FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State men’s basketball team will square off against Michigan Tech Saturday, Feb. 18, in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season home finale beginning at 3 p.m. (EST) inside FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. 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: Saturday’s outing will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Jason DaDay will handle the play-by-play duties for the contest. The game is 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 three regular-season games remaining while FSU has two 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 two remaining outings .... Northern Michigan is behind Ferris in the division with an 11-4 league mark while Michigan Tech ranks fourth with a 9-7 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 by winning one of its two remaining games 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.

Senior Day Game: Saturday’s outing represents FSU’s annual Senior Day contest as guards Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) and Antwuan Holt (Okemos) along with forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley) will be recognized prior to their final regular-season home games. A four-year starter, Springs presently has scored 1,414 career points in 109 games and ranks as the school’s career assists leader (683). Shanahan notched his 600th career point in Thursday’s outing and has totaled 602 points along with 505 rebounds in 109 outings over four years to date. Holt currently has recorded 484 points in 55 games as a Bulldog player and needs 16 more to notch his 500th career point at FSU after playing his initial two seasons at Northern Michigan.

Ferris Wins Thursday Game: Ferris pulled out a narrow 70-65 league triumph over visiting Wayne State Thursday (Feb. 16) evening in Wink Arena. The Bulldogs watched the Warriors score the game's initial 11 points before battling back to knot the contest at 36 points apiece at intermission. FSU then outscored WSU 34-29 in the final frame. Dennis Springs orchestrated the Bulldogs' offense with a game and personal career-high tying 28 points. He also added five assists, five rebounds and three steals while converting all nine of his free throw attempts. The Bulldogs used a 25-of-28 (89.3%) showing from the free throw line to muster the homecourt victory. Junior forward Michael Daniels (Detroit/Murray-Wright) added 12 points for Ferris State, which forced 16 Wayne State turnovers.

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. Dennis Springs led five players in double-figures at MTU with 14 points while Michael Daniels chipped in 12 points. Springs and Antwuan Holt both netted a team-best 17 points at NMU. Jeffery Shanahan 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.

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 932-852 (.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.

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 70-53 (.569) career mark. He is 65-45 (.591) overall since being appointed head coach prior to the 2002-03 campaign.

Jim Wink Arena: The Bulldogs have posted an impressive 35-9 (.795) overall record at Jim Wink Arena in Bill Sall’s head coaching era at FSU. Ferris, which holds an all-time mark of 43-38 (.531) to date in the seven year old facility, registered a school-best 15-1 (.938) overall record at home in 2004-05. FSU is 30-32 (.484) to date in league play at Wink Arena.

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 40 of its last 52 conference regular-season outings dating back to the 2003-04 campaign .... FSU has emerged victorious in 29 of its last 32 home outings overall, including 20 of the last 21 ...... Ferris’ 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 12-1 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 ........ 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 65-45 (.591). 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 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 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 683 career assists to date and is 18th 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.

A Look At Saturday's Opponent:

Michigan Tech: The Huskies maintain a 48-47 series’ lead over Ferris State. MTU had won 11 consecutive series contests prior to FSU’s current four-game streak, which includes a 66-63 win in the most recent contest last Thursday (2/9/06) at Houghton, Mich. Michigan Tech is presently 13-12 overall and 9-7 in GLIAC action this season following Thursday’s (Feb. 16) 67-55 league setback at Grand Valley State. 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 (14.9 ppg), was picked to finish fourth in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Michigan Tech has dropped four of its last five outings to date this campaign. FSU head coach Bill Sall has a current 4-3 mark against MTU.