Monday, November 24th, 8:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Value City Arena (19,049) -- Columbus, Ohio. Television: Big Ten Network. Home Record: BGSU 1-0, OSU 0-0. Away Record: BGSU 0-1, OSU 0-0. Neutral Record: BGSU 2-0, OSU 1-0. Conference Record: BGSU 0-0, OSU 0-0. Series Record: Ohio State leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: The Bowling Green Falcons shoot for their third straight win tonight as they challenge the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena in Columbus. Since losing to Minnesota back on November 15th, the Falcons have posted back-to-back victories over the likes of Concordia-St. Paul and Wayne State by significant margins. While those opponents may not be top caliber, it doesn't hurt to start off the new season with a 3-1 mark. As for the Buckeyes, they finally tipped off their 2008-09 slate on November 20th with a 70-42 triumph against Delaware State at St. John Arena in Columbus. OSU will host Samford five days from now and will play its first road game versus Miami in Florida. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series with BGSU by a count of 3-2, although it was the Falcons who posted a 59-50 win in the most recent meeting back in 1994.

Against little Wayne State the Falcons rolled up a 32-point win, thanks in large part to an offense that opened up in the second half and shot 51.9 percent from the field, not to mention the defense limited Wayne State to a mere 8-of-29 from the floor during that same stretch. Nate Miller came off the bench to tally 15 points in the victory, while fellow reserve Erik Marschall tallied 14 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. Starters Brian Moten and Darryl Clements accounted for 11 points apiece. As one of four players to have appeared in every game this season and is now scoring in double figures, Moten leads the pack with his 15.3 ppg, thanks to his 42.3 percent accuracy out on the perimeter. Clements (14.8 ppg) is asked to do more than score and has come up big at both ends of the floor with 19 assists and 11 steals, both of which lead Bowling Green entering this matchup.

The Ohio State defense limited the Hornets to just eight field goals in each half last week, forcing 20 turnovers along the way, as the Buckeyes cruised to the easy win. David Lighty and William Buford both tallied 13 points for the victors, while Jeremie Simmons tacked on 10 points as he converted 3-of-6 behind the three-point line. Dallas Lauderdale (seven points) focused much of his energy on defense, resulting in a game-high seven blocked shots. It also helped the OSU outscored the visitors 18-3 at the free-throw line. This year's Ohio State roster is full of new faces once again, which means a player like Lighty is going to be asked to step up and take charge with some leadership. The captain of this year's team, Lighty has the most experience on a squad that doesn't have a single senior. Then again, the youthful exuberance of someone like Buford who is a freshman, will certainly help the energy level for this group.

OSU head coach Thad Matta is again in a semi-rebuilding process, but the pieces that the Buckeyes tend to get are much more solid than other schools, so expect a win at home tonight for Ohio State.

Predicted Outcome

Ohio State 72, Bowling Green 60