BG’s men’s basketball team is traveling to Oxford, Ohio Wednesday to take on the 6-8 (1-1) Miami University Redhawks in their second away conference game of the season.
The Falcons are currently winless in away games and has only one win away from the Stroh Center — BG is 1-2 in games on a neutral court with the win against Division II Alabama-Huntsville.
BG is coming off its first conference win against Eastern Michigan on Saturday and is currently 1-1 in conference play.
Sophomore Richaun Holmes is looking to boost his blocking stats against the Redhawks, who let up an average of 3.7 blocks per game. Holmes currently averages 2.87 blocks per game and has a total of 43 blocks. If Holmes continues, he will have a total of 89 blocks on the season and break the BG record by 30.
The Falcons are looking for their third-straight win against Miami. BG defeated the Redhawks in both meetings in 2012 — they won 65-57 at Millett Hall in Oxford and 56-51 at the Stroh Center.
Miami (6-8) has had a season comparable to BG’s but things may look a bit different when the Falcons arrive at the Millett Hall Wednesday.
At the end of this past season, Charlie Coles retired from the head coach position after 16 years. Coles was responsible for taking the Redhawks to three NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1999.
This year, John Cooper took the reigns from Coles in April after the past three seasons at Tennessee State. Prior to his time at Tennessee State, he spent 15 years as an assistant coach at Fayetteville State, South Carolina, Oregon and Auburn.
Cooper and the Redhawks have faced tough non-conference opponents, including then-ranked No. 6 North Carolina State on Nov. 9 and then-ranked No. 2 Louisville (now No. 1 in the nation) on Nov. 18. They lost both games, 97-59 and 80-39 respectively.
Miami has also defeated some strong opponents this season. On Nov. 21, the Redhawks defeated William & Mary 72-59, who boasted a three-game winning streak at the time. During winter break, Miami also defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago 82-70 on Dec. 22, who were 9-2 before they loss to the Redhawks.
They nearly lost against Buffalo after a 19-0 run from the Bulls but managed to defeat UB 58-57 Saturday.
Miami’s other wins were against Grambling State (0-15), James Madison (9-8) and Wilmington College (4-8).
The game in Oxford is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. and can be viewed on the Mid-American Conference’s live streaming section on its website.
