling Green is a part, once a month for work, and it's kind of amazing how rarely my trips coincide with home games for BG hoops. When it happens, as it did tonight, I'm stoked to be able to make the trip down for the game. The funny thing is, this is the second time I've seen the Falcons play in person this season, and both games have been against Ball State.

Fortunately, both were victories, although they were quite different games. The first was a lower-scoring, defense-oriented affair. Tonight, with rim defender Richaun Holmes out for BG, it was much faster paced. The cool thing to see is that they could play well and come away with victories using both styles. This game got tight for a bit in the second half, but the Falcons were able to keep their poise, weather the storm, and put it away, even without their best player.

They were able to do it because of a big night from the backcourt, with senior guards Anthony Henderson and Jehvon Clarke scoring 20 and 19, respectively. They were both really impressive in a way that we never really saw from them under Louis Orr, which makes me sad that they don't have another year under this coaching staff, so they can continue to grow and get better as players (and the same goes for Richaun, a fellow senior, who was great before this year and has become incredible).

For a tournament game, I have to say the atmosphere at the Stroh left a lot to be desired. It did get a little loud when the game got close, but having some more people in the arena definitely would have been a lot cooler. Just bad timing, I guess--it's spring break for BGSU, and it definitely showed in the student turnout. Other than the pep band, there were only a handful of people in the student section, and there were no cheerleaders (although the dance team was there). I don't know if it's spring break for all/most of the MAC schools, but if so, I wish they would just move the first round of the tournament to Cleveland with the rest of the games. I wouldn't have been able to make it myself, but the crowd overall probably would have been better. These guys deserve to play in front of a good crowd.

At any rate, the Falcons are now moving onto Cleveland for the first time in four years, and hopefully they can make some noise. Personally? They've made major strides this year, and I'm ecstatic about the improvement they've shown; however, I don't see them as MAC Champion material. I'd love to be wrong about that. As it is, they've won 20 games for the first time since 2001-02, which was the end of Coach Dakich's first go-round. Being there to see it was pretty awesome.

Bowling Green 58 Ball State 46

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Ball State Cardinals

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 4:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Brandi

Game Story | Box Score

Of all the things I miss about living in Bowling Green - and there are several - going to BG basketball games is at the top of the list. Being a couple of hours away makes it tough to get back as often as I'd like, and it's always a treat when I get back to the ol' alma mater for some hoops. And it seems poised to be even more of a treat now that the Falcons appear poised to play consistently competent basketball.

Prior to this year, the only coach the Falcons had known in their tenure at the Stroh Center was Louis Orr, who never had a great deal of success. Sure, they won their division of the MAC one year (his only winning record in seven seasons), and they played hard, but they played a lot of sloppy, uninspired basketball, and they were never much fun to watch, aside from an occasional player here and there. So there weren't too many people happier than me when Coach Orr was cut loose following the expiration of his contract and Chris Jans was brought in. I wanted to get to a game earlier this season to see the new-look Falcons for myself, and just could never make it work until now, but I had watched them play on TV and the Internet whenever possible and found myself quite impressed with the style of play Coach Jans had brought in. Not to mention the results, of course.

At any rate, I was really excited to finally see this team play at the Stroh. Early on - well, for pretty much the entire first half - it didn't look good. BG wasn't hitting shots, and they looked a little flat and out of sorts. Ball State was really working hard to take away Richaun Holmes in the post, and it was throwing everything else off. Down 27-23 at halftime, I have no doubt that this was a game that last year's time would have lost, and probably by a lot.

This year's time, though, fought through it. The shooting didn't improve much in the second half, but they tightened up on defense and in general and looked a lot better, taking the lead and then pulling away for not just a win, but a comfortable one. And I have to say, I was really impressed with Zack Denny. Being from the Dayton area, I had heard quite a bit about him, and my impression was that he was mostly just a shooter. It turns out he actually has a very solid all-around game. He was everywhere, making good plays and doing all sorts of little things. He ended up with a double-double and led the team in scoring, which, with Richaun usually facing a double-team, was sorely needed.

Now, getting to the game was a little bit of an adventure. Brandi and I left Columbus around 12:30, planning to get into BG well ahead of the game so we'd have time for a late lunch before heading over to the arena. It worked out, but it was a lot closer than it should have been due to some construction on I-75 that had traffic at a complete standstill for several minutes on a few different occasions. But we made it, and the only thing that really suffered was our chance to wander around the Stroh for a few minutes prior to the game. This was Brandi's first visit, and we didn't have any time to explore, but it turned out okay. We had a great time, and got to see a very solid MAC win.

Miami 63 Bowling Green 52

Men's Basketball
MAC Tournament First Round

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Miami RedHawks

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 7:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: None

Ugh. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

Ohio 78 Bowling Green 65

Men's Basketball

Home Team: BGSU Falcons

Visiting Team: Ohio Bobcats

Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)

Game Time: 12:00 p.m.

Fellow Attendees: Colin

Game Story | Box Score

Well, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. That seems a little strange to say about a game the Falcons lost by double digits, but honestly, I thought the game would get out of hand far earlier than it did. To give BG some credit, OU looked like they were getting ready to pull away a couple of times, and the Falcons were able to go on some runs to get themselves back into it. They even took the lead briefly when they scored the first seven points of the second half. The Bobcats reasserted themselves at that point, though, and took the game over.

The reason BG was able to stay in the game for as long as they did was the play of senior forward A'uston Calhoun, who had a monster game with 24 points. He looked unstoppable. Unfortunately, he scored his last points of the game with over thirteen minutes left, and I think he only took one more shot after that point. I don't know if OU started doing a better job of defending him, or if our players stopped looking for him. Whatever the case, no one else was able to replace his impact. No one else scored in double figures for the Falcons, although Craig Sealey did have nine points. Of course, he only played seven minutes.

Frankly, this team baffles me. There's too much dead weight offensively, too many guys who just can't score. Then there are guys, like Sealey, who can score, but for whatever reason don't play very much, keeping the bench warm for guys who are on the floor for no apparent reason. It seems like the team plays hard, but they also have a tendency to play out of control and get sloppy. They aren't good enough to compete with the good teams in the MAC. The really scary thing is that we're losing all our scoring punch, with Calhoun and Jordon Crawford graduating. They have a hard enough time scoring now; I can only imagine what next season will look like.

I'm hoping for an interesting offseason.

We're not quite there yet, though. BG has two games this week, and then the MAC tournament, where it seems almost certain they'll have to play a first-round game. I believe they would probably host that game if so, and if that's the case, I'll be there to see how it shakes out.

Michigan State 64 Bowling Green 53

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Michigan State Spartans
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None (sort of)

Game Story | Box Score

A lot of times when a school, particularly a mid-major school, opens a new basketball arena, they'll bring in a big-name opponent for the first game. If they take the expected pounding, it doesn't really matter, because it's still the first game in a new arena; if they actually win, it's icing on the cake.

BG didn't do that last year when they opened the Stroh Center, so Michigan State was the first big-name opponent to grace the new arena. Actually, they're the biggest name to visit Bowling Green for a men's basketball game since I started watching in 1997. Anderson Arena was visited by Northwestern (a BG loss) and Michigan (a BG victory, and one of the most thrilling finishes to a game I've ever seen) during the Dakich administration, but those teams weren't the Spartans. (Michigan is really good now; then, under Tommy Amaker, not so much.)

Allow me to gush for a moment. I started casually following Michigan State basketball at the same time I was falling head-over-heels for BG basketball. At the time, MSU had a guy named Andre Hutson on their team, who was from the Dayton area, and I like following local guys. Over the years, as my basketball jones grew, I just really dug the way the Spartans played, and I developed a huge respect for Tom Izzo as a coach. So, for me, they're like the hoops equivalent of a rock star. I saw the Falcons play them once before, in 2000, at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. Having them come to our place, there was no way I was going to miss it.

I didn't have particularly high hopes for the game itself, but it turned out to be a pretty solid contest. The Falcons played as well as I've seen them play all year (granted, most of that is via Internet streaming--this was only the second game I've seen in person, and the first was unimpressive, to say the least). They were tenacious on defense and on the glass, and they gave Michigan State all they could handle for 3/4 of the game. It was tied at 45 with about 45 minutes left. Unfortunately, that's when the Falcons' offensive inconsistency reared its ugly head, and Sparty was able to pull away for the win.

Still, it was a good game, and I'm really glad I went. The Stroh Center was full, which was really nice to see. I don't think it'll ever equal Anderson Arena in noise level or energy, but I'm glad to report that it can get fairly loud when the situation demands.

As a sidenote, Brandi wasn't feeling well, so she was unable to accompany me to the game. I took the extra ticket anyway. By the time I got through the Stroh Center traffic and parked, it was about ten minutes to tipoff, so I had to hustle to get inside in time. As I was almost inside, a guy who was also on his way in asked if I happened to have an extra ticket (it was, officially, a sellout, although he probably could have gotten a standing room ticket inside). When I gave it to him, and told him I didn't want anything in return, I could tell it made his night. Even more so when we got inside and he saw that our seats were just five rows off the court. He was a Michigan State fan, of course (he went to school when Magic Johnson played there), but we ended up having really good conversation throughout the game. It was a good reminder that doing something nice for someone (even a complete stranger) when you have an opportunity is usually worth it.

Bowling Green 63 Lake Erie College 53

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Lake Erie Storm
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Game Story | Box Score

I miss Anderson Arena.

This is by no means a knock on the Stroh Center. This is BG's second season playing in their new arena, and there's no doubt they needed a new facility. I've been to three games there now, and it's beautiful, an absolute gem as far as basketball arenas go.

One of the great things about Anderson Arena, though, was the vast expanse of student/general admission seating in primo territory, on the floor along one sideline. That area was all bleacher seating, which gave you plenty of room to spread out and be boisterous if you were so inclined (I usually was), as well as some leeway in choosing the company in your general vicinity.

Not so at the Stroh. The students are segregated behind one basket, and all the rest of the seating is ticket-specific. Tonight I was situated between two old ladies. The one on my left seemed to be paying attention to the game but didn't clap once all night, not even during pregame introductions. The lady on my left was staring at her phone almost the entire time; she put it away about five minutes into the second half, yawned twice, then got it back out and kept it out for the duration. I felt like an annoyance anytime I clapped or cheered. I did it anyway.

So yeah, the Stroh is great, but it just doesn't quite feel like home to me just yet. Of course, I also prefer BG's old logo to the new one, and I'd take Dan Dakich over Louis Orr anyday. I also want you to get off my lawn.

As for the game...well, hey, I was at a BG basketball game, and they won, so far be it from me to complain. I feel like they should have beaten Lake Erie by far more than they did, but it was the first game of the season and a couple of guys were unavailable due to injury, so that may have played a part. I was really impressed by Richaun Holmes in his first game action as a member of the Falcons. I was not particularly impressed with anything else.

Akron 56 Bowling Green 55

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Akron Zips
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

It's a rarity when my work schedule has me in Toledo on the same day as a BG basketball game, but it happened tonight. I was glad for a chance to make my second visit to the Stroh Center, with a chance to see the Falcons take on the hated Akron Zips.

For the most part, I thought BG played pretty well in this one. It certainly looked like they were going to pull out a victory, as they were tied or ahead for over 39 minutes of gametime. Alas, it's a 40-minute game, and Akron was able to pull it out with a last-second shot that probably should have been negated by a charging call. I was pretty salty about that when the buzzer sounded, but the drive home afterwards helped me to put things in perspective. Had they done just a few more things right, they would have been able to hold on. With even one more made free throw (a 4 for 9 night is not something to be proud of), Akron's last shot would have resulted in overtime instead of a loss.

Still, Akron is always tough, and while I'm not going to pretend that a close loss is a moral victory in a game they should have won, there were some encouraging things. Sophomore center Cam Black had a really nice game, with ten points and seven rebounds, and I thought freshman guard Jehvon Clarke did a good job running the point off the bench. If those two can continue to contribute at that level for the rest of the season, BG should be in decent shape.

Bowling Green 63 Howard 48

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Howard Bison
Venue: Stroh Center (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

As much as I enjoy BG basketball, tonight the game was secondary. This was the first official game in the brand new Stroh Center, the shiny new state-of-the-art facility built to replace Anderson Arena, the Falcons' nest since 1960. Anderson was one of my favorite places in the universe, but it was time for an upgrade. That being the case, I was anxious to get to the new arena and check it out.

The doors were set to open at 6:00, so I took off from work an hour early to make sure I got there with plenty of time to explore and still find my seat well before tipoff. I had seen the exterior (indeed, during construction I checked the webcam a couple of times per day), and I had seen photos of the interior, but this was my first chance to actually go inside and check it out for myself.

The falcon statue outside the main entrance is incredibly impressive. Again, I had seen photos of this beast, and saw it for myself when driving past, but you really appreciate it when you walk up to it on your way into the building. It's awesome, and the words to the fight song inscribed on the base are a nice touch.

I won't go into detail on all the stuff I checked out or all the features the building offers, but I will note a few things I really liked. One is the availability of restrooms and concessions, which were lacking in Anderson. I also really like how broad the concourses are--there's plenty of room to walk without "high-traffic" areas getting completely crowded, which is another contrast from Anderson. Also, you can actually understand what's being said over the PA system. And there's a big scoreboard/videoboard for replays and in-game stats. And I like that you can see the floor from just about anywhere in the arena, so you aren't going to miss a whole lot even if you get up to get a snack or something.

If I had quibbles, they were in the seating arrangements. I felt a little cramped--not in my actual seat, but whenever I had to stand up to let someone into or out of the row. I kinda miss the bleacher seating, which I think is easier to maneuver. I also think it's more conducive to standing and cheering, which is what Anderson Arena (The House That Roars) was known for. I also wish the students were given a more prime location than behind one basket, and I wish they were right on top of the floor like they were in Anderson.

In all, though, I really dug the place a lot. It's a great place to watch a basketball game. It may not have the charm and soul of Anderson, but hopefully it'll get to roar like the old place did. It's going to be a great home for the Falcons.

Bowling Green 73 Buffalo 63

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Buffalo Bulls
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 1:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi

BGSU Official Game Coverage

Thoughts being formulated...coming soon!

Bowling Green 65 Ball State 64

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Ball State Cardinals
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Toledo Blade Game Story | Official Box Score

Hard to believe it's been three months since I last attended a sporting event, and nearly a full year since the last time I was at Anderson Arena. A whole slew of extenuating circumstances has contributed to that being the case, which is really unfortunate for me - Anderson is one of my favorite places in the world, and this is the last season it will be hosting BGSU basketball. It happened, though, that this game coincided with my monthly trip to Toledo for work, so I was able to stick around and catch some hoops action before making the drive back to Troy.

I haven't been able to attend any games before this one, but I've watched the Falcons play several times on TV and via streaming video. Still, it was nice to finally see them in person, especially since the core of the team is so young that I didn't see them play last year. I was pretty impressed, especially with A'uston ("The Apostrophe") Calhoun and Cameron Black. They're both raw, but have a lot of potential - Calhoun is already a scoring machine, and Black seemed to have a nice low post game for a true freshman. They definitely need to work on rebounding and getting to loose balls, though, not to mention free throw shooting.

The only thing that bothered me was the complete lack of crowd energy, which is hard to believe for a game like this. Sure, it shouldn't have been as close as it ended up, but still, a close game is a close game. There was very little crowd reaction at all, and that makes me sad for "The House That Roars." It deserves a more raucous final season, but it doesn't look like it's going to get it. I'm hoping for a large, loud crowd for the last game, at least; I'll be there for that one, one way or another.

Bowling Green 87 Valparaiso 70

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Valparaiso Crusaders
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 2:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

I hate to admit (although anyone can tell with just a cursory examination of how this blog works) that this is just the second BG basketball game I've made it to this season. In general, I still consider games at Anderson Arena to be must-attend events, but extreme winter weather and several other factors have been conspiring against me.

All that said, I've still been following the team as closely as possible through streaming Internet video when available and streaming Internet audio otherwise. I was well aware, at any rate, of the struggles the Falcons have had at times this season with scoring the basketball. Even on grainy or pixelated Internet feeds, they're sometimes hard to watch. So it was awesome to be at a game in which that wasn't an issue. They were able to score pretty much at will, with all five starters ending the game in double figures (and sophomore Scott Thomas posting a double-double). I can't think of anyone that didn't look like they had a good game. I find Thomas to be a really impressive player all around. I do wish, though, that senior center Otis Polk would have, at some point during his playing career, figured out how to continue playing solid defense without fouling so much. It's a lot of fun to watch him play, but he just doesn't log many minutes.

And it was a win over a pretty solid opponent, too. Valparaiso is currently in fourth place in the Horizon League (credit goes to ESPN's BracketBuster event for a non-conference game so late in the season), but that's a pretty good mid-major basketball league. You know the Crusaders, of course, from the highlight shown each year during March Madness of the buzzer-beating 3-point shot that allowed them, as a 13 seed, to upset 4 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament, on the basketball equivalent of football's hook and lateral play. That shot was made by Bryce Drew, who is now an assistant coach with Valpo, and his dad, Homer Drew, is now and was then Valpo's head coach.

Anyway, as I mentioned, it was good to see BG come out aggressive and be able to score and build a big lead early. It was almost too big of a lead, actually - they led 49-24 at halftime, which led to what looked like a little complacency in the second half. They were obviously trying to slow the game down, but they got a little sloppy and let Valpo at least entertain some thoughts of getting back into the game. Personally, I would have liked to see the Falcons stay aggressive, put their foots on the Crusaders' throats, but that's just me - I think that's always the way to go until the game is unquestionably out of reach. And to give the Falcons the credit they deserve, they weathered everything Valpo threw at them, and whenever the Crusaders made a run, they'd get a little run of their own going to push the lead back up close to where it was before. So that was nice to see.

Finally, I'd just like to send out a plea to BG Athletics' marketing department to can all the games and gimmicks going on during official timeouts. Seriously. They've been doing this for quite some time, but the inanity of it hit me anew during this game, possibly because this is only the second game I've been to this season and I've been away from it for a while. I realize this is probably an effort to get more people to come to the games, but it's not working. I mean, the arena was less than half full, and that was even with a decent-sized singing group there for the National Anthem, plus the fact that it was SICSIC beheading day and senior day for the cheerleading squad and dance team. A much better strategy would be to just let the band and cheerleaders do their thing during timeouts; the marketing crap just drains whatever energy the crowd has managed to build during the action. Case in point: at one point during this game, there was a minor scuffle underneath the north basket, and the crowd got at least a little frothy. But as the officials called their timeout to sort things out, here comes "Brian from Marketing" to play some asinine game, and there went the energy. Instead, the band should have been playing the theme from Rocky or something, and the cheerleaders should have been leading a BG-SU chant. Or something. Feed the fire, instead of dousing it.

Look, I speak from experience on this. When I first came to BG in the fall of 1997, I wasn't the world's biggest basketball fan. Once I started going to games at Anderson Arena, though, I was hooked. Why? Because it's a small, cramped arena, with the crowd right on top of the action, and the place would get loud. It fed on itself. It would start to get loud; you'd see the Falcons feeding off of it, and the visitors getting rattled (I'm looking at you, Andy Hipsher); then it would get louder. And that was awesome. The games were so much fun, and I got addicted. Don't get me wrong, the band and cheerleaders didn't always have the right song or cheer at exactly the right moment, but they did their best to add to the energy. Being there was  electric, and I loved it. It made Anderson Arena one of my favorite places in the world, and the games were the highlight of my week. When I think back on my time at BG, basketball is the first thing that comes to mind. Now, Anderson is still one of my favorites places, but that atmosphere is completely gone. And the timeout crap isn't the only contributing factor in its demise, but it is a factor. There's only one season of basketball left at Anderson after this one, and I'd like to see at least one game in that time with a crowd that's just balls-out insane. If they really want to build a crowd, a following, I think getting rid of the marketing crap and letting the atmosphere speak for itself would be the best first step they could make.

Bowling Green 59 St. Louis 50

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: St. Louis Billikens
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi

 Hard as it is for me to believe, this was my first trip to Anderson Arena since the last home game of last season, which was in March. Since this was my first time seeing this year's squad play in person, I spent most of the pregame warmup period going over the program and familiarizing myself with the newcomers.

Aside from seeing this year's team for the first time, I was also interested in this game in particular because of the opponent, the St. Louis Billikens, led by Coach Rick Majerus. I wasn't paying attention when he was coaching at Ball State, but I watched his teams play quite a bit when he was at Utah, and I've always liked him as a coach. I was looking forward to seeing one of his teams play in person, and I thought they'd be a good test for the Falcons.

I was pleasantly surprised when BG came out strong, taking and building a lead early. St. Louis didn't even score until nearly seven minutes into the game, and none of their starters scored in the first half at all. The Falcons were running an active zone defense, spreading it out into a trap occasionally to mix things up, and the Billikens just couldn't solve it. That let BG run the lead out to as many as twenty in the second half before they got a little sloppy toward the end and let St. Louis whittle the lead down to the final margin.

BG pretty much dominated the game, but I still found myself impressed with St. Louis, at least on the defensive end. I liked their aggressive style, especially how they doubled the ballhandler on just about every screen. They pressured the Falcons into quite a few turnovers - fortunately, they weren't able to turn those turnovers into points on a regular basis.

For the Falcons, I was impressed with the post play of center Otis Polk, who continues to evolve as a player. He's always been a defensive force, due to his size and bulk, if nothing else. He still has some work to do in keeping his fouls under control (although he's light years ahead of where he was when he came in), but he's developed into a strong offensive force to complement his work on the other end. It's going to be fun to watch him in MAC play. I also really enjoyed watching freshman guard Jordon Crawford. He's tiny (5'6") but quick, and seems pretty heady for a freshman, and he's got a nice touch on his shot.

So yes, this was my first time seeing the Falcons play this year, but it won't be the last. I'll be making the trip to BG whenever possible for the remainder of the season. I just hope the weather cooperates - the snow on the drive back to Troy was a bit of a nightmare. It was so heavy around Bluffton that we couldn't even see the lines on the interstate. We just had to slow down and feel our way along until it finally started to clear up a bit around Lima.

Bowling Green 75 Ohio 41

Men's Basketball
Home Team: BGSU Falcons
Visiting Team: Ohio Bobcats
Venue: Anderson Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Game Time: 2:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

Ohio's coach looks like a librarian. A very angry little librarian at times, I might add. I really think he was trying to get two technical fouls and get thrown out so he wouldn't have to continue to watch the multitude of suck that was his team, and I can't say I blame him. Alas, he was only able to achieve one technical, so he had to stick it out until the end.

As bad as OU was, though, I don't think anyone in the MAC would have beaten the Falcons today. It was obvious from the get-go that they knew they had something to play for, and they latched onto it with both hands and wouldn't let go. It was awesome to see them come out focused and hungry, intent on destroying anything in their path. Just about everybody on the floor looked good today. They went through a couple of sloppy stretches, but were able each time to collect themselves quickly and recommence the beat-down.

With the win, the Falcons tied for the regular-season MAC championship. I stuck around after the game to watch the team cut down the net on the south end of Anderson Arena, and I wasn't even close to the only one. Shortly thereafter, the final of the Miami-Buffalo game was announced - with Buffalo's win, the Falcons are the #1 seed going into the MAC Tournament, which starts next Tuesday, giving them a bye into the quarterfinals, and also guarantees an NIT berth in the event that they don't win the MAC Tourney for the NCAA bid.

This was also Senior Day at Anderson Arena, the last home game for Darryl Clements, Brian Moten, and Nate Miller. These three guys have been huge components of this year's success, and it's awesome to see them go out on top. It's a shame that Senior Day had to fall during the first weekend of BGSU's spring break - it would have been nice for them to get their ovations from a raucous crowd doing justice to the "House That Roars" legacy, but I suppose they'll probably take it however it came.

Now it's time to play for an NCAA Tournament spot. 1968 was a long time ago, gentlemen...let's get it done in Cleveland! Go Falcons!

Miami 50 Bowling Green 45 OT

Men's Basketball
Home Team: Miami RedHawks
Visiting Team: BGSU Falcons
Venue: Millett Hall (Oxford, Ohio)
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

First off, win or lose, I have to give the Falcons a lot of credit. Like so many other games this season, they were behind for a good portion of this game, sometimes by a significant amount. Like so many other games this season, they battled back to put themselves in a position to win at the end. Especially with one of the team's best players (Chris Knight) out and frontcourt depth at a premium due to injury (Marc Larson), the way BG has been playing of late has been very, very impressive. Alas, this time around, they just couldn't get the ball in the hole when they really needed to, but they gave it a hell of a run.

Going to sporting events by myself has good and bad points, sometimes wrapped up all in one thing. Since I'm the rare bird that just needs one ticket, I can often find a singleton in what seems like a really good spot. For this game I found myself in the first row right behind the Miami bench. That sounds pretty good, but really, it's not optimal. Once the game starts, players are jumping up and down, coaches and trainers are roaming around, and plenty of game personnel and event staff are in the vicinity as well. Frankly, it's often hard to see what's going on. I was extremely grateful to one ref who eventually made it a point to tell Miami's bench to sit down pretty much each time down the floor (I think at some point they should have earned a technical foul, but I'm biased). Of course, that didn't keep ol' Charlie from getting in my way from time to time, but it made it easier to see more of the game.

And it goes without saying that I was surrounded by Miami fans. One guy, on his way into the section, saw me decked out in orange and tried to tell me I was in his seat. When I assured him I had a ticket for my seat and actually started to get it out to show it to him, he remembered that he was actually in the row behind me. In the middle of the section I might have bought it, but I was in the first row - dude, you know I'm not in your seat. I think he just assumed I was trying to bogart the seat and wanted to keep a Falcon fan from occupying such a "prime" spot. Unfortunately for him, he had to listen to me yelling encouragement to the Falcons all night long. I don't think I was too obnoxious, except when Scott Thomas hit the 3-ball at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. I went a little bit out of my mind at that point. My throat is still a little raw from that outburst, actually.

My observations on the game itself are a little spotty, due to my odd perspective, but here's what I've got. First, I'd love to see Scott Thomas get some more minutes. His absolutely clutch trey aside, he's the only player we have that looks confident and consistently competent when passing into the post. I think Otis could provide at least some scoring punch if we could get him the ball more often, and we know that Marschall can score. With the offensive droughts these guys go through sometimes, that could be huge. And what was Otis doing on his last foul? He fouled a guy shooting a 3 - bad enough when anyone does it, but why was the center out there? We could have used him in OT. I also wasn't crazy about Nate driving for the layup with about 10 seconds left in overtime, down by 3. The defense cleared out and was pretty much giving it to him, but with that little time on the clock, I think it was time to shoot for 3. It didn't help that he missed the layup, but I think it was the wrong decision either way. And I'm not criticizing Nate - that could have been a coaching call as much as his own initiative. And without him we're not in that situation anyway. He's been huge for us.

So now the Falcons go into their final regular-season game in a four-way tie for first in the MAC with Miami, Buffalo, and Akron. There's a bunch of different ways this can play out, but the only thing the Falcons can do at this point is take care of OU at home and let the whole mess sort itself out. I'll be at the House That Roars (and hopefully it will) on Sunday to cheer the Falcons on, and hopefully we can send B-Mo, DC, and Nate out in style.