2008 Woodie Awards
Men to host MAC leader Kent tomorrow
By: Bill Bordewick
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Sports
BG plays host to the 23rd ranked team in the country tomorrow at Anderson Arena - and this is a conference game.
That nationally ranked team happens to be none other than BG's MAC East rival Kent State. The Golden Flashes earned a spot in the Top 25 with its 65-57 victory over St. Mary's in last Saturday's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBuster event.
"You thank God for the opportunity and really its what you make of it," said BG coach Louis Orr on the chance to host a ranked team. "In order to achieve great things, you have to have great opportunities - like it has been all season, the next game is the biggest game of the year."
Kent State has become the first MAC team since the 2001-2002 Ball State Cardinals to be ranked in the Top 25. That year the Cardinals climbed to as high as 15th in the AP Poll.
The Flashes gained that national ranking by winning six straight games with the biggest coming in the aforementioned game at St. Mary's.
"They had a great road win - going all the way out to California and beating a ranked team in St. Mary's," Orr said. "Kent epitomizes a quality team with a lot of substance."
Al Fisher led the way for the Flashes against St. Mary's with 28 points. The junior-college transfer is averaging 21 points over the last six games - all Kent victories.
"We did our homework. We did our research but we never saw him play live," said Kent State coach Jim Christian to the Associated Press after the game. "I'm glad he's with us. No one would expect what he's given us. He's been a tremendous player all year."
By averaging 16.8 points per game during MAC play, Fisher has improved on his scoring average by two points in conference play.
The key to Fisher's game might be his ability to get to the free throw line. He has 126 free throw attempts on the season and has converted on 104 (82 percent) of those tries.
"He's a guy that you got to try and keep out of the line - if you can," Orr said of Fisher. "He energizes them - he makes them go."
For BG to win this game, they're going to need a similar performance to the victory this past weekend at Detroit Mercy.
The 81-65 victory may have been BG's most complete victory of the season. Guards Joe Jakubowski and Brian Moten led the way scoring-wise with a combined 35 points, but they were not the only players who played well - it was a team effort.
"We need everybody - guard play is essential, but we need everyone to play at a high level," Orr said. "When we're at our best, we have balance - we are not just depending on Nate [Miller] to make plays the whole game. The Detroit game was a great example where we did have contributions from a lot of different people."
The Falcons will need those similar contributions to knock off the nationally-ranked Flashes.
That nationally ranked team happens to be none other than BG's MAC East rival Kent State. The Golden Flashes earned a spot in the Top 25 with its 65-57 victory over St. Mary's in last Saturday's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBuster event.
"You thank God for the opportunity and really its what you make of it," said BG coach Louis Orr on the chance to host a ranked team. "In order to achieve great things, you have to have great opportunities - like it has been all season, the next game is the biggest game of the year."
Kent State has become the first MAC team since the 2001-2002 Ball State Cardinals to be ranked in the Top 25. That year the Cardinals climbed to as high as 15th in the AP Poll.
The Flashes gained that national ranking by winning six straight games with the biggest coming in the aforementioned game at St. Mary's.
"They had a great road win - going all the way out to California and beating a ranked team in St. Mary's," Orr said. "Kent epitomizes a quality team with a lot of substance."
Al Fisher led the way for the Flashes against St. Mary's with 28 points. The junior-college transfer is averaging 21 points over the last six games - all Kent victories.
"We did our homework. We did our research but we never saw him play live," said Kent State coach Jim Christian to the Associated Press after the game. "I'm glad he's with us. No one would expect what he's given us. He's been a tremendous player all year."
By averaging 16.8 points per game during MAC play, Fisher has improved on his scoring average by two points in conference play.
The key to Fisher's game might be his ability to get to the free throw line. He has 126 free throw attempts on the season and has converted on 104 (82 percent) of those tries.
"He's a guy that you got to try and keep out of the line - if you can," Orr said of Fisher. "He energizes them - he makes them go."
For BG to win this game, they're going to need a similar performance to the victory this past weekend at Detroit Mercy.
The 81-65 victory may have been BG's most complete victory of the season. Guards Joe Jakubowski and Brian Moten led the way scoring-wise with a combined 35 points, but they were not the only players who played well - it was a team effort.
"We need everybody - guard play is essential, but we need everyone to play at a high level," Orr said. "When we're at our best, we have balance - we are not just depending on Nate [Miller] to make plays the whole game. The Detroit game was a great example where we did have contributions from a lot of different people."
The Falcons will need those similar contributions to knock off the nationally-ranked Flashes.
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