Toledo's Tyrone Kent Tops the MAC In Scoring

(Still) Lovin' That Home Cookin'
Last week in this space we discussed the importance of home court advantage and we would like to thank the teams in the MAC for making us look downright intelligent, almost prescient, by going out and posting an 11-1 mark through the first twelve games of conference play.

Only one road team was able to claim victory last week in MAC play as Akron defeated Buffalo at Alumni Arena, 76-68. The rare MAC road win allowed the Zips to keep pace in the MAC East with co-division leader Kent State. The Golden Flashes defeated Bowling Green 63-49. Akron and Kent State are the only undefeated teams in conference play after only two weeks into the season. Ohio recorded its first conference win, evening its record at 1-1, defeating Miami in Athens, 72-63. Miami and Buffalo are the only two teams without a conference win.

Nowhere however was home court proven to be more of an advantage than in games played between MAC West squads as Ball State and Northern Illinois, teams that had a combined 4-22 record entering their home contests, each recorded home court victories.

Northern Illinois, playing its first game following the announcement by leading scorer guard Ryan Paradise that he was calling it quits, went out and defeated defending MAC West champion Toledo, 78-62 while Ball State, behind Anthony Newell's nineteen point, twelve rebound performance, recorded only its second win of the season with an 82-71 victory over Central Michigan. Meanwhile Eastern Michigan snapped a five-game losing streak with their 81-71 win over preseason MAC West favorite Western Michigan at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.

As we speculated last week, it could very well be that the first team that is able to record 2-3 road victories  could easily find itself in the driver's seat for a divisional title.

Under The Radar
A quick look around the MAC at some individual performances that may have escaped initial notice this past week as well some other notable achievements:

Ball State: The Cardinals shot a record 51 free throws in their 82-71 win over Central Michigan Saturday. The previous record at Worthen Arena was 46 against CMU on February 2, 1992 and as well as against Alcorn State on December 12, 1995.

Buffalo: Sophomore guard Calvin Betts had a career-high 17 points in the Bulls' 76-68 setback against Kent State.

Eastern Michigan: Travis Lewis recorded his first career double-double against Western Michigan when he scored a career-best 15 points and 11 rebounds in the Eagles' 81-71 win over the Broncos. Center James Matthews also chipped in a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.

Kent State: Senior forward Haminn Quaintance has had at least three blocks in each of the Golden Flashes' last four games. Quaintance is having potentially a Player of the Year type of season, leading the MAC in blocked shots and field goal percentage while also third in steals and fifth in rebounding.

Miami: Junior forward Michael Bramos moved into tenth-place all-time at Miami, recording his 68th career blocked shot in the RedHawks' 72-63 loss to Ohio. Junior center Tyler Dierkers leads the MAC, and is 11th nationally in assist to turnover ratio.

Northern Illinois: Junior forward Sean Smith had a career high 18 points in the Huskies' 78-62 win over Toledo.

Readers Choice: Central Michigan Best in the West
In a recent online poll here at MAC Report Online we asked our readers which team they picked to win the MAC West Division. The results are below:

This week we are seeking your input on who will be the team to beat in the MAC East this season. To vote in this week's poll click the box labeled "Polls" in the top right hand corner of this page.

Tracking the RPI and SOS
Checking in on the latest numbers...

For games played through January 15, 2008, the MAC has four schools currently ranked in the Top 100 in RPI and three in the Top 50. Miami and Toledo both have non-conference schedules rated as being in the top twenty in terms of strength of schedule. Miami currently has the nation's second toughest schedule while Toledo owns the eighteenth toughest.

Below is the breakdown of each MAC squad's RPI and Strength of Schedule (SOS):

Players of the Week
The MAC announced its choices for players of the week for games played between January 8-14, 2008:

MAC East Player of the Week:
Jerome Tillman, F, Ohio

Tillman, MAC Report Online's 2006-2007 MAC Player of the Year, paced Ohio to victory over Miami with a 19-point, seven rebound performance as the Bobcats downed their divisional rivals, 72-63. Tillman added one blocked shot and shot 80% from the free throw line (4-5) against the RedHawks and is averaging 13.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, placing him in the top ten in the MAC in each category.




MAC West Player of the Week:
Anthony Newell, F, Ball State

Returning from a foot injury, and appearing in only his fifth game this season, Newell became the second Cardinals' player in as many weeks to score Player of the Week honors in the MAC West. Newell recorded his ninth career double-double with a 19 point, 12 rebound performance in the Cardinals' 82-71 win over Central Michigan. Newell shot 73% from the field (8-11) against CMU and also had three steals.

Short Jumpers...
**Kent State's 10-0 start at home this season is their best home opening stretch since starting the season 12-0 at home during the 2001-2002 season, the same year the Golden Flashes made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

**Western Michigan C Joe Reitz is closing in on some milestones. Heading into Wednesday's game at Ball State, Reitz needs only two more boards to reach 800 rebounds in his career and would thus become only the second player in Broncos history to reach 800 rebounds and 1,400 points.

**Toledo's 78-62 loss at Northern Illinois Sunday snapped the Rockets' 18-game MAC West winning streak.

**Kent State and Akron continue to climb in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 Poll with Kent State moving up to fifth and Akron sixth respectively. Kent State, for the first time this season, also received votes in the weekly AP Poll, coming in 39th.

**Foul prone: Central Michigan is averaging 24.6 fouls per game, placing them fourth nationally among teams with the most fouls.

**Hitting the glass. Buffalo has recorded 40 or more team rebounds in four of its past five games and leads the MAC, averaging 38.1 rebounds per game. Northern Illinois and Bowling Green are second, averaging 34.9 boards per game.

**Where have you been? When Miami hosts Kent State Thursday, it will be the RedHawks' first home game in nearly a month. Miami last played at Millet Hall on December 18 when they defeated Chicago State 74-68.

MAC Individual Statistical Leaders (through January 13, 2008)

This Week's MAC Schedule

Wednesday, January 16
Central Michigan at Toledo, 7:00 pm
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois, 7:00 pm
Western Michigan at Ball State, 7:00 pm

Thursday, January 17
Buffalo at Bowling Green, 7:00 pm
Kent State at Miami, 7:30 pm
Ohio at Akron, 9:00 pm (ESPNU)

Saturday, January 19
Toledo at Western Michigan, 2:00 pm
Eastern Michigan at Ball State, 2:00 pm (Comcast Local)
Kent State at Ohio, 6:00 pm (ESPN Classic)
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan, 6:30 pm

Sunday, January 20
Buffalo at Miami, 2:00 pm (FSN Ohio)
Bowling Green at Akron, 7:00 pm

Note: All times local