N. Illinois meets BG in MAC semis
Northern Illinois (17-16, 10-10) vs. Bowling Green (21-11, 13-6)
Mid-American Conference Tourney Semifinals, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Bowling Green is ready to face Northern Illinois with a spot in the MAC championship game on the line. The only meeting between the teams this season came on Feb. 16, when the Falcons outshot Northern Illinois 58.7 percent to 39 percent and hit eight more 3-pointers on their way to a 20-point victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Northern Illinois has benefited heavily from its seniors. Eugene German, Levi Bradley, Dante Thorpe and Lacey James have combined to account for 74 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 87 percent of all Huskies points over the team’s last five games.
EFFICIENT EUGENE: German has connected on 41.7 percent of the 204 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 12 for 24 over the last three games. He’s also made 68.6 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: The Huskies are 0-5 when they score 62 points or fewer and 17-11 when they exceed 62 points. The Falcons are 0-8 when they fail to score more than 71 points and 21-3 on the season, otherwise.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Falcons have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Huskies. Bowling Green has an assist on 32 of 86 field goals (37.2 percent) across its previous three games while Northern Illinois has assists on 21 of 88 field goals (23.9 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Bowling Green has attempted the second-most free throws among all MAC teams. The Falcons have averaged 22.3 free throws per game this season.