Game #1 - Bowling Green Falcons

The Catamounts open the regular season at home against the Bowling Green Falcons on Tuesday, this game is part of a doubleheader in the Ramsey Center to open the regular season for both the men's and women's teams. The two teams last met in Bowling Green, Ohio in 2018,   

When: Tuesday, Nov. 9th, 2021, at 7:30 pm 

Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC 

Radio: Catamount Sports Network
-announcers: Gary Ayers, play by play
TV/video:  ESPN+
-announcers: Daniel Hooker, play by play; Jeff Bryson, color 

Live Stats:  WCU live stats

Official Athletic Site: Bowling Green
Conference:  Mid-America (MAC)

Nickname:  Falcons

Colors:  Orange & Brown

Location:  Bowling Green, Ohio

Fan Message Board:  Ay-Ziggy-Zoomby.com   

The Series: The Cats own a 2-1 record vs. Bowling Green. The two teams last played in December 2018 in Bowling Green where the Cats dropped a 52-73 loss to the Falcons.  

WCU HC Justin Gary's record vs. the Falcons:  0-0

HC Michael Huger record vs. the Cats: 1-0
Huger's Record at BG: 102-87 / 6th season

Falcon's record last season (2020-21): 14-12 overall, 4-7 home, 10-3 away, 10-8 conf (MAC)

Bowling Green was picked to finish 6th in the 12 team Mid-America Conference preseason poll, while fifth-year senior guard Daeqwon Plowden was selected to the Preseason First Team All-MAC. In the offseason, the Falcons added 6 players, consisting of five transfers and one freshman. The roster will feature five seniors and graduate students, five juniors, five sophomores, and one freshman.

Key Returners: Daeqwon Plowden, Trey Diggs, Kaden Metheny, Caleb Fields, Josiah Fulcher, Cam Young, Matiss Kulackovskis
Key Newcomers: Joe Reece (Old Dominion), Samari Curtis (Evansville), Myron Gordon (Samford), Brenton Mills (Binghamton), Gabe O’Neal (Kent State)

Huger likes an uptempo style. BGSU is going to run a lot and try to score in transition, especially with the amount of guard depth. When in the halfcourt, BGSU employs a pick-n-roll centric attack. Shooting needs to improve for the Falcons to ascend on this end of the floor – they ranked just 11th in the MAC last year with a 31% 3P%. Defense is usually good under Huger, and last year it was satisfactorily average. Huger has a ton of switchable, multi-positional players he can use to throw curveballs and pressure at opposing ball handlers. This should be Huger’s deepest and most talented team he’s had at Bowling Green. A top-three finish in the MAC should be the expectation, and an NCAA Tourney bid should be the goal.

However, the Falcons, like the Cats, played one exhibition game prior to the regular-season opener. Bowling Green hosted Division II Fairmont State and had to go into overtime to gain a victory over the Fighting Eagles from Mountain East Conference, 91-89.  Trey Diggs of Bowling Green sent the teams into overtime with a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to play inside the Stroh Center. In the overtime period, BGSU led throughout the five minutes with a final Fairmount State three-pointer missing at the buzzer to give the Falcons of Bowling Green the 91-89 victory.