Bowling Green men’s basketball (11-6, 2-3) plays host to the Eastern Michigan Eagles (9-9,3-3) in the Stroh Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the Falcon’s first Mid-American Conference (MAC) game in a week.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Foster Roesti and Andrew Smith will have the live radio broadcast on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com, with the pregame show set to start at 12:35, hosted by Nate Hinners, Noah Seeley and Sam Bork.
Matchup History
The Falcons hold a 58-37 overall lead in the all-time meeting history of the two programs. BGSU also holds a 35-12 home record when facing the Eagles.
Last season, the two teams split the series with neither team being able to protect home court.
Scouting Eastern Michigan
The Eagles, who rank seventh in the MAC standings, come into this matchup off a 77-59 win over the NIU Huskies, a game in which EMU put up 49 points in the second half.
On the offensive end, the Eagles are led by Mohammad Habhab, who leads the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game. The transfer from Central Michigan does much of his work down low, shooting 40.6% from the field. Habhab does not just score at a high level but is a great rebounder, as he also leads the team in boards with 7.9 per game
Defensively, Carlos Hart is the head of the team, with 23 steals on the season, making him the only player on the roster to be in the top-25 in the MAC for steals this season.
Patrolling the paint for the Eagles is Godslove Nwabude. The sophomore is averaging 1.5 blocked shots per game this season, which is good enough for third in the MAC.
EMU enters this game with one of the top ranked defenses in the MAC, only allowing 70.8 points per game this season through 18 games. The star of Eastern Michigan’s defense is their ability to guard the 3-point line, holding opponents to 31.3% from deep this season.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons enter this matchup off a 77-67 loss to the Akron Zips, where a slow start to the game caused the Falcons to only have 27 points in the first half.
Bowling Green by Javontae Campbell, who is averaging 29 points over his last three games. Campbell has also not had a rest in the last three games, which includes a 45-minute outing at UMass.
One of the recent breakout players for the Orange and Brown is Mayar Wol, who with players being out, has found himself in the starting lineup. In the last three games, all games that Wol has started, he is averaging 21.6 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Becoming a high-profile scorer for BGSU, the forward has taken full advantage of being put into the starting lineup.
Entering this matchup with the third-ranked offense in the MAC, the Falcons have one of the best field goal percentages in the conference at 49.5%, only behind Miami (OH) and Akron.
Sitting at eighth in the MAC standings, BGSU looks to claw their way back into the upper echelon of the MAC with EMU one spot ahead of them.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Patterson is one of only two players on the roster who has started all 18 games this season. This year, he is third on the team in scoring and assists at 12.9 points per game and 2.7 assists per game, respectively, and second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game.
The former Falcon has started the last six games for the Eagles, with 5.6 points and 3 rebounds a game. With a 16-point outing against the Ohio Bobcats, the guard has shown flashes of high-scoring outings while in the starting lineup.
The guard started 10 straight games before missing the Kent State contest and came off the bench in the loss against Akron, only accumulating two points off two made free throws. Having Ruffin’s presence can help the Falcons on both ends of the court.
Towns has been an integral part of the Falcon’s offense this season. At 12.9 points per game, the forward is the second-leading scorer for BGSU, and is leading the Falcons in rebounds per game at 6.9.
