FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State men’s basketball squad will visit archrival Grand Valley State for its regular-season finale this Saturday, Feb. 25, with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tipoff set to begin at 8 p.m. (EST) inside GVSU's Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich. The women's game precedes the men's starting at 6 p.m. (EST).

Media Coverage: Saturday’s outing will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Rob Bentley 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: Tickets for Saturday’s doubleheader can be obtained from the GVSU Athletics Ticket Office. Their phone number is (616) 331-3200. Tickets can also be ordered online at www.starticketsplus.net.

GLIAC North Division: Grand Valley State claimed the GLIAC North Division regular-season title with a 70-55 league home win over Saginaw Valley State Wednesday (Feb. 22) .... GVSU is presently 15-2 in conference play with the Bulldogs currently second at 13-4 in league action and Northern Michigan third (12-5) ..... Regular-season action concludes Saturday (Feb. 25) ..... Ferris has secured the division’s second seed for the GLIAC Tournament as the Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker advantage over Northern Michigan should the two teams tie for second place.

GLIAC Tourney Info: FSU has clinched a quarterfinal-round home game in the 2005-06 GLIAC Tournament and will square off against Northern Michigan next Tuesday, Feb. 28 ..... The Bulldog men will host a quarterfinal round contest for the third consecutive year in FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. ....... The game time and ticket price information will be released following this Saturday's (Feb. 25) final day of regular-season play as the Bulldog women's team still has a chance of also hosting a quarterfinal-round outing the same evening ....... The quarterfinal-round winners will advance to the GLIAC Tournament semifinals and finals set for Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, at the site of the highest remaining seed ........ The Bulldog men, who defeated NMU 103-88 in the quarterfinal round at Wink Arena last campaign, are 5-9 all-time in seven previous tournament appearances ........ Ferris captured the 1997-98 league tourney title ....... The winner of the GLIAC Tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament slated to be held March 11-14 at a yet to be determined location.

FSU Drops Senior Day Outing: Michigan Tech held Ferris to 18 points in the opening half and won a hard-fought 57-53 decision over the Bulldogs in GLIAC play last Saturday (Feb. 18) afternoon in FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Huskies limited Ferris to a 24.2% (8-33) showing from the floor in the initial half to take a 27-18 halftime edge. Ferris outscored MTU 35-30 in the final period and fought back to within one point at 52-51 on a layup by junior forward Terrance Shaw (Saginaw/Bridgeport) with 2:10 remaining. However, the Huskies converted three free throws in the final 16 seconds to claim the victory. Shaw paced the Bulldogs with 14 points. Senior guard Antwuan Holt (Okemos) added 11 points while senior forward Jeffery Shanahan (Flint/Kearsley) tallied 10 points. Shanahan, Holt and senior guard Dennis Springs (Toledo, Ohio/Scott) were all honored prior to their final regular-season home outings during Senior Day festivities.

Ferris Wins Thursday Game: Ferris pulled out a narrow 70-65 league triumph over visiting Wayne State last 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.

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 climbed back into the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II National Rankings in the 24th spot this week (Feb. 21). The Bulldogs have not been ranked this season since earning the number 18 spot in the NABC Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll released on Nov. 8th. Fellow GLIAC members Grand Valley State and Findlay are eighth and 10th, respectively, in this week's poll with regional foes Saint Joseph’s, Ind. (3rd), Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (11th) and Southern Indiana (17th) also listed. The Bulldogs' 10 losses this season are the most of any team ranked in the current poll. Ferris has played six teams currently ranked in the top 25 this campaign, including five of this week's top 11 squads. This week's national listing represents the 21st time the program has been ranked in the poll.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed 10th in this week’s (Feb. 22) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) holds the top two positions in the current poll with GVSU the highest ranked GLIAC school at number three. Findlay is fourth and Mercyhurst ninth among the four 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. The official bracket and site for the respective regional tournaments will be announced late Sunday evening, March 5. The winners of both the GLIAC and GLVC postseason tournaments receive automatic bids into the regional field.

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 932-853 (.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 70-54 (.565) career mark. He is 65-46 (.586) overall since being appointed head coach prior to the 2002-03 campaign.

Jim Wink Arena: The Bulldogs have posted an impressive 35-10 (.778) overall record at Jim Wink Arena in Bill Sall’s head coaching era at FSU. Ferris, which holds an all-time mark of 43-39 (.524) to date in the seven year old facility, registered a school-best 15-1 (.938) overall record at home in 2004-05. FSU is 30-33 (.476) to date in league play at Wink Arena.

On The Internet: Ferris State 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 53 conference regular-season outings dating back to the 2003-04 campaign .... FSU has emerged victorious in 29 of its last 33 home outings overall, including 20 of the last 22 ...... 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 12-2 against in-state foes this season ....... 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 65-46 (.586). 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 its loss at Northern Michigan (Feb. 11) ...... This season marks the third-straight year the Bulldogs have finished either first or second in the GLIAC North Division during regular-season action ..... Last Saturday’s loss to MTU snapped a four-game series’ winning streak versus the Huskies.

GLIAC Honors: Ferris’ Dennis Springs earned the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award on Feb. 6, which marked the third time Springs has claimed the honor this season as he was previously recognized both Nov. 22 and Dec. 5. Ferris has received the weekly award five of the 11 times it has been announced this season as both Terrance Shaw (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 687 career assists to date and is 18th on the all-time NCAA Division II assists leaders list. Springs presently ranks 17th nationally in assists (5.8) along with 37th in steals (2.3) this season among the latest (Feb. 20) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. He is also the GLIAC’s overall assists leader to date this campaign.

A Look At Saturday's Opponent:

Grand Valley State: Ferris, which has won five of the last six series’ contests, holds a 46-36 advantage heading into this Saturday’s 83rd encounter and posted a 79-63 home triumph in the last meeting (12/8/05) at Big Rapids, Mich. GVSU is currently 23-3 overall and 15-2 in GLIAC action after posting a 70-55 conference home victory over Saginaw Valley State Wednesday (Feb. 22). Grand Valley State, which was picked to finish second in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by sophomore guard Jason Jamerson (13.3 ppg). The Lakers have won their last 13 outings to date under second-year head coach Ric Wesley. GVSU was 18-10 overall during the 2004-05 campaign and placed second in the GLIAC’s North Division behind Ferris State with a 11-7 league mark. FSU head coach Bill Sall currently holds a 5-3 career coaching mark versus the Lakers. FSU and GVSU split last season’s two matchups as the Bulldogs suffered a 62-59 setback in Allendale (1/8/05). GVSU was ranked eighth nationally this week. The Lakers’ 23 overall wins are the program’s most since 1996-97 while their 15 league victories to date represents a new school record.