FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State men’s basketball team will host Saginaw Valley State Thursday, Feb. 2, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. (EST) in FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) encounter will be the second game of a men’s and women’s league doubleheader. FSU will then visit Northwood Saturday, Feb. 4, for a 3 p.m. (EST) league tilt in NU’s Bennett Sports Center at Midland, Mich.

Media Coverage: Both Thursday’s and Saturday’s outings will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Jason DaDay will handle the play-by-play duties for Thursday’s game while Rob Bentley will take care of Saturday’s coverage. The games are also both tentatively slated to be webcast at www.ferris.edu/sports.

Ticket Info: Individual game tickets to FSU regular-season home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. Adult general admission tickets are $7. Student tickets are $5. A family pass with two adult and two youth tickets can be purchased for $15. Ferris faculty/staff ticket prices are also $5. FSU students are admitted free of charge by showing their student ID card. The Northwood Athletics Department can be contacted by calling (989) 837-4381 for ticket information regarding Saturday’s game.

FSU Wins At Ashland: Ferris State outscored Ashland 46-21 in the final half to notch a 87-59 GLIAC triumph over the Eagles last Thursday evening (Jan. 26) in AU's Kates Gymnasium at Ashland, Ohio. The Bulldogs took a 41-38 halftime edge and then shot 55.2% (16-29) from the floor in the second period while maintaining their hold on first place in the GLIAC North Division. Senior guards Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) and Antwuan Holt (Okemos) both tallied 18 points apiece to key the Bulldog attack. Junior forward Terrance Shaw (Saginaw/Bridgeport) chipped in 16 points and freshman guard Jessie York (Muskegon Heights) scored 11 points as all nine Bulldog players who saw action scored in the outing.

Ferris Falls At Findlay: Ferris State dropped a 88-72 league decision to host Findlay last Saturday (Jan. 28) afternoon in UF's Croy Gymnasium at Findlay, Ohio. The Oilers jumped out to a 41-39 halftime edge in a back and forth first period of action and then outscored FSU 47-33 in the final period to increase their nation-leading home court winning streak to 35-straight games. The contest was a battle between the GLIAC North and South Division leaders as both Ferris and Findlay held 9-1 league marks entering the outing. Antwuan Holt led Ferris with 17 points. Dennis Springs added 11 points and 12 assists while junior forward Michael Daniels (Detroit/Murray-Wright) had 11 points and Jessie York netted 10 points. Dorian Bass led Findlay with a game-high 22 points. Dustin Pfeifer and Frank Phillips both chipped in 21 points apiece.

Last Season: Ferris State capped off a banner 2004-05 season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament (March 12-15) held in Findlay, Ohio. FSU reached the regional championship game for only the third time in school history last season. The Bulldogs, who won their second-straight GLIAC North Division Championship with a 13-5 league mark last campaign, concluded the year with a 24-7 overall record and fell one game shy of advancing to the NCAA-II Elite Eight for the second time ever. FSU's 24 victories represented the third-most wins in school history. Ferris, which was ranked 23rd in the final 2004-05 National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Bulletin Regular-Season National Poll, also advanced to the GLIAC Tournament for the second-straight year in 2004-05. Last season marked FSU’s first appearance in the national rankings since 1988-89.

National Rankings: Ferris State was ranked 18th overall in the 2005-06 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason Top 25 poll. FSU was not ranked in the latest (Jan. 31) regular-season poll, but was listed among others receiving votes with two points. Findlay is currently ranked seventh and Grand Valley State 16th among GLIAC schools featured in the current poll. Ashland also received points with one vote. The Bulldogs have already faced four of the top 10 ranked teams in the poll this campaign, including currently third-ranked Southern Indiana, sixth-ranked Montevallo (Ala.), Findlay and number 10-ranked St. Joseph’s (Ind.). Ferris has faced six teams presently ranked this season.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed seventh in this week’s (Feb. 1) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) held the top four positions in the poll with Findlay the highest ranked GLIAC school at number five. GVSU is sixth, Northern Michigan ninth and Ashland 10th among the five league schools featured in the rankings. Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) heads the regional poll, which will be used to help determine the eight-team field for the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships (March 11-14) at the end of the campaign.

FSU Third In Poll: Two-time defending divisional champion Ferris State was picked to finish third in the 2005-06 GLIAC Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll. The Bulldogs totaled 28 points along with one first-place vote in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Northern Michigan was selected as the North Division favorite as the Wildcats recorded 33 points along with four first-place votes. Findlay took the top spot in the South Division with 24 points and four first-place votes. The league's 13 head coaches voted for the division in which they play, but not allowed to vote for their own team.

Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, fourth-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris State’s 11th head coach. The Zeeland, Mich., native served as Ferris’ interim head coach for a portion of the 1995-96 campaign and led the Bulldogs to a 5-8 mark. Before joining the coaching ranks, Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He twice (1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four. Including his stint as interim coach, Sall has a current 66-52 (.559) career mark. He is 61-44 (.581) overall since being appointed head coach prior to the 2002-03 campaign.

The Bulldog Tradition: The 2005-06 campaign marks the 78th season of Bulldog men’s basketball. The program began in 1925 although Ferris did not field a team from 1942-45 due to World War II. FSU has compiled a 928-851 (.522) all-time mark. The Bulldogs have won 11 GLIAC titles, made seven NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and reached the 1988 NCAA-II Elite Eight. Ferris captured a league-record four consecutive GLIAC titles from 1986-90.

Jim Wink Arena: The Bulldogs have posted an impressive 33-9 (.786) overall record at Jim Wink Arena in Bill Sall’s head coaching era at FSU. Ferris, which holds an all-time mark of 41-38 (.519) to date in the seven year old facility, registered a school-best 15-1 (.938) overall record at home in 2004-05. FSU is 28-32 (.467) to date in league play at Wink Arena.

On The Road: Ferris is 385-320 (.546) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 179-221 (.448) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs, who were 7-5 (.583) on the road in 2004-05, currently hold a 6-5 (.545) road mark to date this campaign.

GLIAC Games On The Air: All eighteen of FSU’s 2005-06 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN (News Talk 1460 AM). Selected contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ 2005-06 roster includes three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. Six of the 12 players are guards while the remaining six are frontcourt players. Eleven of the 12 players hail from Michigan with Dennis Springs the only out-of-state player on the active roster.

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more. “Live Stats” of all remaining 2005-06 FSU home contests will also be provided in progress via the internet. Visit www.ferris.edu/sports and click on the “Live Stats” icon.

The Team Captains: FSU’s three seniors are serving as the squad’s team captains this campaign. They include Antwuan Holt, Dennis Springs and forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley). Springs and Shanahan are returning three-year letterwinners while Holt played his first two collegiate seasons at GLIAC-member Northern Michigan before his transfer to FSU prior to last season.

Bulldog Bites: The Bulldogs had their 17-game home court winning streak dating back to last season snapped by Mercyhurst (Jan. 19). The loss also ended a 17-game GLIAC regular-season winning streak for the Bulldogs .......... Ferris State has won 36 of its last 47 conference regular-season outings dating back to the 2003-04 campaign. The Bulldogs won divisional titles in both 2003-04 and 2004-05 with 14-4 and 13-5 league marks, respectively ....... Last Saturday’s (Jan. 28) loss at nationally ninth-ranked Findlay was a rematch of last season’s NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship game held in UF’s Croy Gymnasium. FSU has currently lost 10 consecutive games to date versus the Oilers and has not posted a series’ victory since the 1963-64 campaign ........ The Bulldogs’ current overall home attendance average of 972 in seven home games this campaign ranks fourth in the league. FSU has averaged 1,090 fans in six GLIAC home contests this year ............. Ferris has emerged victorious in 27 of its last 30 home outings overall ............... The Bulldogs had posted only a 21-82 (.204) mark in the four seasons prior to current head coach Bill Sall’s arrival, but have since went 61-44 (.581). FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in 2001-02 .......... FSU’s 7-0 league start this campaign was the program’s best since posting a perfect 16-0 mark in 1988-89 .......... The Bulldogs are currently 8-0 against in-state foes this season ...... FSU’s five turnovers at Ashland (Jan. 26) were the program’s fewest since totaling only four miscues at Findlay in 1997-98 (11/20/97). The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 41-0 in points off turnovers in the victory.

GLIAC Honors: Ferris’ Antwuan Holt became the third different Bulldog player to receive GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award laurels this campaign as he was recognized Jan. 9 by the league office. Ferris has received the weekly honor four of the eight times it has been awarded this season as Dennis Springs earned recognition on both Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 while Terrance Shaw claimed the distinction once (Dec. 12) for FSU.

Players To Watch: FSU’s Dennis Springs and Terrance Shaw were chosen among the top 10 West Michigan collegiate players to watch this year by the Grand Rapids Press in the Nov. 15 edition. Springs was picked second overall while Shaw was the seventh player listed.

Moving Up The All-Time List: Dennis Springs’ current career average of 6.3 assists per game ranks tied for 15th place all-time in NCAA Division II history and is the GLIAC’s top career performance average for all games played. He has 656 career assists to date and is 18 shy of moving into 20th place on the all-time NCAA Division II assists leaders list.

National Stats Leaders: FSU’s Dennis Springs presently ranks 16th nationally in assists (6.1) along with 27th in steals (2.5) this season among the latest (Jan. 30) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Springs has averaged 7.6 assists per game at home and 5.5 assists per outing in road games to date. He is also the GLIAC’s overall assists leader to date this campaign.

Possible Breakthrough Team: Ferris State was listed as a possible breakthrough squad in the 2005-06 Street & Smith's College Basketball Magazine Division II Preview. The annual list of teams, which was compiled by Chuck Mistovich of the Basketball Times, included a preseason top 10 list and 30 additional teams receiving possible breakthrough recognition.

Upcoming Slate: Ferris State makes its annual trek to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula next week as the Bulldogs will first square off against Michigan Tech Thursday, Feb. 9, in a 7:30 p.m. (EST) league tilt at Houghton, Mich. FSU then visits Northern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 11, for a 1 p.m. (EST) conference outing in Marquette, Mich.

A Look At The Opponent:

Saginaw Valley State: Ferris holds a 42-28 lead heading into this Thursday’s 71st series meeting and defeated SVSU 93-71 in the last contest (12/3/05) in University Center, Mich. Saginaw Valley State is currently 6-14 overall and 1-10 in league play following last Saturday’s (Jan. 28) 69-67 conference road loss at Northern Michigan. The Cardinals, who are guided by second-year head coach Jamie Matthews, were 10-17 overall in 2004-05 and recorded a sixth-place 5-13 GLIAC North Division mark. SVSU, which was picked to finish sixth in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by junior guard Sydney McDaniel (11.0 ppg) and has lost five-straight games to date this campaign. Ferris has won six of the last nine series’ meetings while FSU head coach Bill Sall presently holds a 5-2 career coaching mark against SVSU. The Bulldogs posted a convincing 101-69 triumph in last year’s (2/12/05) meeting at Big Rapids, Mich.