FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State men’s basketball team will host Wayne State Thursday, Feb. 16, in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action with tipoff set for 8 p.m. (EST) inside FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. FSU then squares off against Michigan Tech Saturday, Feb. 18, in its regular-season home finale beginning at 3 p.m. (EST). Saturday’s contest represents FSU’s annual Senior Day outing and will also includes special activities and giveaways as part of the NCAA’s “Take a Kid To The Game” promotion.

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 both contests. The games are 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.

GLIAC Standings: Ferris presently trails rival Grand Valley State by half a game in the GLIAC North Division standings .... The Lakers still have four regular-season games remaining while FSU has three left ..... The two teams will meet in the regular-season finale Saturday, Feb. 25, starting at 8 p.m. (EST) in GVSU’s Fieldhouse Arena at Allendale, Mich. ..... Ferris can claim at least a share of its third-straight regular-season divisional crown by winning its three remaining outings .... Northern Michigan is one game behind Ferris with an 11-4 league mark while Michigan Tech ranks fourth with a 9-6 conference ledger to date.

GLIAC Tourney: FSU has clinched its third-straight GLIAC Tournament berth ..... The top two teams in each division will host quarterfinal-round play Tuesday, Feb. 28th ........ FSU can clinch a quarterfinal-round home game with two wins this weekend as the Bulldogs own the tiebreaker edge over Northern Michigan ...... The semifinals/finals will be held March 3-4 at the site of the highest remaining seed .... Ferris has posted a 5-9 overall record in seven previous tournament appearances ..... FSU defeated Northern Michigan 103-98 in the 2004-05 GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/1/05) at Jim Wink Arena. Ferris then fell to Wayne State 68-63 in the semifinals (3/4/05) at Findlay, Ohio.

FSU Splits In Upper Peninsula: Ferris State split two league games in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last weekend (Feb. 9 & 11). The Bulldogs posted a 66-63 victory Thursday (Feb. 9) at Michigan Tech before falling 92-82 Saturday (Feb. 11) at Northern Michigan. Senior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) led five players in double-figures at MTU with 14 points while junior forward Michael Daniels (Detroit/Murray-Wright) chipped in 12 points. Springs and senior guard Antwuan Holt (Okemos) both netted a team-best 17 points at NMU. Senior forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley) chipped in 16 points along with 10 rebounds and freshman guard Jessie York (Muskegon Heights) totaled 12 points versus the Wildcats.

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 (Feb. 14) regular-season poll, but was listed among others receiving votes with five points. Grand Valley State is currently ranked 14th and Findlay 15th 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 fifth-ranked Saint Joseph’s (Ind.), ninth-ranked Montevallo (Ala.) along with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Southern Indiana, who are both ranked tied for 10th place. Ferris has faced six teams presently ranked this season.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed ninth in this week’s (Feb. 15) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) held the top three positions in the poll with GVSU the highest ranked GLIAC school at number four. Findlay is fifth, Mercyhurst eighth and Northern Michigan 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 69-53 (.566) career mark. He is 64-45 (.587) 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 388-321 (.547) overall since 1980-81 and sports a 181-222 (.449) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs currently hold a 8-6 (.571) 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 931-852 (.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 Antwuan Holt, 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 has won 39 of its last 51 conference regular-season outings dating back to the 2003-04 campaign .... FSU has emerged victorious in 28 of its last 31 home outings overall, including 19 of the last 20 ...... Ferris’ 7-0 league start this campaign was the program’s best since posting a perfect 16-0 mark in 1988-89 ..... Saturday’s (Feb. 18) outing versus Michigan Tech represents FSU’s regular-season home finale and the school’s annual Senior Day contest as Dennis Springs and Antwuan Holt along with Jeffery Shanahan will be recognized prior to their final regular-season home games ....... The Bulldogs are currently 11-1 against in-state foes this season. FSU suffered its first loss to a state school last Saturday (Feb. 11) at Northern Michigan ....... Dennis Springs notched his 500th career made field goal last Thursday (Feb. 9) at Michigan Tech ........ Jeffery Shanahan currently has 595 career points and is five away from recording his 600th career point. He grabbed his 500th career rebound at NMU ....... Antwuan Holt presently has scored 482 points in a Bulldog uniform and needs 18 more to notch his 500th career point at Ferris State ....... 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 64-45 (.587). FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in 2001-02 ...... Ferris had won 17-straight games held in the month of February dating back to the 2003-04 season prior to last Saturday’s loss at NMU.

GLIAC Honors Again: Ferris’ Dennis Springs earned last week’s (Feb. 6) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award, which marked the third time Springs had 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 10 times it has been announced this season as both junior forward Terrance Shaw (Saginaw/Bridgeport) (Dec. 12) and Antwuan Holt (Jan. 9) also claimed the distinction once each.

Preseason Notes: 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 ..... Ferris was listed as a possible breakthrough squad in the 2005-06 Street & Smith's College Basketball 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 teams receiving possible breakthrough recognition.

One Of Division II’s Best: 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 678 career assists to date and is tied for 18th place on the all-time NCAA Division II assists leaders list. Springs presently ranks 17th nationally in assists (6.0) along with 44th in steals (2.3) this season among the latest (Feb. 14) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. He is also the GLIAC’s overall assists leader to date this campaign.

Upcoming Slate: Ferris will visit archrival Grand Valley State Saturday, Feb. 25, for its regular-season finale. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (EST) inside GVSU’s Fieldhouse Arena at Allendale, Mich.

A Look At Thursday's Opponent:

Wayne State: The Bulldogs hold a 33-32 series’ edge over Wayne State, but have dropped nine-straight meetings and have not defeated WSU since the 1996-97 season. WSU posted a 68-63 win over Ferris in the 2004-05 GLIAC Tourney Semifinals (3/4/05) at Findlay, Ohio. The Warriors, who are guided by fifth-year head coach David Greer, are led in scoring by junior guard Kris Krzyminski (14.1 ppg). They are presently 10-12 overall and 5-9 in GLIAC action this season following last Saturday’s (Feb. 11) 74-57 conference home win over Gannon. WSU recorded a 20-12 overall record last year and placed tied for second in the GLIAC’s South Division with an 11-6 ledger. The Warriors, who have won three of their last five contests this season, were picked to finish tied for second place in the 2005-06 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll after advancing to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament Semifinals last campaign. FSU head coach Bill Sall currently holds a 0-6 career coaching mark versus Wayne State.