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Out with the old, and in with the new?
Some teams may need a new start, while other teams would like to continue their winning ways as they head into a new year and the MAC schedule.
Last week in the Mid-American Conference…
While Santa was double-checking his naughty and nice list before his big ride last
Sunday, he also checked the list of all 12 Mid-American Conference mens basketball teams. He saw the Ohio Bobcats were definitely on the nice list as they are off to their best start since 1940-41. The jolly man in the red suit also noticed that the Akron Zips had won four straight game, while the Western Michigan Broncos won three straight and four of five.
Ball State, Kent State, and Toledo lost a pair of games to blunt their momentum. Northern Illinois, on the other hand, has the wrong kind of momentum, as the Huskies continued to search for something besides stockings of coal(d) losses.
This week…most clubs are completing the Non-conference portion of their schedules before the conference season opens up in early January
Here is a look back and a look ahead for all 12 MAC Men’s Basketball teams as they play in the final week of 2011.
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (7-5): The Zips extended their winning streak to three games Monday night as they defeated the Youngstown State Penguins (Horizon) 88-62. Five UA players scored in double figures, led by Sophomore F Demetrius Treadwell who tied a career high with 15 points while fifth-year senior F Nikola Cvetinovic had 14 points and seven boards. Junior F Chauncey Gilliam added 12 while sophomore G Brian Walsh and Alex Abreu each had 10. UA extended its winning streak to four Wednesday night, pulling away in the second half to defeat the North Carolina A&T Aggies (MEAC) 79-52. The winning streak is their longest of the season and longest since last February when the Zips won seven straight. Four Zips scored in double figures, led by junior C Zeke Marshall, who scored 20 points and had eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Sophomore G Brian Walsh added 15 (going 4-for-6 from three-point territory). Cvetinovic had 12 and 11 boards, his second double-double of the season, junior G Quincy Diggs came off the bench to score 10 and dish out seven assists. Marshall leads UA in scoring at 11.4, Cvetinovic leads in rebounds at 6.6 and Abreu in assists at 3.8, but he is sidelined after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The Zips have two games this week first on Thursday night when they face 2011 Final Four participant the Virginia Commonealth Rams (Colonial Athletic) finishing he five game home stand at Rhodes Arena then traveling to the Henderson Center Huntington, West Virginia on Saturday to face the Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA)
BOWLING GREEN (6-5): The Falcons traveled down to South Florida on Thursday night and came away with a 61-53 victory over the Florida International Panthers (Sun Belt) as they rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to collect their first road victory of the campaign. G Scott Thomas led BGSU with 18 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, he had seven assists and four steals. G Jordan Crawford added 18 with four assists and three steals while F Torian Oglesby scored 11, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. A’ustopn Calhoun leads BGSU in scoring at 11.9 pts and in rebounds 6.23 while Thomas leads in assists at 3.5. The Falcons have just one game this week as they head to Pittsburgh to battle the Duquesne Dukes (Atlantic-10)
BUFFALO (6-3): After 10 days for exams the Bulls got back into action on Tuesday night as they lost to the Brigham Young Cougars (West Coast) in Provo, Utah 93-78 despite UB connecting on 53% of its shots from the field and going 8-for-16 from three-point range. Senior F Mitchell Watt led four Bulls in double figures with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore F Javon McCrea added 16 while Zac Filzen scored 14. G Jarod Oldham tied a career-high with nine assists but it was far from enough as UB saw its two-game winning streak end. McCrea leads UB in scoring at 16.7 per game (third best in the MAC) and in rebounds at 8.1 while Jartod Oldham leads in assists at 5.3 (third in the MAC). The Bulls finish the non-conference portion of their schedule on Wednesday night as they head to the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia to battle the Temple Owls (Atlantic-10)
KENT STATE (7-3): The Golden Flashes Tuesday night began their three-game stint at the Athletes In Action Tournament at Utah State University by defeating the Peacocks of Saint Peter’s (MEAC) 67-58. It marked the first time since 1936-37 that KSU started 4-0 on the road. Reigning MAC Player of the Year senior F Justin Greene led the Flashes with 13 points and 10 rebounds while junior G Randal Holt added 12…In the middle game of the AIA Classic, the Flashes six-game winning streak came to an end when LaMarcus Reed hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give Texas-Arlington (Southland) a 74-73 victory. Holt led KSU with 20 points while senior G Carlton Guyton added 18. Greene had a second straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds…The Flashes completed their three-game stretch in the AIA Classic, falling to the host Utah State Aggies (WAC) 81-62. It marked the first time this season KSU had dropped consecutive games as the Aggies shot 56.6% from the field, including a sizzling 64 percent in the second half. Sophomore Mark Henninger led KSU with a career-best 11 points -- the lone player in double figures. Holt leads the Flashes in scoring at 11.6 per game while Greene leads in rebounds at 7.3 and senior G Michael Porrini leads in assists at 4.1. KSU finishes the December schedule on Wednesday night as they head to Jonesboro, Arkansas to battle Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
MIAMI (3-7): The RedHawks lost for the fifth time in the last six games, falling to the Evansville Purple Aces (Missouri Valley) 77-75 in a back-and-forth affair. Senior F Julian Mavunga had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead MU while freshman Brian Sullivan scored a career-high 18 as four MU players scored in double figures…Thursday night, the ‘Hawks traveled to Columbus and were thrashed by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 69-40. The 40-points were a season low for MU, which was led in scoring again by Mavunga with 20 points and 10 rebounds -- already his seventh double-double of the season and 21st of his career. Mauvnga leads the conference in scoring at 20.3 and in rebounds at 10.7 as MU is home on Wednesday night to play the College of William & Mary (Colonial Athletic)
OHIO (11-1): The Bobcats are off to their best start since 1940-41 and picked up their seventh consecutive win on Tuesday night as they traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers (Missouri Valley) 76-59. F Ivo Baltic scored a season high 22 points while junior G D.J. Cooper added 13 points with four rebounds and four assists. F Nick Kellogg added 11 and five boards…The winning streak reached eight on Thursday night back at the Convocation Center with an 83-66 win over North Carolina A&T (MEAC) as five Ohio players scored in double figures, led by Stevie Taylor, who scored a career-best 19 points. Walter Offut added 14 with five rebounds and four assists and Kellogg added 14 and four assists. Cooper leads Ohio in scoring 14.6 and in assists at 6.4 (second in the MAC) while Keely leads in rebounds at 5.6 boards. The Cats return to Athens on Wednesday night to face Kennesaw State (America Sun)
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (6-4): The Cardinals six-game winning streak came to an end Monday night as they fell to the Jaguars of IUPUI at Conseco Fieldhose in Indianapolis the last time BSU tasted defeat was on November 18th at Indiana State. Senior F Jerod Jones led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds while F Chris Bond added 13 and eight rebounds…Friday the Cards traveled to the Eastern hills of Kentucky where they lost to the Morehead State Eagles (Ohio Valley) 62-54 the first time they have dropped consecutive games since the opening of the season on the road at Arizona & Indiana State. G Tyrade Robinson in his first start of the season led BSU with 14 points while Jones was held to just six points and six rebounds. Jones leads BSU in scoring at 19.6 and in rebounds at 8.7 (both are second to Julian Mavunga in the MAC) while Randy Davis leads the conference in assists at 7.6. The Cards return to action on Saturday when the Chicago State Cougars (independent) head into Worthen Arena.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (5-8): The Chippewas dropped their fifth game in the last six as they narrowly lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, 72-69. CMU rallied from a 12-point deficit, closing to within a single point with 5:01 remaining before the Huskers pulled away. G Trey Ziegler led the Chips with 20 points (14 coming in the second half) while Derek Jackson added 13..The CMU road show checked into suburban Dayton on Thursday night and managed just 42 points in a loss to the Wright State Raiders (Horizon), 60-42, shooting just 35 percent from the field. G Derek Jackson was the only CMU player in double figures with 13 points. The game was the Chips 10th in the last 11 away from Mount Pleasant, and was their sixth loss of their last seven games. Ziegler leads the Chips in scoring (16.5), rebounds (6.6) and assists (2.7). CMU is off until it opens MAC play on January 7 at home against Toledo
EASTERN MICHIGAN (5-7): The Eagles ended their five game losing streak as they began a two-game road trip inside the Commonwealth of Virginia, defeating the Radford Highlanders (Big South) 52-48. G Quintin Daley led EMU with 13 points (going 3-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc). It was the first game for seven-foot Da’Shon Riley, who transferred from Syracuse, and he scored eight points with four assists…Thursday night the Eagles made the short trek to Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg and managed just nine first half points against the ACC Virginia Tech Hokies, going just 3-for-21 from the field in a 71-50 defeat -- their sixth in the last seven games. Darrell Lampley and sophomore guard Antonio Green led EMU with 13 points. Lampley leads the team in scoring at 15.1 and in assists at 2.7 per game. The Eagles are in the Bay Area of Northern California to play in the Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara University with their first game being Wednesday night against the host Broncos (West Coast)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (0-10): The Huskies played their final game of the
2011 portion of the schedule against the Valparaiso Crusaders (Horizon) at the NIU Convocation Center and came away with a familiar result – another loss, this one by a score of 59-49. Freshman F Abdel Nader led the Huskies attack with 12 points while fellow frosh F Keith Gray added nine with a career-high seven rebounds. Tim Toler leads NIU in scoring at 11.0 while Zack Miller leads in assists at 2.5. The Huskies are back in action on January 2, hosting Roosevelt University of Chicago at the Convocation Center.
TOLEDO (7-5): The Rockets dropped a 72-70 decision to the Norfolk State Trojans (MEAC) at Savage Arena, rallying from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the game with 36 seconds remaining, only to see NSU get the winning points on a layup with 2.4 seconds on the clock. That sent UT to its third loss in the last four games. Junior F Curtis Dennis led the Rockets with a career-high 20 points in just his second game since transferring from New Mexico. G Rian Pierson added 16 points with eight assists while Ryan Holliday scored 11…Thursday night, the Rockets fell to the Eagles of Florida-Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun) 83-80 for their third loss in the last four games. C Jordan Brown led four UT players in double figures with a season high 29 points and seven rebounds. Brown made seven three-pointers in the game ,the most by a Rocket since 2003. Pierson added 11 and 12 rebounds while Dominique Buckley had 16. Dennis backed up his performance against Norfolk State with 13 against FGCU. Pierson leads the Rockets in scoring (16.4) and in rebounds at 8.3 (third best in the MAC) while Julius Brown leads in assists at 5.3. UT has just one game this week, that being at home Wednesday night against the Vikings of Cleveland State (Horizon).
WESTERN MICHIGAN (5-7): The Broncos extended their winning streak to three and have won four in the last five games as they narrowly defeated the Winthrop Eagles (Big South) 60-55 at University Arena. Senior G Mike Douglas led WMU with 15 points and six rebounds while F Nate Hutchinson added 10. Matt Stainbrook scored nine and pulled down 14 rebounds..WMU then traveled to the suburbs of Detroit on Friday and defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (Summit League) 91-76 at the O-Rena. The win was Steve Hawkins’ 150th as Broncos head coach. Five players scored in double figures for the victory as the Broncos shot 56 percent from the field. Demetrius Ward leads WMU in scoring at 12.5 per game. Stainbrook leads in rebounds at 6.6 and Douglas in assists at 4.2. The Broncos take their winning streak into Cameron Indoor Stadium on
Thursday night to battle the Duke Blue Devils
There you have it -- your weekly MAC Mens basketball checkup. From all
of us HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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