| Louis Orr |
The Bowling Green men’s basketball team is still a work in progress, head coach Louis Orr said..
The Falcons (1-2 overall) are coming blowout losses to Xavier and Iowa, respectively, and look to get
back to on track at home against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Tipoff Saturday is 2 p.m.
“It’s revelation time. These early games, especially on the road, they kind of let you know where your
team is,” Orr said.
“We have to compete at a higher level,” he added. “This is a team that is a work in progress because guys
have new roles, it’s kind of working itself out. You go through some growing pains, but you need things
to be revealed.”
The most blatant revelations for the Falcons in the past two games have been BG’s inability to get enough
stops on defense and finish on offense. The result has been being out-scored in the two losses, 169-103.
BG has only played its best for a short period of its only win of the season against Wayne State, an
Division II school.
“We haven’t played enough good basketball yet,” Orr said. “We might have played in segments — three or
four minutes here or there; but the reality of it is other than maybe that five-minute period against
Wayne State … Other than those moments we haven’t strung stops together since.”
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he concluded.
Both Iowa and Xavier shot well over their season averages coming into the game, and the Falcons have
allowed their opponents to shoot 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the 3-point line
for the season.
“From a statistical point of view, we haven’t played defense. We really haven’t guarded like we have in
the past,” Orr said. “First and foremost, our foundation is not established. We’re not guarding people.
We’re not making them miss.”
SCOUTING UWM: Wisconsin-Milwaukee comes into Anderson Arena with a 4-2 record, with its losses coming to
Western Kentucky and Indiana State. The Panthers were 69-60 winners over Colgate on Tuesday to finish
play in the NIT Season Tipoff tournament at Fort Worth, Texas. The Panthers have won three straight.
Senior forward James Eayrs (6-foot-7) leads UWM in scoring at 17.8 points per game. He also leads the 7.8
rebounds per games and has five blocks on the season.
Senior guard Ricky Franklin (6-1) is averaging 13.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and a team-high 3.8 assists per game.
The Panthers are averaging 74 points per game. BG has averaged 56.7 ppg on offense and is allowing 71.3
ppg.
UWM is a member of the Horizon League, which includes schools such as Butler, Cleveland State, and
Valparaiso.
FREE THROWS: Incredibly, BG has attempted a total of 27 free throws in its three games and has made only
13 (48.1 percent).
“That’s a sign of not being fundamentally sound,” said Orr of the lack of free throw attempts. “You’re
not taking it to the basket and you’re not being fundamental … And you’re not playing, to me, physical
basketball.”
Freshman Danny McElroy leads BG with six free throw attempts, having made two.
NO GO-TO GUY: BG sophomore forward Scott Thomas leads the team in scoring at 11.0 per game and rebounding
at 5.3 per game. Senior center Otis Polk is in double-figures with 10.0 ppg game and is second with 4.0
rpg.
Fellow senior post Marc Larson has improved his game from last season, averaging 9.3 points per game.
Yet, the Falcons are missing a true go-to guy on offense like they had last year in Nate Miller.
“We have to do it as a body,” Orr said. “We have to do it by executing and spacing and running our
offense and making smart plays.”
NEXT: Saturday’s game will be the first of three straight home games for the Falcons. BG hosts Florida
International, coached by Isiah Thomas, on Monday; and Savannah State on Thursday.
