After re-energizing the community around the program with a 20-win campaign last year, BGSU men’s basketball is off to a slow 2-0 start, following close losses to Southern Miss and Davidson.
In fact, the Orange and Brown are off to their slowest start since the 2016-2017 campaign, when the Michael Huger-led Falcons started 0-4.
If you go back to last season, Bowling Green has lost four straight games. They ended last year with a loss to Kent State in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament before falling to Purdue Fort Wayne in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
Many people may be quick to go to the panic button. Head coach Todd Simon is not one of those.
“No, not necessarily,” Simon said when asked if he was concerned with the slow start.
Yes, the Falcons are 0-2. However, their losses have come against tough competition between Southern Miss and Davidson.
“You get a tough draw in a game down in Hattiesburg where their (Southern Miss) 27-3 at home the last couple of years; they’re very good. Davidson, obviously, the toughest non-conference opponent in the last seven years here (at the Stroh Center),” Simon said. “So, both of those challenge a team that needs to continue to find its cohesion. So, it’s part of our process.”
Simon nailed the story of the first two games for the Falcons with one word: cohesion.
As the famous saying goes, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ The same applies to a basketball team with 10 new additions and three significant losses.
Over the offseason, Marcus Hill, Rashaun Agee and Jason Spurgin all departed.
Hill led the team in points per game (20.5), assists (87) and steals (35). Agee led the team in rebounds per game (9.9) and offensive rebounds (126). Meanwhile, Spurgin led the Falcons in three-point percentage (33.9%) and blocks (35).
The three players combined for a whopping 59.4% of all points scored by Bowling Green last season (1,485 of 2,502).
Simply put, the Falcons lost a lot in the offseason.
However, they also added a lot in the form of 10 new players, many of whom have limited experience at the Division I level.
“This is the first or second game for a lot of guys at the Division I level that were playing in this game.”
With that level of loss, the haul of new additions and the inexperience of many on the team, it should come to nobody’s surprise that this team may need a little bit to build continuity and cohesion with each other.
“We’re starting to gel, we’re starting to find some rhythm with one another, and it’s going to be a process,” Simon said.
While the record may not be the most flattering early on, there have been plenty of bright spots that show hope for this team, spearheaded by Javontae Campbell.
After averaging 26.5 points per game on 49.9% shooting from the field for Northern Oklahoma at the junior college (JUCO) level last season, Campbell has not missed a beat in his transition to Division I.
The junior guard is currently averaging a MAC-leading 22.0 points per game on a team-high 65.2% (15-23) field goal percentage. He’s also tallied eight steals, the most on the team and second most in the conference.
Campbell dominated in the second half against Davidson, scoring 22 of his 30 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest, including 15 straight BG points in the final five minutes.
It’s not far-fetched to say Campbell is giving flashbacks to when Hill instantly dominated in his first two games at the Division I level with BG last season.
The performance in the second half marked the first time a Falcon has scored 20 points in a half since Hill tallied 24 in a 20-minute stretch last season.
It was a second half that gave a glimpse of how lethal the Bowling Green offense can be, as the Falcons scored 54 points, shot 50% from the field and drilled 42.9% of their three-pointers.
“I mean, 54 points in a half is, you know, closer to what we want to be,” Simon said. “I think that we can be that team that we want to be with our quick strike and really making teams have to make decisions in the first five seconds of the shot clock.”
Another great sight for the Falcons through the first pair of games has been Marcus Johnson. The 6-foot-7-inch, 265-pound senior forward has already proven why Simon has referred to him as a major mismatch for opponents.
When you think of someone Johnson’s size, you probably envision a brawler and bruiser doing the dirty work down low. However, Johnson has the ability to go coast-to-coast and hit deep fadeaway three-pointers.
Over the past few seasons at Division II Wheeling, he shot 47.2% from the field, 44.7% on three-pointers and 90.8% on free throws.
Through two games at the Division I level, Johnson is averaging 16.5 points per game, is shooting 46.7% from beyond the arc and has hit a team-high seven three-pointers.
Three-point shooting is another bright sign of success for the Orange and Brown in the young season.
Last season, shooting from beyond the arc was the team’s Achilles heel. This season, it may be one of their biggest strengths.
After shooting a measly 29.6% on triples last season, the second-worst mark in the MAC, the Falcons have been on fire from deep, shooting a blistering conference-leading 40% on three-pointers through their first two contests.
Multiple things can be true at once. Yes, BGSU is off to a very slow start. However, it also seems true that the pieces are there, and time will be needed for the team to reach its full and true potential.
The Orange and Brown will look to start turning things around this week with two matchups.
First, they will battle Taylor University at the Stroh Center on Monday at 7 p.m. Then, they will head to the Breslin Center on Saturday night to play the always-consistent Tom Izzo-led Michigan State Spartans.
