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March 28, 2024

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Spring Housing Guide

BG set for ESPN2 game

Taking a week off from Mid-American Conference play, the struggling Bowling Green men’s basketball team hits the road this Saturday for a match-up with Illinois-Chicago of the Horizon League. The game will be played at 5 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN2 as a part of ESPN’s “Bracket Buster Saturday.”

The Bracket Buster was devised essentially to give some of the best mid-major programs an opportunity to showcase themselves on national television, potentially improving their chances at earning NCAA tournament invitations in March. In actuality, a relatively small percentage of the 18 teams in the event are likely to receive at-large bids to the Big Dance this year. The participating schools were selected before the season began, and many have experienced a drop-off from recent years.

Having lost all five starters from a team that narrowly missed the NCAA tournament last season, the Falcons (10-12, 6-8 in MAC) are among the Bracket Buster teams that have experienced an understandable decline in 2003. Along with the obvious lack of experience, the team has been devastated by season ending injuries to Germain Fitch, Josh Almanson, and most recently, guard Jabari Mattox.

Despite the strong efforts of emerging stars John Reimold and Kevin Netter, BG’s only chance for an NCAA berth is a MAC tournament title. There will still be plenty on the line, however, when they meet Illinois-Chicago on Saturday.

First and foremost, the Falcons will look to bring an end to their current five game losing streak, which would also mean getting their first win in the month of February. Second, coach Dan Dakich will make his sixth attempt at reaching a milestone by winning his 100th career game. If these factors are not enough motivation, the national television audience could help. Saturday’s game will mark BG’s first nationally televised game since last year’s MAC championship game, and their first regular season appearance since 1995.

When BG was entered into this inaugural Bracket Buster pool, Dakich praised the event as a “great idea. Its positives definitely outweigh the negatives.”

The only negatives facing the Falcons this weekend will be the season’s third distant road trip to Illinois (they previously played at Northwestern and Northern Illinois) and a tough opponent in Illinois-Chicago.

The Flames (16-7, 9-4 in Horizon) are led by junior forwards Cedrick Banks (20.2 ppg) and Armond Williams (14.3 ppg, 8 rpg, .67 FG pct.). They have won four of their last six, but they will have only day off between a conference match-up with Cleveland State and the Bracket Buster game.

“Banks is the quickest kid I’ve seen since Calbert Cheaney at running off baseline screens and shooting,” Dakich said. “They have big, strong kids inside. It’s a team, in our league, as I see it, would be one of the top two or three teams.”

There will be nine Bracket Buster games in total, with four MAC teams taking part. Besides BG, Ball State will travel to Western Kentucky, Marshall will meet Illinois State, and Kent State will host Hawaii.

“It’s a great opportunity for . . . the Mid-American Conference to shine in the national spotlight,” Kent State head coach Jim Christian told ESPN.

For Dakich and the Falcons, it will also be a great opportunity to get back on the winning track.

Jabari Mattox

By now, Dakich must be looking overhead to see if he’s accidentally walking under a lot of ladders. Following a torn knee ligament at the end of practice Wednesday, Mattox brought the injury bug that has ridden BG’s frontcourt all season to the backcourt. The injury — the third season-ender to befall a BG player this year — means freshman Ron Lewis will assume almost all of the point guard duties from here out.

Dakich said the instant Mattox went down, the team knew it was not good.

“Jabari is a quiet kid to begin with, and a very tough kid,” Dakich said. “He’s hit ankles, his head, and you never heard him. But he went down in a lot of pain, loud, and when he grabbed his knee, everybody in the gym knew it was serious.”

Dakich said that if the swelling goes down in Mattox’s knee, he will probably have surgery Monday.

Dakich said he felt especially bad for Mattox and Fitch, who also suffered torn knee ligaments.

“Josh [Almanson] is dealing with [his injury], Josh is going to be all right,” Dakich said. “But the other two are going to have to go through big-time rehab just to get to the point of playing next year.” Almanson had surgery on his ankle earlier this year and is expected to recover fully in time for next season.

According to Dakich, it is too late in the year for Mattox to apply for a medical redshirt. Next year will be his senior season regardless of his health. Both Fitch and Almanson were able to apply to the NCAA for medical hardship redshirts, and will most likely not lose their year of eligibility.

Sports reporter Erik Cassano contributed to this story.

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