FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State men’s basketball team travels to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for two games this weekend (Feb. 9 & 11). The trip opens Thursday, Feb. 9, as the Bulldogs visit Michigan Tech for a 7:30 p.m. (EST) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) encounter in Houghton, Mich. FSU will then square off against Northern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 11, in a 1 p.m. (EST) league tilt at Marquette, Mich.

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

Ticket Info: Ticket information for this week’s games can be obtained by directly contacting the MTU and NMU Athletics Departments, respectively. Michigan Tech’s main office number is (906) 487-3070 while NMU can be reached by dialing (906) 227-2105.

Weekend Notes: Thursday’s games at Michigan Tech are part of the school’s annual Winter Carnival Celebration, which runs Wednesday to Sunday (Feb. 8-12). The event includes a variety of activities, including the world-famous snow statues built each year ......... Saturday’s women’s and men’s games at NMU will start two hours earlier than normal due to the conversion time needed prior to the Wildcats’ Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) contest versus Nebraska-Omaha later the same evening. Both Northern Michigan’s basketball and hockey teams play in the same facility. The women’s game tips off at 11 a.m. (EST).

FSU Fights Back For Win: A late run by Ferris State enabled the Bulldogs to post a 77-71 GLIAC triumph over visiting Saginaw Valley State Thursday (Feb. 2) night in FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs trailed 66-65 with five minutes left to play before outscoring the Cardinals 12-5 the rest of the way. The Cardinals took a narrow 38-37 halftime advantage and led for most of the first 15 minutes of the final frame. Ferris led by as many as five points on two occasions in the first period but didn't hold a lead larger than a single point in the final half until the final three minutes. The contest featured 10 lead changes while the score was tied 10 different times. Senior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) paced Ferris with 19 points and eight assists. Senior forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley) added a personal career-high 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while junior forward Terrance Shaw (Saginaw/Bridgeport) contributed 16 points along with eight boards.

Ferris Earns Tourney Berth With Victory: Ferris State clinched a third consecutive GLIAC Tournament berth with a 97-77 league win over Northwood last Saturday (Feb. 4) in NU's Bennett Sports Center at Midland, Mich. The Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding 46-29 halftime edge and outscored NU 51-48 in the final frame to improve to 14-8 overall and 11-2 in league action this campaign. Dennis Springs paced the Bulldogs with 26 points. Junior forward Michael Daniels (Detroit/Murray-Wright) added 19 points, Terrance Shaw scored 17 points and Jeffery Shanahan tallied 14 points.

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.

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 last 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.

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 68-52 (.567) career mark. He is 63-44 (.589) overall since being appointed head coach prior to the 2002-03 campaign.

Jim Wink Arena: The Bulldogs have posted an impressive 34-9 (.791) overall record at Jim Wink Arena in Bill Sall’s head coaching era at FSU. Ferris, which holds an all-time mark of 42-38 (.525) to date in the seven year old facility, registered a school-best 15-1 (.938) overall record at home in 2004-05. FSU is 29-32 (.475) to date in league play at Wink Arena.

On The Road: Ferris is 387-320 (.547) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 180-221 (.449) 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 7-5 (.583) road mark to date this 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 930-851 (.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.

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 guard Antwuan Holt (Okemos), Dennis Springs and Jeffery Shanahan. 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 38 of its last 49 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 ....... Ferris has emerged victorious in 28 of its last 31 home outings overall, including 19 of the last 20 ............... 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 63-44 (.589). 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 10-0 against in-state foes this season ...... Dennis Springs is presently one field goal away from notching his 500th career made basket ......... Jeffery Shanahan needs 25 points to record his 600th career point along with one steal to move into a tie for 10th place on the school’s all-time leaders list.

GLIAC Honors Again: Ferris’ Dennis Springs earned this week’s (Feb. 6) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award for his performance in FSU’s two victories over SVSU and Northwood. This week marks the third time Springs has claimed the honor this season as he was previously honored both Nov. 22 and Dec. 5. Ferris has received the weekly award five of the nine times it has been announced this season as both Terrance Shaw (Dec. 12) and Antwuan Holt (Jan. 9) also claimed the distinction once this year 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 672 career assists to date and is two 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 13th nationally in assists (6.2) along with 29th in steals (2.4) this season among the latest (Feb. 6) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Springs has averaged 7.6 assists per game at home and 5.7 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 returns home to host Wayne State Thursday, Feb. 16, in an 8 p.m. (EST) league home contest at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs will then square off against Michigan Tech Saturday, Feb. 18, with the conference home tipoff set for a 3 p.m. (EST) start.

A Look At The Oppoenents:

Michigan Tech: The Huskies maintain a 48-46 series’ lead over Ferris State. MTU had won 11 consecutive series contests prior to FSU’s current three-game streak, which includes a 72-68 win in the most recent contest last season (2/26/05) at Houghton, Mich. Michigan Tech is presently 12-10 overall and 8-5 in GLIAC action this season following last Saturday’s (Feb. 4) 76-54 league road loss at Mercyhurst. The Huskies, under 12th-year head coach Kevin Luke, were 18-10 overall during the 2004-05 campaign and compiled a third-place 10-8 GLIAC North Division record. MTU, which is led in scoring by junior guard Radayl Richardson (14.2 ppg), was picked to finish fourth in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Michigan Tech had won nine-straight games this campaign prior to losing a pair of contests last weekend (Feb. 2-4) to Gannon and Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa. FSU head coach Bill Sall has a current 3-3 mark against MTU.

Northern Michigan: NMU holds a 62-42 advantage heading into Saturday’s 105th encounter. FSU has won seven of the last eight meetings, however, including a most recent 88-75 home win earlier this year (1/12/06) at Big Rapids, Mich. NMU’s currently 13-9 overall and 9-4 in GLIAC action after last Saturday’s (Feb. 4) 64-62 league road win at Gannon. Northern Michigan, which was picked to finish first in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by junior forward Ricky Volcy (18.4 ppg). The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games to date this year under 20th-year head coach Dean Ellis. NMU was 13-15 overall in 2004-05 and placed fourth (8-10) in the GLIAC North Division. FSU head coach Bill Sall presently holds a 7-1 career coaching mark versus NMU. Ferris won three meetings versus the Wildcats last campaign. Northern Michigan is slated to host Lake Superior State Thursday (Feb. 9) prior to entertaining the Bulldogs.