 All twelve Mid-American Conference hoops teams step out of conference Saturday as part of the annual ESPNU BracketBuster event. Two of today's games will be televised nationally as Buffalo travels to Vermont (ESPN2) and Miami hits the road to take on Evansville (ESPNU). Get a glimps of all twelve games involivng MAC squads here.
Buffalo (17-7, 9-3 MAC) at Vermont (21-7, 12-3 America East)
1 p.m. (ESPN2) • Vermont leads series 1-0
• Buffalo will make its first-ever trip to Vermont on Saturday for an ESPNU BracketBuster matchup. The Bulls are coming off a 59-48 loss to Bowling Green on Wednesday night... Buffalo has allowed only one opponent in the last 11 games to score more than 70 points.
Eastern Illinois (11-15, 8-8 OVC) at Western Michigan (9-16, 6-6 MAC)
2 p.m. • Western Michigan leads series 2-0
• The Broncos are coming off a win over Eastern Michigan, 46-38, on Wednesday, while the Panthers lost to OVC leader Tennessee-Martin, 76-60, on EIU Senior Day for their fourth loss in a row... WMU is 3-2 in BracketBusters going into its sixth-straight appearance in the annual mid-major showcase. The Broncos are 2-1 in home games in the event, but both home wins were in overtime against College of Charleston in 2004 and Valparaiso in 2007. The lone defeat came on a buzzer-beater against Indiana State in 2006.
Tennessee Tech (11-16, 5-12 OVC) at Ball State (11-13, 6-6 MAC)
2 p.m. • Tennessee Tech leads series 2-0
• Ball State is coming off of a 71-67 loss at Toledo Wednesday night... The Cardinals have dropped four of their last five games, including a four-point loss Wednesday at Toledo... Freshman forward Jarrod Jones leads active Cardinals in scoring at 10.9 points per game and in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game
Fairleigh Dickinson (7-20, 6-10 Northeastern) at Central Michigan (8-16, 5-7 MAC)
2 p.m. • First Meeting
• CMU is coming off its largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent under Ernie Zeigler. The Chippewas defeated Northern Illinois by 19 points on Wednesday night, 63-44... The Chippewas are 3-0 in home BracketBusters pairings, defeating Evansville, Cleveland State and Morehead State.
Toledo (5-21, 3-9 MAC) at Indiana State (8-19, 6-10 MVC)
2 p.m. • First Meeting
•UT snapped a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 71-67 triumph over MAC West Division leader Ball State... The Rockets have a 4-6 record in BracketBusters-related games as part of home-and-home series with Nevada (1-1), SMU (2-0), Detroit (1-1), Old Dominion (0-2) and Delaware (0-2)... Tyrone Kent is pacing the Rockets’ attack with 14.5 ppg with senior G Jonathan Amos closely behind at 13.7 ppg.
Canisius (8-18, 3-13 MAAC) at Bowling Green (15-10, 8-4 MAC)
2 p.m. • Bowling Green leads series 8-4
• The Falcons have won seven of their last eight games... With a win, BG would clinch a winning record for the first time since 2004-05. The Falcons are 8-3 at home this year but have lost three of their last five in Anderson Arena. Canisius is 4-11 on the road... The Falcons are 4-2 all-time in BracketBuster games.
Miami (15-9, 8-4 MAC) at Evansville (15-11, 7-9 MVC)
3:30 p.m. (ESPNU) • Evansville leads series 6-3
• Making its sixth appearance in the ESPNU BracketBuster, Miami faces a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in a BracketBuster game for the fifth time. It also marks Miami’s fourth televised game as part of the BracketBuster with its 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2007-08 BracketBuster games also being televised on the ESPN networks... Miami has defeated all of its MVC foes in the BracketBuster games
Georgia State (9-18, 7-9 CAA) at Eastern Michigan (4-22, 2-10 MAC)
4 p.m. • First Meeting
• Eastern Michigan is coming off a 46-38 loss to rival Western Michigan and is led by redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry (15.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.)...The Eagles have a 4-1 record in BracketBuster games, including an 86-82 home win over Southeast Missouri State, Feb. 23, 2008, in the Convocation Center. The Eagles have a 4-1 record in BracketBuster games, including an 86-82 home win over Southeast Missouri State, Feb. 23, 2008, in the Convocation Center...
Ohio (13-12, 6-6 MAC) at Eastern Kentucky (17-10, 10-6 OVC)
7 p.m. • Ohio leads series 3-0
• The Bobcats are 3-2 in their previous five BracketBusters games, including a 1-2 mark in road contests... As of Feb. 19, senior forward Jerome Tillman is one of just two players in Division I men’s basketball who is currently leading his conference in both points and rebounds per game...The MAC leader with averages of 18.8 points and 8.4 boards per contest is joined by National Player of the Year candidate Blake Griffin of Oklahoma as the only players on top of their respecitve conferences in both categories.
Morehead State (16-12, 12-4 OVC) at Kent State (15-11, 8-4 MAC)
7 p.m. • Series Tied 1-1
• A perfect 5-0 in February, Kent State won its seventh straight game on Tuesday night with a 64-51 victory over Ohio. In a performance for the ages senior Jordan Mincy nearly doubled his career high with 27 points as he shot 9-10 for the game and became just the third player in school history to hit a perfect 5-5 from three...The Golden Flashes, which have been a part of the BracketBuster event since its inception for the 2003 season, have won three straight BracketBuster games and own a 4-2 overall record in the event.
Akron (17-9, 8-4 MAC) at Valparaiso (7-20, 4-12 Horizon)
8 p.m. • Akron leads series 4-0
• The Zips, winners of eight of their last nine games, come off a 53-44 victory at home over league foe Miami on Wednesday... The Zips’ scoring offense (67.2 ppg) and scoring defense (58.9 ppg) both rank second in the MAC. The defensive number is also listed 15th nationally.
Northern Illinois (7-17, 3-9 MAC) at SE Missouri State (3-24, 0-16 OVC)
8:45 p.m. • First Meeting
• NIU is coming off Wednesday’s 63-44 loss at Central Michigan...The Huskies will be seeking their second non-conference road win, but just their first victory away from home since Nov. 28, 2008... Sophomore center Sean Kowal has started 23-of-24 games this season, and enters Saturday’s as the MAC leader in field goal pct. |
