 BG can clinch the top seed with wins Thursday and Sunday / Photo: Nate Thompson
Bowling Green (17-11, 10-4 MAC) at Miami (16-11, 9-5 MAC)
7 p.m. • Miami leads series 73-47
• Bowling Green opened conference play 1-3 but has since won nine of 10 contests to move to the top of the MAC standings and will be the No. 1 overall seed by winning its final two games. Miami snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Kent State 68-63 Sunday to remain in the hunt... BGSU has made a remarkable transformation on the road in 2008-09. The Falcons lost their first seven road games but have won six in a row away from Anderson Arena since then. All six of those wins came in MAC play, the longest road MAC winning streak since Kent State won seven in a row on the road during the 2001-02 season. It is also the longest road winning streak, regardless of conference, since the 1948-49 team... Bowling Green has buckled down defensively in 2008-09, holding 22-of-28 opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, allowing less than 70 points 22 times. It is a critical stat because the Falcons are just 3-11 under head coach Louis Orr when an opponent shoots 45 percent or better.... For the sixth time in his career, senior forward Michael Bramos reached the 30-point scoring plateau with 34 points against Kent State on March 1. Bramos became just the seventh player in program history to record 30 or more points in a game five or more times in a career... Senior forward/center Tyler Dierkers has been in double figures for scoring 13 times this season, including eight of Miami’s last 12 games. Over Miami’s last 11, Dierkers is averaging 11.1 ppg while shooting 56.5 percent from the field.
Ohio (14-14, 7-7 MAC) at Akron (18-11, 9-5 MAC)
7 p.m. • Ohio leads series 30-27
• Akron, victors in nine of its last 12 games, looks to rebound from a 50-46 loss at home to Bowling Green on Sunday. The Zips have won five-straight meetings with the Bobcats at Rhodes Arena, and Ohio is 2-11 (1-5 MAC) on the road... The Zips’ scoring defense (59.1 ppg) ranks third in the MAC and 13th nationally, while their scoring offense (66.3 ppg) is listed fourth in the league. The squad’s +7.2 scoring margin is first in the league and 58th in the nation. At home (13 games), Akron allows 53.7 ppg and averages 65.8 ppg... Brett McKnight comes off the bench to lead UA in scoring (11.1 ppg, 16th in MAC). Starters Nate Linhart (9.9 ppg, 23rd in MAC) and Chris McKnight (9.4 ppg, 28th in MAC) round out the squad’s leading scorers... Ohio will look for its second road victory of the conference season on Thursday... A victory would give the Bobcats their first win at Rhodes Arena since the first round of the 2003 MAC Tournament, as well as their first regular-season sweep of the Zips since the 2000-01 campaign... Ohio’s league-leading 38.9 percent mark from distance is also on pace to rank second on the single-season ledger.
Buffalo (18-9, 10-4 MAC) at Kent State (16-13, 8-6 MAC)
7 p.m. • Northern Illinois leads series 45-26
• Kent State hosts Buffalo on Thursday looking to make one final push up the MAC East Division standings. The Golden Flashes begin the night two games back of the Bulls, who are tied for first place with Bowling Green just one game ahead of Akron and Miami. KSU is still in contention for one of the top four seeds and a first round bye in next week’s MAC Tournament....The Golden Flashes are coming off a 68-63 loss at Miami on Sunday. Junior guard Tyree Evans came off the bench to score a team high 15 points, including three, 3-pointers... Kent State has won 25 of the last 27 home games against MAC opponents... The Golden Flashes currently lead the MAC with 68.9 points per game this season. If they continue to lead the league in scoring, it will be the first time since joining the league in 1951-52 that Kent State has led the conference in scoring...Buffalo end ended a four game losing streak with a come-from-behind 68-66 win at Ohio on Saturday. The victory kept the Bulls in a first place tie in the MAC standings with Bowling Green. Rodney Pierce, who had five three-pointers and 27 points in the win, leads the team with 14.5 ppg this season... Rodney Pierce has scored 20+ points in each of the last three games, becoming the first player since Calvin Cage in 2006 to accomplish the feat... UB’s seven road wins are its most since it had eight during the 2004-05 season. |
