GAME NOTES: The Bowling Green Falcons come back to the basketball court fully loaded, and will look to start their season off strong against the Drake Bulldogs in a non-conference clash at Knapp Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Mid-American Conference Falcons underwent a coaching change in the offseason, moving on from Louis Orr to Chris Jans, a former assistant at Wichita State. Bowling Green finished the 2013-14 campaign with a disappointing 12-20 record, but will look to build on that this season.

Drake improved its win total from the 2012-13 season by four games last year, and will once again be trying to improve as the Missouri Valley Conference program gets set for tip off. The Bulldogs finished with a 16-16 overall mark, but with just a 6-12 record in conference play.

The two teams have met only once on the floor in their series history, which saw Drake come away victorious back in the 1975 season.

The Falcons went with Chris Jans as the man to replace Louis Orr, who couldn't seem to get the team into the upper echelon of the conference. Jans was an assistant at Wichita State for years, so the Falcons' athletic department is hoping he can bring some of the Wichita magic to Ohio. The Falcons are boosted by the return of forward Richaun Holmes (13.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, league-best 88 blocked shots), who finds himself on the All-MAC Preseason First Team, and for good reason. Holmes was a defensive wizard last season in the paint, and guarded players like Ndour, Treadwell and McCrea on numerous occasions.

Holmes is joined by scorers Anthony Henderson (10.4 ppg), Spencer Parker (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Jehvon Clarke (12.5 ppg, 4.7 apg) in the lineup. Also, Louis's son Chauncey Orr, who played in one game last season (and scored 14 points in 13 minutes) before injuring himself for the season, returns healthy and ready to go. David Joseph scored a team-best 14 points in the Falcons' exhibition win over Notre Dame College.

Drake returns eight players from last year's squad, including fifth-year seniors Gary Ricks Jr. and Karl Madison, who both had their 2-13-14 campaigns shortened due to injury. Before he was sidelined, Ricks averaged 12.3 ppg through his eight games on the court, and connected on 45 percent of his 3- point field goal tries. Madison, a point guard, will try to put three seasons of injury behind him as he tries to remain on the court for a full slate.

The two of them are joined by former Boston College transfer Jordan Daniels (10.2 ppg, 46.6 percent from 3-point range), who will hopefully provide a large spark in the absence of top scorer Richard Carter (16.6 ppg) and shooter Aaron Hawley (10.3 ppg), who were lost in the offseason. Ricks poured in 24 points in Drake's exhibition contest versus Coe College, while Reed Timmer added 12 points and six rebounds in the win. Madison, who came off the bench, dished out a team-high four assists.

Bowling Green has plenty of strong pieces back this season, but can the Falcons put it all together toward more wins in the 2014-15 campaign? That will be the real question as the Falcons attempt to make it out of the MAC basement. Drake lost a handful of key pieces, but a strong contingent of returnees means the Bulldogs could be relatively competitive this season.