HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team will begin the 2024-25 season on the road, traveling to face Southern Miss on Monday (Nov. 4). The game will mark the first leg of this season's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The Falcons and Golden Eagles are scheduled for an 8 p.m. EST tip at Reed Green Coliseum. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ with a radio feed from Kevin Piel on WFRO Eagle 99. 

Opening Tip
The Falcons will be embarking on the program's 110th season all-time and is coming off one of the best turnarounds in the nation, going from 20 losses in 2022-23 to 20 wins in 2023-24, one of 10 teams in the country to do so. Bowling Green and Southern Miss will be meeting for the first time in program history, making Southern Miss the 321st unique opponent in BGSU's program history. This will mark the second year of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Last year, Bowling Green went 1-1 with a home win over Arkansas State and a road loss to Louisiana. 

A Bowling Green Win Would…

• Start the season 1-0 for the third-straight season, the longest 1-0 streak for the Falcons since three consecutive seasons from 2017-18 to 2019-20. 
• Give Coach Simon a 1-0 start in both of his first two seasons, making him the first BGSU coach to do so since Jim Larranaga (1986-87, 1987-88) and the fifth all-time.
• Mark the first program win over Southern Miss, giving BGSU wins over 265 different teams over the program's history. 

Scouting The Golden Eagles
Southern Miss is coming off a 16-16 campaign last season, going 9-9 in Sun Belt play and finished with an impressive 11-3 home record. In the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge last year, Southern Miss came up short against Akron in the first leg, 72-54, but bested Western Michigan in February at home with an 86-54 final score against the Broncos. Southern Miss will return eight players from their 2023-24 roster this season and won both of their exhibitions, topping New Orleans, 105-102, and Jackson State, 92-85 in overtime.

BGSU v. Southern Miss, A History
This will be the first meeting all-time between Bowling Green and Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles will be the 321st unique opponent for the Falcons during the history of the program, dating back to 1915-16. Last year, BGSU added four new teams to the list, including fellow MAC-Sun Belt Challenge foe Louisiana. All-time, BGSU has topped 264 different opponents during the course of the program's history. As for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, this will be the second season with BGSU going 1-1 last year, besting Arkansas State. 

Falcons Reload
After welcoming 10 newcomers to the 14-player roster last year, the Falcons will have a similar mission this year with the roster consisting of 10 newcomers to a 15-player roster. Last year, BGSU added nine transfers and one true freshman while this year's additions consist of eight transfers and two freshmen. Of the eight transfers joining the Falcons this season, three arrive from the Power 5 level, one from within the Mid-American Conference, one from the Division-II ranks and three from the JUCO level. 

Thomas, Towns Lead Returners
The Falcons will welcome back five players from the 2023-24 squad, including seniors DaJion Humphrey, Trey Thomas and Sam Towns as well as junior Greg Spurgin and redshirt freshman Jamai Felt. The five combined for 82 games played with 43 starts. Thomas led the returning unit, averaging 11.5 points per game while shooting 31.7% from three and 83.1% from the free throw line. Towns added 6.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 52.3% from the field. Spurgin played in five games last year while Felt was redshirted.

Flipping The Script
The 2023-24 Falcons reached exclusive heights during the first season under Coach Simon. After going 11-20 in 2022-23, Simon orchestrated a quick turnaround for the Falcons, finishing with a 20-14 record a season ago. In doing so, BGSU became one of 10 teams in the nation to go from 20 losses to 20 wins. The list includes Central Connecticut State, Little Rock, Loyola Chicago, McNeese, Ole Miss, SMU, South Carolina, Stony Brook and UT Arlington. The 20 wins for the Falcons also marks the first 20-win season for the program since the 2018-19 campaign.

Simon's Strong Start
In his first season at the helm of the Falcons, Todd Simon tied the program record for most regular season wins by a first-year head coach and recorded just the ninth 20-win season in the program's MAC era. The Simon-led Falcons tallied a MAC Tournament win for the first time since 2018-19, making Simon the fourth coach in program history to win a MAC Tournament game in his first season with the Falcons. Simon was also just the third coach in program history to lead the Falcons to a postseason appearance in his first season at the helm, advancing to the CIT. Bill Fitch made the NCAA Tournament in 1967-68 and Chris Jans made the CIT in 2014-15.  

Falcons Fly Abroad
Over the summer, Bowling Green's men's basketball team went on a European Tour, visiting Munich and Nuremberg in Germany as well as Prague in the Czech Republic. During the trip, the Falcons played two games against local teams, going 2-0 in Europe. Bowling Green bested the Munich All-Stars, 80-69, before beating the SRSNI Pisek-NBL team in an 87-86 final score. The trip also had historical stops and tours in each city visited. 

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons' men's basketball team on social media
Twitter - @BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMBB
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgsumhoops'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'