BGSU men’s basketball hits the road, traveling north to East Lansing to battle the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center on Saturday, Nov. 16. The contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, marking the first nationally televised game for the Orange and Brown this season.
“It’s always an honor and privilege to play a team of that caliber. They’re one of the premiere programs in all of college basketball and coach the gold standard. So, just to see where we line up there. You better bring your toughness, you better be ready to play your absolute heart out because they’re going to, and they’re playing fast, and they’re going to be physical,” BGSU head coach Todd Simon said. “So, we need to match all those things, and then we’ve got to execute offensively. It’s going to be a real test to see how well we execute.”
A win against Michigan State would mark BG’s first win against the Spartans since 1990 and their first Power 5 victory since defeating Virginia Tech in 2005.
The game also marks a homecoming for associate head coach Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. and Simon.
Nairn played for head coach Tom Izzo at MSU from 2014-2018, becoming one of just six Spartans to be a three-year captain. Meanwhile, Simon grew up in Fowler, Michigan, about 40 minutes from the Breslin Center.
Matchup History
Bowling Green and Michigan State have played 14 times, with the Spartans leading the all-time series 11-3.
Saturday will mark the first meeting between the teams since 2012.
Michigan State has won the past five contests against BGSU, with BG’s last win against the Spartans dating back to Dec. 1, 1990.
The Falcons last beat MSU in East Lansing on Dec. 18, 1989.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green enters the game with a 1-2 record on the young season. After dropping the first two contests of the season to Southern Miss and Davidson, the Falcons dominated Taylor University on Monday, 107-43.
BGSU’s offense has come out of the gates fast to start the season, with shooting noticeably improved from last year’s 20-win campaign.
The Falcons lead the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with 86.7 points per game and a 45% three-point percentage. They also rank third with a 49.2% field goal percentage, fifth with 37.0 rebounds per game and sixth with a 70.8% free throw percentage.
Bowling Green’s defense has been solid through three games this year.
BG holds opponents to just 23.1% shooting from the field and records 10.3 steals per game, which both lead the conference. They are also holding the opposition to just 42.1% shooting from the field and 70.3 points per game while forcing 15.0 turnovers per game.
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State enters the contest 2-1 on the season. The Spartans picked up wins over Monmouth and Niagara before falling to No. 1 Kansas by eight points on Tuesday, 77-69.
Although the Spartans kept it close against the top-ranked team in the country, they shot just 34.8% (24-69) from the field and 12.5% (3-24) on three-pointers.
Michigan State has struggled to shoot the ball early in the season.
The Spartans rank 11th in the Big Ten with 82 points per game and just a 45.2% field goal percentage. Meanwhile, they rank last in the conference with just a 20% three-point percentage.
However, they rank second in the Big Ten with 45.3 rebounds per game, fourth with a 76.7% free throw percentage and seventh with 18 assists per game.
On the surface, MSU’s defense does not look like anything special. They rank 11th in the Big Ten with 4.3 blocks per game, 14th with 64.7 points allowed per game and 15th with 5.7 steals per game.
Nevertheless, the Spartans have kept the opposition’s shooting in check through the first three games. Michigan State has held opponents to just 35.5% shooting from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Marcus Johnson (Bowling Green #6)
The 6-foot-7-inch, 265-pound senior forward has dominated from beyond the arc for the Falcons.
Johnson leads the Falcons with a 57.1% three-point percentage and paces the MAC with 12 three-pointers.
Simon had high praise for the Akron, Ohio, native after BG’s win over Taylor on Monday, stating postgame, “I would argue he might be the best shooter in the country.”
Javontae Campbell (Bowling Green #2)
The junior guard has seamlessly transitioned from junior college (JUCO) to Division I after transferring from Northern Oklahoma to BGSU.
Campbell leads the Falcons and ranks second in the MAC with 3.3 steals per game, fifth with a 64.5% field goal percentage and sixth with 18.7 points per game.
Jaxon Kohler (Michigan State #0)
Although he has come off the bench in all three games this season, the 6-foot-9-inch junior forward leads the Spartans with 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the Big Ten.
Hailing from American Fork, Utah, Kohler is the first player from the state to play at Michigan State. He has drawn nicknames such as “the big footwork” and “baby Jokic,” while Izzo has compared him to a post player in the mold of MSU alum Zach Randolph.
Jeremy Fears Jr. (Michigan State #1)
Much of the Michigan State offense runs through Fears, the redshirt freshman guard from Joliet, Illinois.
Fears leads the Spartans and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 7.3 assists per game. After tallying eight assists in each of the first two contests of the year, he added six more against top-ranked Kansas on Tuesday.
