Bowling Green’s last matchup with Toledo was a double overtime thriller that saw the Falcons escape
defeat time and time again. It’ll go down as one of the most memorable moments in the Stroh Center’s
early history, even though it came in a season that’ll be forgotten as soon as the final buzzer of the
season sounds.
So let’s do it again, shall we?
The location will be different and the stakes will be higher. But Bowling Green-Toledo is never dull. It
surely won’t disappoint tonight.
The Falcons and Rockets will meet for the season’s third edition of the Battle of I-75, this time in the
first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Savage Arena.
“It’s always exciting when you play Toledo,” Falcons coach Michael Huger said. “It’s a rivalry game still
no matter what’s at stake. You still want to go out and play your best against Toledo.
“I’m sure they’ll have a great crowd and it’ll be a fun atmosphere.”
Bowling Green, the No. 10 seed, finished the season 13-18 overall and 7-11 in the MAC — a two-game
improvement from last season. The seventh-seeded Rockets are 16-15, 9-9.
The teams split their two games in the regular season, with Toledo winning the first matchup 85-73 on
Jan. 17 in Savage. The Falcons won 104-100 in double overtime in the Stroh Center on Feb. 4.
“We still want to take it as another game,” BG sophomore Demajeo Wiggins said.
“Tournament time is a new season for us. … Playing your rival, it makes it that much more sweet.”
Bowling Green is assured to walk into a hostile environment tonight, with a near-sellout crowd likely.
Toledo ranked second in the MAC in home attendance this season, averaging 4,148 fans per game. Ohio was
first in the conference with an average attendance of 6,372.
“You feed off of it, but at the same time keep our composure,” said Wiggins, who is third on the team in
scoring, averaging 10 ppg. “Just go in there and follow our coach’s game plan and hopefully come out
victorious.”
“You have to embrace it,” Huger said of the game environment. “You have to take it full on and you can’t
back away from it. You can’t back down from that atmosphere. You have to play your best and you have to
want to be there. Our guys want to be there.
“Time will tell in whether we can prepare properly and whether we can execute what we want to execute in
the game plan.”
Seniors Zack Denny (12.9 ppg) and Wes Alcegaire (11.4 ppg) lead Bowling Green in scoring, and they’re two
of the veterans who have experience playing in a first-round road game.
Last season as the No. 12 seed, Bowling Green won at Kent State in the first-round of the MAC tournament.
The Falcons went on to lose to Akron in the semifinals.
“It helps the guys who are coming back because they know what it’s like and how to execute a game plan
and get it done in a hostile environment,” Huger said. “For the young guys, this is their first
go-around in this environment and the pressure is amped up and the physicality is amped up. They just
have to be ready to play, and hopefully the veterans can help those guys along.
“Everything is a key,” he added. “We have to be able to control the paint, we have to do a great job of
controlling the backboard, we’ve got to control Taylor and Sanford and Williams — those guys are very
good.”
Toledo is led by Jonathan Williams, a guard who averages 19.7 ppg. Steve Taylor Jr. is second on the team
with 15.6 ppg and Jaelan Sanford is third at 13.3 ppg. Sanford is shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point
range this season, while Taylor averages 12.5 rebounds per game.
“There are so many different things that can change a game,” Huger said. “One guy that you didn’t really
account for, he gets hot and he hits some buckets, that can hurt you. There are so many factors when you
go into a game like this that we just have to be prepared for all of them.”
