It wasn’t a foreshadowing. In fact, it was more of a tease.
The BGSU men’s 79-74 win at Kent State on Jan. 26 was supposed to propel the Falcons to a strong finish to the remainder of the season. But BG is just 1-6 since and on the verge of finishing with the worst record in coach Dan Dakich’s nine-year tenure.
BG and Kent will meet again at 7 p.m. tonight at Anderson Arena.
In the last match-up between the teams, BG (9-16, 5-9) probably played as well as it has all season, making 34 of 35 attempts from the free-throw line and shooting 50 percent from the field.
It may go down as the biggest upset in the Mid-American Conference this season as the Golden Flashes (19-7, 2-2) are tied with Akron atop the East division and have won six of seven since the loss to BG.
“We played as a team, we moved the ball, we handled it, we didn’t do a lot of unnecessary dribbling,” Dakich said.
Dakich recently pulled out the video tape of his team’s win over the Golden Flashes and compared it to the Falcons’ ugly 70-51 loss to Wright State on Saturday at Anderson Arena.
“It was like night and day,” he said. “The ball was moving, everybody that passed went to go get somebody and screen somebody. That’s how we have to play to be successful.”
After tonight’s contest, the Falcons will play just four more times before the MAC tournament. On Sunday, the Falcons will head to Buffalo (16-10), and next week they have games versus Miami (15-8) on Wednesday and Ohio (15-8) on Saturday. If BG fails to win another game – a strong possibility – Dakich will suffer his worst season ever at the University. In the 1997-98 campaign – his first season at BG – the Falcons were 10-16 (7-11).
Notes:
” Dakich doesn’t have much to say about the soon-to-be vacant head coaching position at Indiana, his alma mater. Dakich’s name has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Mike Davis, who will resign at the end of the season. “I’m worried about BG, I don’t even pay attention to anything else,” Dakich said.
” Dakich anticipates that freshman Dusan Radivojevic will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. The native of Serbia ‘ Montenegro, is averaging 2.8 ppg in 15 appearances.
” Dakich had a visitor to his home last week as he worked on post moves with freshman Erik Marschall. Marschall, who had struggled of late, responded with a big game against Wright State, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds.
” Nate Miller, a freshman transfer from UNC-Wilmington, arrived at BG on Jan. 9 and quickly impressed his coach. Miller, who was recruited heavily by Dakich out of high school, must sit out the first semester of next season before gaining eligibility. “I’ve told him numerous times, ‘I wish you’d have been here from the start,'” Dakich said. “Nate’s an animal inside.”
