Five-Game Road Trip Starts at Bowling Green

Saturday, November 30

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Bowling Green

Garrison Wade

Photo by: Brian Foley

11/29/2019 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Stroh Center YouTube Live Live Stats Dartmouth Notes @DartmouthMBK

The Big Green hit the road for first game in 11 days

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (5-1)
at BOWLING GREEN (5-2)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019 | 4 PM | YouTube
Stroh Center | Bowling Green, Ohio

• Dartmouth returns to the court after 11 days for fall exams looking to continue its hot start when it plays at Bowling Green on Saturday to start a five-game road swing.
• The Big Green have not been 5-1 to start a season since the 1996-97 season when they started 8-1 en route to an 18-8 season and second-place finish in the Ivy League at 10-4.
• Last time out, Dartmouth disposed of Division III Thomas College, 108-59, as a school-record eight players scored in double figures.
• Taurus Samuels led the way with 14 points, tying a personal best with four 3-pointers in five attempts.
• Chris Knight, the only Big Green player averaging in double figures this season at 12.0 ppg, needed just 11 minutes to get to 10 points against the Terriers on 5-of-6 shooting.
• The 6-7 Knight doesn't simply lead Dartmouth in scoring, but also assists (14), blocks (9) and steals (5).
• Three players posted career highs: Garrison Wade (13 points) along with rookies Jackson Blaufeld and Demi Adelekun (10 each), both of whom scored their first collegiate points in the game.
• For the fourth time in the first six contests, the Dartmouth defense held an opponent under 40 percent from the floor (24-of-77, season-low .312).
• Three players snare over six boards a game, led by 6-3 guard Ian Sistare at 6.8 rpg with Aaryn Rai (6.7) and Knight (6.2) not far behind.

Series vs. Bowling Green
• This is just the third meeting between the two schools on the hardwood with the first two on the Falcons' home court as well.
• The first time these two played came on Jan. 2, 1952 with Bowling Green coming away 76-68 winners.
• The last encounter came 50 years and 11 months ago to the day, a game that Dartmouth would rather forget, an 89-53 defeat.
• The Big Green are 1-0 against MAC teams this year having opened the season with a 68-63 win at Buffalo.
• Overall, Dartmouth is 5-12 against MAC teams with three of those wins coming against Buffalo and its worst record versus Toledo (0-6).

Scouting the Falcons
• Like Dartmouth, Bowling Green started the season by winning five of its first six games, but fell in the championship game of the Paradise Jam to Nevada, 77-62, to fall to 5-2.
• The offense has been productive, averaging over 80 points a game despite shooting just 41.6 percent overall and 31.5 percent on 3-point attempts.
• The Falcons have been very accurate at the line, however, ranking 33rd nationally at 77.1 percent.
• Guard Justin Turner does just about everything for BGSU, leading the team in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (25), steals (12) and shooting accuracy (.494 FG, .400 3FG, .947 FT).
• Rebounding is a strength the Falcons as well, ranking sixth nationally at 44.9 per game, led by 6-11 center Taylor Mattos (7.4 rpg), a New Hampshire native who went to Kearsarge HS.
• Guard Dylan Frye (13.3 rpg) and swingman Daeqwon Plowden (10.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) are others to watch on the BGSU roster.
• Michael Huger (BGSU '94) is in his fifth year leading his alma mater with a record of 72-67. Last year he guided the Falcons to their first 20-win season in 17 years after the team was picked to finish last in the MAC standings.

Watch on YouTube
While the game at Bowling Green will be televised locally on WBGU TV, fans can watch online via a free YouTube stream as well.

First 5-1 Start in 23 Years
Dartmouth began the season by winning its first three games for the first time in 23 years and enters this game with a 5-1 record, something it hadn't done since that same season in 1996-97. If the Big Green want to continue matching that team's start, they will need to win their next three contests as well; Dartmouth won eight of its first nine games that year (the eighth coming against Buffalo coincidentally, the team this year's squad beat to open the season) on its way to an 18-8 overall record and 10-4 mark in the Ivy League.

Eight is Enough
The Big Green defeated Division III Thomas College on Nov. 19 by a final of 108-59, the fourth-most points ever scored by a Dartmouth team. No fewer than eight players scored in double figures, the most ever in program history, led by Taurus Samuels with 14 points. Three of the eight reached double digits for the first time in their collegiate careers — sophomore Garrison Wade (13) and freshmen Jackson Blaufeld and Demi Adelekun (10 each). For the last two, those were the first points of their careers as well.

Hot Hand
Dartmouth lit up the nets against Thomas on Nov. 19, hitting 63.1 percent (41-of-65) from the floor and 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from distance. Those were the best figures for the Big Green since opening Ivy play last year with an 81-63 victory over Harvard, hitting a sizzling 68.1 percent overall (32-of-47, most accurate performance since 1976) and 52.4 percent behind the arc. Dartmouth is 30-7 since 1975-76 when hitting at least 60 percent of its field goals.

Getting Defensive
Last year, the opposition shot 46.0 percent from the floor and averaged over 70 points a game. This year, Dartmouth has really clamped down thus far, holding opponents to 36.9 percent shooting and just 58.2 points a night. In four of the first six games, opponents shot no better than 34.0 percent, and twice the Big Green did not allow even 50 points.

New 3-Point Line Proving Tough
With the 3-point line moved back from 20-feet 6-inches to the international distance of 22-feet 1.75-inches, Dartmouth perhaps just needed time to get used to the new standard. In each of the first four games, the team shot no better than 31.6 percent behind the arc. But against UMass Lowell, that improved to 44.0 percent before jumping to 52.0 percent against Thomas College. Early struggles from long distance are commonplace, however. Last year, 13 of the 353 teams finished the season shooting under 30 percent on 3-point attempts. Entering Thanksgiving, 77 of the 353 were under 30 percent.