|
 With just four more league games remaining in the regular season, MAC teams are turning it up yet another notch as they jockey for tourney positioning. Of course, the phrase “Any win is a good win” probably applies up and down the standings.
Last week in the Mid-American Conference…The Akron Zips extended their lead in the Eastern Division to two games over Kent State and Buffalo with a home victory over Miami. KSU moved into a second place tie with its come from behind home win over UB while the Ohio Bobcats became the first MAC team to register 20 victories this season.
In the Western Division, the Eastern Michigan Eagles saw their lead sliced in half as they lost at Central Michigan while Western Michigan picked up a victory at Northern Illinois. Ball State and Toledo are still within striking distance, though time is running out
On BracketBuster Saturday, Ohio was the only one of the top four teams in the MAC to get a victory, defeating North Carolina-Asheville at home while UA, KSU, and UB all lost to teams from the Summit League or Southern Conference.
Here is a look at all 12 MAC Men’s Basketball Teams in action in the penultimate week of the regular season
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (11-1, 19-8): The Zips opened a two-game lead in the East by defeating Miami,74-59, Wednesday night at Rhodes Arena, extending their winning streak to eight games. Junior F Chauncey Gilliam led UA with 14 points while sophomore F Demetrius Treadwell came off the bench to add 13. The Zips traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma Saturday and fell to the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts (Summit League), 67-61, with sophomore G Alex Abreu leading UA with 16 points and four assists. Fifth-year senior F Nikola Cvetinovic added 11. The Zips play Bowling Green at home before heading to Ohio on Saturday night
BOWLING GREEN (7-5, 14-12): The Falcons dropped a 72-58 decision at Ohio on Wednesday night, ending their three-game winning streak. Senior Scott Thomas led BGSU sith17 points and five rebounds. Guard Dee Brown added 15 and G Jordon Crawford scored 11. Saturday, the Falcons bounced back from their loss to the Bobcats and defeated the Morehead State Eagles (Ohio Valley), 73-60, at the Stroh Center. Thomas led the way with a season high 28 points (including eight three-pointers). Brown added 19 and Crawford had 12 assists along with nine points. The Falcons head to Akron Wednesday before entertaining Kent State at home on Saturday
BUFFALO (9-3, 16-8): The Bulls saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night as they squandered an eight-point halftime lead, falling at Kent State, 76-71. Zach Filzen led UB with 10 points while Mitchell Watt added 16 and nine rebounds. The Bulls made a long trip to Brookings, South Dakota on Saturday and fell to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State (Summit League), 86-65. It was their first stretch of consecutive losses since December 20-28 -- also on the road at Brigham Young and Temple. Javon McCrea led UB with 15 points and eight rebounds with Filzen scoring 13. Jarod Oldham leads the MAC in assists with six per game. This week UB plays its final two home games of the season Wednesday night against Ohio and Saturday against Miami
KENT STATE (9-3, 18-7): The Golden Flashes extended their winning streak to seven games Tuesday night coming back from an eight-point second half deficit to defeat Buffalo at the MAC Center 76-71. Senior F Justin Greene led KSU with 18 points while senior G Michael Porrini added 16 with six rebounds and nine assists. After their emotional win over UB, the Flashes almost overcame a 19-point second half deficit before falling in the closing moments to the Cougars from the College of Charleston (Southern), 80-73, just their second loss at home this season. KSU played the game without Greene who suffered a sprained ankle in the game with the Bulls. Chris Evans led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds his first career double-double. The Flashes also fell short with a comeback Tuesday as Miami upset KSU, 62-60, in Oxford. The Flashes will be back on the road Saturday when they head over to Bowling Green.
MIAMI (4-8, 8-17): The RedHawks traveled to Akron on Wednesday night and fell to the Zips 74-59. Freshman G Brian Sullivan led MU with 19 points (17 coming in the first half). The Hawks then entertained Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) at home and lost 61-54. Juliuan Mavunga leads the MAC in scoring at 16.8 per game and in rebounds at 9.4 He is one of two players in the conference (Central Michigan’s Trey Ziegler the other) leading his team in scoring-rebounds-and assists. The Hawks are in the running for a first round home game and, despite playing Sunday, pulled off a big 62-60 win at home Tuesday night against Kent State. Coach Charlie Coles crew will have another big test Saturday at Buffalo.
OHIO (8-4, 21-6): The Bobcats became the first MAC team to win 20 games in 2011-12 as they defeated Bowling Green Wednesday night at the Convocation Center, 72-58. Junior G D.J. Cooper led the Cats with 22 points along with five rebounds and three assists. Saturday, the Cats defeated North Carolina-Asheville (Big South) in Athens, 81-62, as Walter Offutt came up with a career best 19 points. Stevie Tayold had 12 and Nick Kellogg netted 10 as Ohio improved to 15-1 this season at home. Cooper was named MAC East Player of the Week with wins over the Falcons and Bulldogs. He is second in assists at 5.4 per game. The Cats head to Buffalo on Wednesday before returning home for Akron on Sunday
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (4-7, 12-13): The Cardinals dropped their seventh consecutive game Wednesday night, falling to Toledo at home, 63-55. Jesse Berry led the Cards with 17 points while Jerrod Jones added 11 along with 15 rebounds. The Cards ended their losing streak on Saturday as they defeated the Salukis of Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) at home 71-62. G Randy Davis led four BSU players in double figures with 19 points. Jones is third in MAC scoring, averaging 15 points, and second in rebounds at 8.7. Davis is second in assists with 5.2 dimes per contest. The Cards are on the road this week at Western Michigan on Wednesday and Eastern Michigan on Saturday
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-9, 8-18): The Chippewas ended their nine-game losing streak Tuesday night as they defeated division-leading Eastern Michigan, 55-52, at McGuirk Arena. It was CMU’s first win since defeating Toledo at home back on January 7. Austin McCroom led CMU with 14 points while Trey Ziegler added 11 and nine rebounds. Saturday, the Chips chances for consecutive wins fell at the hands of the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland) 49-47. Ziegler led CMU with 22 points while Jackson had 15. The Chips visit Toledo on Wednesday night before heading home for a Saturday battle against Northern Illinois
EASTERN MICHIGAN (6-6, 11-16): The Eagles fell to Central Michigan on Tuesday night in Mount Pleasant, 55-52. Derek Thompson led EMU coming off the bench with 18 points. Jamell Harris added 10 and seven rebounds while leading scorer Jerome Lampley was held to just six points. The Eagles played a strong defensive game on Saturday in Green Bay, but they fell to the Phoenix (Horizon League), 54-49. Lampley led EMU with 13 points while Derek Thompson added 12. The Eagles play their final two home games of 2011-12 as they host Northern Illinois on Wednesday and Ball State on Saturday.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (2-10, 3-22): The Huskies lost at home on Wednesday night to Western Michigan 78-55. Tony Nixon came off the bench to lead NIU with 12 points. On Saturday, NIU was in suburban St. Louis where it lost to the Cougars of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (Ohio Valley) on a shot at the buzzer. Abdel Nader led the Huskies with 12 points and eight rebounds while Nixon again had a strong came, coming off the bench to score 12. NIU heads to Eastern Michigan on Wednesday before traveling up to Central Michigan on Saturday.
TOLEDO (4-8, 13-14): The Rockets got a bit of payback on Ball State Wednesday night, defeating the Cardinals at Worthen Arena, 63-55. Earlier in the season, UT lost a two-pointer to BSU at home. It was the Rockets second win in the last three games. Curtis Dennis led UT with 17 points, including four three-pointers. Dominique Buckley added 11 and Julius Brown had 10 while Rian Pearson was held to just six points. UT made the trek to Huntsville, Texas on Saturday and came away with a 59-58 win over the Bearkats of Sam Houston State (Southland) as Reese Holliday led the way with 14 points. Pearson added 12. Brown was named MAC West Player of the Week averaging 13 points per game in the Rockets wins over BSU and SHSU. Pearson is second to Mavunga in scoring at 16.6 per game and third in rebounds at 8.2. UT finishes the season with three of its last four at Savage Arena. Two of those home dates are this week with Central Michigan coming in on Wednesday night and Western Michigan on Saturday
WESTERN MICHIGAN (5-7, 11-16): The Broncos ended their four-game losing streak Wednesday night as they traveled to DeKalb and defeated Northern Illinois, 78-55. Four players scored in double figures, led by Demetrius Ward with 18 points. Flenard Whitfield added 17 and eight assists. Saturday, the Broncos were in North Dakota as they lost to the Bison of North Dakota State, 86-73. Senior G Mike Douglas led WMU with 21 points and six rebounds while Matt Stainbrook added 15. WMU plays host to Ball State on Wednesday night before heading to Toledo on Saturday
|
