Bowling Green Falcons
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #91
Conference Rank: #2 Mid-American
Bowling Green has been a very competitive team in the Mid-American Conference the last two seasons. The Falcons have finished second in the East Division in each of those campaigns and finished with more than 20 wins. However, the Falcons still have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1969 or the NIT since 2009. Despite the loss of Dylan Frye and his 13.3 points per game, Bowling Green is in good shape to make a serious push for the NCAA Tournament.
2019-20 Record: 21-10, 12-6
Coach: Michael Huger
Coach Record: 88-75 at Bowling Green, 88-75 overall
Key Departed Players:
Dylan Frye, Guard, 13.3 ppg
Tayler Mattos, Center, 4.9 ppg
Michael Laster, Guard, 4.7 ppg
Marlon Sierra, Forward, 3.8 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Justin Turner, Senior, Guard, 18.8 ppg
Daeqwon Plowden, Senior, Guard/Forward, 12.7 ppg
Caleb Fields, Junior, Guard, 6.6 ppg
Trey Diggs, Senior, Guard/Forward, 7.5 ppg
Matiss Kulackovskis, Junior, Forward, 3.7 ppg
Chandler Turner, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 2.3 ppg
Davin Ziegler, Sophomore, Guard, 2.2 ppg
Dylan Swingle, Sophomore, Center, 1.6 ppg
Joniya Gadson, Junior, Center, dnp last season
Key New Players:
Josiah Fulcher, Freshman, Guard
Kaden Metheny, Freshman, Guard
Jackson Watson, Freshman, Guard
Cam Young, Freshman, Guard/Forward
Projection:
Justin Turner has picked up plenty of accolades during his three years with the Falcons. As a freshman he was on the MAC All-Freshman team and he has been a First Team All-MAC honoree each of the last two seasons. The next step will be winning the conference player of the year accolades. And after averaging 18.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists last year, that seems like a very feasible goal. Senior wing Daeqwon Plowden figures to be the other main scoring threat. He tallied 12.7 points per game in 2019-2020 and could be even more dangerous if his outside shot starts falling more consistently. At 6-6, Plowden can still do a lot of damage by attacking the basket. He also is a great rebounder and tallied 8.5 per game last season. Caleb Fields and Trey Diggs are both upperclassmen who are ready to help pick up some of the scoring slack left by Frye. Diggs was mostly a shooter off the bench last season, but on a team that does not shoot particularly well from beyond the arc, having a consistent shooter like Diggs is very important. That is a solid foursome to build around, but Coach Michael Huger will need to find some depth from the freshmen and returning players like Matiss Kulackovskis, Chandler Turner and Davin Ziegler.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.5 (89th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.9 (271, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.8 (280, 11)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.0 (121, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.8 (120, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (153, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.2 (43, 2)
Rebound Margin: 1.8 (131, 4)
Assists Per Game: 12.3 (243, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.1 (23, 1)
