BGSU men’s basketball will travel 30 minutes north on Friday, seeking to exact revenge against Toledo in the second leg of this season’s Battle of I-75, with the game set to start at 6 p.m.
The Falcons are seeking their first win at Savage Arena since Feb. 13, 2021. BGSU is also seeking back-to-back road wins for the first time this season.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Artie Abrego will have the call on Falcon Radio, beginning at 5:45 p.m. for pregame.
Matchup History
Friday will mark the 184th meeting between the rivals, with Toledo leading the all-time series 99-84.
Toledo has won six of the past seven games against BGSU, with the Falcon’s last win coming in the second meeting between the teams last season.
UT won the first meeting between the teams earlier this season, 84-71, on Jan. 24.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green is currently on the outside looking in with the MAC Tournament, holding 10th place with a 10-16 overall and 4-9 conference record.
Inconsistency has been the story of BGSU’s season up until this point. The Falcons have not won more than two straight games this season and are yet to string together back-to-back conference wins.
Bowling Green is coming off a crushing 91-84 loss to Kent State at the Stroh Center on Tuesday.
BG’s offense has been average this season.
The Falcons rank seventh in the MAC with 75.2 points per game and 34% shooting from deep. They are also shooting 43.7% from the floor, ranking eighth in the conference.
The Orange and Brown are also last in the MAC with just 11.4 assists per game.
BGSU’s defense has been slightly better this year.
The Orange and Brown hold opponents to 32.7% shooting from deep, 75.7 points per game and 45.9% shooting from the field, ranking fourth, seventh and eighth in the MAC, respectively.
Senior guard DaJion Humphrey is close to becoming the third Falcon to reach 1,000 career collegiate points, sitting just four shy of the milestone.
Scouting Toledo
Toledo sits in third place in the MAC standings with a 16-10 overall and 9-4 conference record. The Rockets have won four consecutive MAC regular season championships.
Although Toledo won their last game, a 67-66 victory over Ball State on Tuesday, they have lost two of their last three games, previously falling to Miami (OH) and Eastern Michigan.
Toledo’s offense has been solid this season. They rank fourth in the MAC with 78.2 points per game, fifth with 34.6% shooting on 3-pointers and seventh with 46% shooting from the field.
UT’s offense has struggled recently. Over the past three games, they are averaging just 73.3 points per game while shooting only 43.8% from the field.
However, the Rocket’s defense has been one of the worst in the conference this season.
The Midnight Blue and Gold allow teams to shoot 47.3% from the field, the worst mark in the MAC.
They also allow opponents to score 77.7 points per game and shoot 36.6% from deep, the second-worst mark in the conference. Additionally, they only force 10.8 turnovers per game, the second-fewest in the MAC.
Toledo’s defense has struggled even worse than their offense recently. Over the past three games, opponents are averaging 75.3 points per game, shooting 53.5% from the field and 53.5% from beyond the arc against the Rockets.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Marcus Johnson (Bowling Green #6)
The senior forward ranks second in the MAC with 16.7 points per game and fifth with 63 3-pointers this season.
Johnson also leads the MAC and ranks 12th in the country with 90.8% shooting on free throws. The Akron, Ohio, native has made 28 straight free throws, with his last miss coming on Jan. 18 against Eastern Michigan. Dating back to Jan. 14, Johnson has made 35 of his last 36 free throw attempts.
In BG’s loss to Toledo earlier this season, Johnson scored a team-high 28 points while shooting 10-20 from the field and 3-9 from deep.
Javontae Campbell (Bowling Green #2)
Campbell has been a defensive wizard for Bowling Green this season. He leads the MAC and ranks third in the country with 76 steals this season.
The junior guard is three steals away from setting a new career-high after recording 78 last season at Northern Oklahoma. He is also six steals away from tying and seven from breaking the BG single-season steals record of 82, which DeMar Moore set in the 1996-97 season.
Wilson is Toledo’s primary scorer, leading the Rockets and ranking eighth in the MAC with 15.5 points per game.
He also ranks seventh in the conference with 52.5% shooting from the field.
Last game against Bowling Green, the sophomore guard scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while shooting 7-9 from the field.
While the fifth-year guard averaged 11.2 points per game this season, he has scored 16.7 points per game over Toledo’s past three contests.
Adams was dominant in UT’s win over BG earlier in the season, tallying 18 points, four assists and two steals.
