 Humpty Hitchens and the Zips host Miami Wednesday
Ball State (11-12, 6-5 MAC) at Toledo (4-21, 2-9 MAC)
7 p.m. (BCSN) • Toledo leads series 39-35
• The Rockets will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak against a Cardinal club that holds a one-game lead over Western Michigan in the MAC’s West Division...Toledo will be facing one of the conference’s strongest defensive outfits. The Cardinals rank second in the MAC in scoring defense (59.2 ppg) and three-point FG% defense (30.3),,, Toledo’s three straight home defeats mark its longest home MAC losing streak since the 1999-2000 campaign... Ball State freshman forward Jarrod Jones has picked up his intensity on the glass over the past eight games ... Jones, who is fourth in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding (7.5), has grabbed 75 rebounds over the past eight games for an average of 9.4 boards per game... Ball State is averaging 60.1 points per game during its 11 wins compared to 54.1 points per game in its 12 losses ... Also, the Cardinals’ defense holds opponents to 52.7 points per game in the victories and 65.2 points per game in the losses.
Miami (15-8, 8-3 MAC) at Akron (16-9, 7-4 MAC)
7 p.m. • Miami leads series 23-16
• Akron entertains Miami on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST at Rhodes Arena...The Zips, who have won seven of their last eight games and four in a row at home, look to rebound from an 83-79 loss at Northern Illinois on Sunday... The Zips’ scoring offense (67.8 ppg) ranks second in the MAC, while its scoring defense (59.5 ppg) ranks third in the league and 11th nationally. The squad’s +8.3 scoring margin is listed first in the league and 50th in the nation. At home, Akron allows 54.9 ppg and averages 68.8 ppg... Brett McKnight comes off the bench to lead Akron in scoring (11.6 ppg,). Starters Nate Linhart (10.3 ppg,) and Anthony “Humpty” Hitchens (9.6 ppg,) pace McKnight...The RedHawks, who have won in five of their last six outings, posted a 64-46 home win over Western Michigan on Saturday. Miami is 7-6 (4-1 MAC) in road games, which ties Akron for best road mark by a MAC team... Senior forward Michael Bramos has surpassed the 20-point scoring plateau seven times this season and 21 times during his Miami career, most recently with a 24-point effort at Central Michigan (Feb. 10).
Bowling Green (14-10, 7-4 MAC) at Buffalo (17-6, 9-2 MAC)
7 p.m. • Bowling Green leads series 13-5
• The Bulls are 17-6 (9-2 MAC) after having their nine-game winning streak snapped at Ball State on Sunday... At 17-6, the Bulls are off to their best start in Division I history. Their 9-2 start in MAC play is their best start since joining the conference in 1998...The Bulls are looking to extend their home court winning streak to seven games...Bowling Green is 14-10 (7-4 MAC) and coming off a 65-57 loss to Eastern Michigan. The Falcons are led by Nate Miller who is averaging 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game...The Falcons won the last meeting, 86-82, at Anderson Arena on Jan. 10... BGSU Senior Nate Miller is just 18 points shy of becoming the 37th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in his career. When he gets to that mark, he will also become just the fourth player in program history to record 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 125 career steals (joining Anthony Stacey, David Jenkins, and Joe Moore).
Northern Illinois (7-16, 3-8 MAC) at Central Michigan (7-16, 4-7 MAC)
7 p.m. • Northern Illinois leads series 48-41
• Central Michigan begins the final one-third of its Mid-American Conference schedule on Wednesday night, Feb. 18, when the Chippewas host the Northern Illinois University Huskies. Tipoff in Rose Arena is set for 7 p.m...Northern Illinois picked up a big home win over the weekend with an 83-79 victory over Akron. Central Michigan, meanwhile, fell by four at Kent State, 61-57... CMU’s last four contests have all been two-possession games (decided by six points or less)... NIU sophomore guard Darion “Jake” Anderson collected a weekly honor from the Mid-American Conference, after the league office recognized Anderson as the MAC-West Player of the Week Monday morning.Anderson put together a pair of stellar offensive performances in Northern Illinois’ final two Mid-American Conference East Division crossover games last week, helping the Huskies’ break a seven-game losing skid and surpass their entire win total (6) from the 2007-08 campaign.
Eastern Michigan (4-21, 2-9 MAC) at Western Michigan (8-16, 5-6 MAC)
7 p.m. • Western Michigan leads series 50-44
• Western Michigan welcomes in-state rival Eastern Michigan to University Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the first game in the second round of play against the Mid-American Conference West Division... The Broncos have liked the friendly rims in home conference games as they have shot .353 from three-point land and average 8.4 three-pointers per game at home against MAC teams...Over the last four games, David Kool leads WMU with 69 points (17.3 ppg), 20 rebounds (5.0 rpg), eight assists and five steals... The Eagles snapped two streaks Sunday, Feb. 15, with a 65-57 win at Bowling Green. Eastern entered that BGSU game with an 11-game road losing string this year and an eight-game overall losing streak... Redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry turned in the fourth double-double of the season and the fifth of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds to help EMU record a 65-57 win at Bowling Green Sunday, Feb. 15. |
