 While the weather in some areas is starting to get cold, things are heating up around the Mid-American Conference as three teams -- the Kent State Golden Flashes, the Ohio Bobcats and the Ball State Cardinals -- all have significant winning streaks. Northern Illinois, on the other hand, is streaking on the “L” side of the ledger as the Huskies continue their search for 2011-12 victory No. 1.
Here is a look back and a look ahead for all 12 MAC Men’s Basketball teams.
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (3-5): The Zips had just one game this week -- that being on Saturday in Cleveland, falling to the Cleveland State Vikings (Horizon), 69-66. Akron rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to take a two-point lead in the closing moments, only to be sent to a third straight loss and fifth in the Zips last six games. It is the worst stretch since Keith Dambrot took over as head coach in 2004-05. Junior center Zeke Marshall led UA with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman F Demetrius Treadwell added 15 points and junior guard Quincy Diggs 11 --both coming off the bench. Freshman F Nick Harney leads the Zips in scoring at 10.5 points per game, but he was recently suspended for a violation of team rules. Fifth-year senior Nikola Cvetinovic leads in rebounds at 5.9, while sophomore G Alex Abreu leads in assists at 3.8. The Zips open a five-game homestand Thursday night when they face Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Southwestern Athletic) and continue on Saturday against Florida A&M (Mid-Eastern Athletic)
BOWLING GREEN (5-3): The Falcons went 1-1 last week. They improved to 5-1 in their new home -- the Stroh Center -- Wednesday night with an 87-44 rout of Malone College. The 43-point margin of victory was their largest in 12 years. F A’uston Calhoun scored a season-high 20 points, which included slam dunks on three of BGSU’s first four possessions. Cameron Black added 11, while Torin Oglesby scored 10. On Saturday, they traveled to Northwest Indiana, falling to the Valparaiso Crusaders (Horizon), 82-79. They rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to take multiple leads, only to see VU take the victory. Calhoun scored a season-high 25 points (one below his career high), while G Jordan Crawford scored a career best 22. The pair scored 50 of their points in the second half. Calhoun leads the Falcons in scoring at 12.4 and in rebounds at 6.1 per game. Guard Scott Thomas leads in assists at 3.5. BGSU has just one game this week, that being at Michigan State
BUFFALO (6-1): The Bulls won both of their games this week. On Wednesday night, they picked up their third win in the last four games. Wednesday night, they traveled up to the Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls to face another of their Western New York rivals, defeating the Purple Eagles of Niagara (MAAC). Forward Titus Robinson and forward Tony Woods both scored 12 points coming off the bench, part of a 39 point effort by the UB bench. Buffalo finished 2-1 against their regional rivals with a home win over Canisius and a narrow loss at Saint Bonaventure. Then on Saturday at home, UB defeated the Youngstown State Penguins (Horizon), 80-72. Sophomore F Javon McCrea scored 29 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, while senior F Mitchell Watt added 20 and 10 boards. Guard Zach Filzen scored 11 as Buffalo improved to 4-1 at home in the young season. MCCrea leads the team in points at 16.8 and in rebounds at 8.6 (third in the MAC). Jarrod Oldham leads in assists at 5.4 (third in the MAC). UB has just one game this week as it travels to the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah to play Brigham Young in the Cougars’ first season as members of the West Coast Conference
KENT STATE (6-1): The Golden Flashes were a perfect 2-0 this past week, defeating the Dukes of James Madison (CAA), 71-51, Tuesday night.
It was KSU’s fourth straight win and avenged a loss last year to the Dukes at the MAC Center. Freshman F Chris Evans led five players in double figures with 17 points, while Eric Gaines, Randal Holt, Michael Porrini, and Justin Greene each added 10. KSU pulled away in the second half, shooting a sizzling 63 percent from the field…On Saturday, KSU edged the Western Carolina Catamounts (Southern), 58-56, as senior F Justin Greene’s basket with 55 seconds remaining gave the Flashes a lead they would not relinquish. Guard Carlton Guyton led KSU with 13 points, and Greene added 12 and nine rebounds. However, it was senior G Michael Porrini who was key in the victory, scoring five of the Flashes final nine points in his return to the Smoky Mountains as he began his college career at WCU. Greene leads KSU in scoring at 11.3 and rebounds at 6.9, while Porrini leads in assists at 4.0 per contest. The Flashes are off until December 20 when they travel to Logan, Utah to play in the Athletes In Action Basketball classic at Utah State University. KSU will face Saint Peters (MAAC) and Texas-Arlington (Southland).
MIAMI (2-5): The RedHawks had just one game this past week as they fell to the Wright State Raiders, 51-49, at Millett Hall for their fourth consecutive loss and fifth in the last six games. Senior F Julian Mavunga led MU with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while F Jon Harris added 10 points in the loss. Mavunga leads the MAC in scoring at 21.1 and in rebounds at 10.7. Guard Quinten Rollins leads in assists with 2.7. MU plays the middle game of a three-game home stand on Saturday as they face the Belmont Bruins (Atlantic Sun).
OHIO (7-1): The Bobcats won both games this week, extending their winning streak to four games. They picked up a win Wednesday night, going up to the suburbs of Detroit to defeat the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (Summit League), 84-82. The win was the Cats’ third straight and ended the Grizzlies 11-game winning skein at the O-Rena. Junior guard D.J. Cooper led Ohio with 18 points, five rebounds, and four steals, while freshman F Steve Taylor scored 13 (going 3-for-4 from three-point range) and T.J. Hall added 12…On Saturday, they traveled to the Pacific Northwest and picked up a victory over the Portland Pilots (West Coast), 72-54, as Cooper collected the first triple-double of his career with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals. Walter Offut added 12 and Jon Smith scored a career best 11 as the Cats used an 11-0 run early in the second half to take command of the contest. It was Ohio’s first win on the ‘left’ coast since 1986 when they beat Cal State-Northridge (Big West). Cooper, who was named MAC East Player of the Week for his performances leads the Cats in scoring at 14.1 and assists at 6.8 (second in the MAC). Forward Reggie Keely leads in rebounds at 6,.0 caroms per game. Ohio returns to the Convocation Center on Wednesday night to play Division III Marietta College before facing Wright State in suburban Dayton on Saturday
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (6-2): The Cardinals went 2-0 this week as they extended their winning streak to six games. On Tuesday night, they traveled to the suburbs of St. Louis to battle Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (Ohio Valley) and came away with a 76-55 victory. Forward Jerrod Jones scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Guard Jamal Berry led BSU with 25 points while G Ricky Davis added nine assists. They wrapped up the week on Saturday, playing before the largest crowd at Worthen Arena since 2005. The Cards came through for the home crowd by defeating the Butler Bulldogs (Horizon), 58-55, as Jones scored 21 points and added eight rebounds. It was the sixth time in the first eight games he has scored 20 or more points and helped BSU post its first win over Butler since 2003. For his performances, he was named MAC West Player of the Week. Jones is second in the MAC in scoring at 20.0 and in rebounds at 9.1. Randy Davis leads the MAC in assists at 7.8 per game. BSU plays again on Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis against the IUPUI Jaguars (Summit League)
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-4): The Chippewas had just one game this past week as they dropped a 63-57 decision to Tennessee State (OhioValley) Saturday in Cookeville. Sophomore guard Trey Ziegler led CMU with 17 points and six rebounds. Ziegler leads CMU in scoring with a 17.8 ppg average (third in the MAC) and in rebounds at 8.3, while Austin McBroom leads in assists at 3.3. The Chips have two games this week. Tuesday night, they travel to Minneapolis to battle the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. They then return to McGuirk Arena for their only home game in the month of December as they face the Illinois-Chicago Flames (Horizon).
EASTERN MICHIGAN (4-6): The Eagles lost both games this week extending their losing streak to five games. The third game of this five-game road trip was Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa, where EMU
lost to the Drake Bulldogs (Missouri Valley), 66-53. It was the Eagles fourth straight loss. EMU had a 27-24 lead at halftime, but at the start of the second half, the home team scored the first eight points and was never headed. Darell Lampley led all scorers in the game with 26 points. Eastern went to West Lafayette, Indiana Saturday and managed just 36 points in falling to the Purdue Boilermakers, 61-36. Derek Thompson led the Eagles with 15 points and seven rebounds. Lampley leads EMU in scoring at 15.9 and in assists at 2.8, while Jamell Harris leads in rebounds at 6.5. The Eagles are in the Commonwealth of Virginia for their next two games. The first is against the Radford Highlanders (Big South) on the 20th. Two days later, EMU makes the short trek to Blacksburg to face the ACC’s Virginia Tech Hokies
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (0-8): The Huskies are still looking for that first victory under new head coach Mark Montgomery. They played just once this week as they went east to Chicago and dropped a 62-55 decision to the Illinois-Chicago Flames (Horizon) at the Pavilion. Anton Christian led NIU and Keith Gray paced the Huskies with 11 apiece. F Tim Toler leads the team in scoring at 10.8 and in rebounds at 5.1, while freshman G Marquase Ford leads in assists at 2.9. The Huskies tip off a five-game homestand Wednesday night with the DePaul Blue Demons (Big East), followed by the Southern Illinois Salukis (Missouri Valley) Saturday at the Convocation Center.
TOLEDO (6-3): The Rockets lost both games this week. They saw their six-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday night as the Temple Owls came to Savage Hall and posted a 72-58 victory, shooting 53 percent from the field while holding UT to just 39.7% from the floor. Sophomore guard Rian Pierson led the Rockets with 16 points and eight rebounds. On Saturday, also at home, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (Horizon) got a basket at the buzzer for a 57-55 win as UT squandered a 14-point second half lead. Rian Pierson led the Rockets in scoring with 20 points. He leads the team overall at 17.6 and in rebounds at 8.1, while G Dominique Buckley leads in assists at 4.0. The Rockets have just one game this week, playing the third game of a four-game home stand Saturday against the Youngstown State Penguins (Horizon)
WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-7): The Broncos split their two games this week. On Thursday night, they lost to the Detroit Titans (Horizon), 92-81. It was WMU’s seventh loss in its first eight games. Senior G Mike Douglas, a Detroit native, scored a career high 33 points. He was one of four Broncos in double figures (Nate Hutchinson 11, Flenard Whitfield 10, and Demetrius Ward 19). On Saturday back home in Kalamazoo, WMU defeated the Southern Illinois Salukis, 54-43, thanks to Ward’s 16 points with six rebounds and three assists. F Matt Stainbrook leads the Broncos in scoring at 13.8 per game while Whitfield leads in rebounds at 7.9 and Douglas in assists at 4.8. WMU plays the middle game of this three-game home stand Saturday as the Duquesne Dukes (Atlantic-10) come to University Arena.
There you have it - your weekly MAC Mens basketball checkup, Ohio, Kent State and Ball State are try to extend their winning streaks; Akron, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois look to right their ships before conference play begins in a couple of weeks
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