Pair of Nationally Televised Games Tip-Off This Weekend's MAC Basketball Action
On The Web at GetSomeMACtion.com
MBB Release:
https://bit.ly/2FZvrJ8
Updated Statistics:
https://bit.ly/2STKuGG
Friday, January 18th
Ohio at Toledo - 7:00 PM ET (CBS Sports Network)
Eastern Michigan at No. 16/17 Buffalo - 7:00 PM ET (ESPNU/
ESPN3)
Saturday, January 19th
Western Michigan at Bowling Green - 2:30 PM ET (
ESPN3)
Northern Illinois at Kent State - 2:30 PM ET (
ESPN3)
Akron at Miami - 3:30 PM ET (
ESPN3)
Ball State at Central Michigan - 4:30 PM ET (
ESPN3)
MAC Team-By-Team Notebook
AKRON
The Akron Zips pulled back to .500 in conference play on Tuesday when they outlasted Eastern Michigan 51-49 at home. Senior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) led Akron with 12 points, five assists and three rebounds in the win while junior forward Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) notched 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Rounding out the double-digit scoring was sophomore guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) with 10 points. Akron returns to the court Saturday in Oxford when the Zips take on the Miami RedHawks, with tip-off scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
BALL STATE
Tayler Persons scored a game-high 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Ball State (10-7, 1-3 MAC), in a 79-78 loss to red hot Bowling Green on Tuesday night. Ball State outscored Bowling Green 40-18 in the paint and 21-8 on fastbreak points. Tuesday's game was the first in a stretch that will see Ball State play five out of seven on the road. The Cardinals will travel next to Central Michigan for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday on ESPN3.
BOWLING GREEN
With a 79-78 victory over Ball State on Tuesday, the Bowling Green Falcons move to 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time in 14 years. The Falcons are now 9-0 at home for the first time since 1999-2000. The 1999-2000 edition of the Falcons went 12-0 at Anderson Arena. Sophomore forward Daeqwon Plowden turned in his best game as a Falcon. Plowden set career highs in points (19), three-point makes (3-of-5), free throws made (8), free throws attempted (10), and minutes played (27). Plowden also added a MAC career high of eight rebounds, while tying a career high with two steals.
BUFFALO
At 16-1, the Bulls have their best record in school history through 17 games. The Bulls have won 19 straight games at Alumni Arena, dating back to last season, the fourth longest home winning streak in the country. The only teams to have longer winning streaks at home are Houston, Utah Valley, and Nebraska. Head coach Nate Oats claimed his 80th career win on Tuesday night at Western Michigan. He is now 80-40 in his career and has won 30 games over the last year. Oats is the fastest head coach in UB history to 80 wins and he is already tied sixth place in school history in career victories.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
In a game in which Central Michigan never trailed, the Chippewas used clutch play to overcome some tense second half moments to claim a key 78-69 road victory over MAC West foe Northern Illinois Tuesday night in DeKalb. . The win returned CMU to first place in the West Division. This marks the first time Central Michigan has started 2-0 in road conference games since the 2006-07 season. Central Michigan returns to McGuirk Arena for its next game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against Ball State.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team faces a tall task as it looks to bounce back from a mid-week Mid-American Conference loss, traveling to No. 16 University at Buffalo. The Eagles' record of 8-9 is a bit misleading for those not paying attention. Eastern has played the seventh-hardest schedule in the country (according to KenPom), including three games against Associated Press Top-25 teams and two against opponents in the top-10. Senior James Thompson IV is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,278 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 148 boards to pass all-time EMU record holder Kennedy McIntosh.
KENT STATE
The Kent State men's basketball team got their first conference road win of the season after taking down the Ohio Bobcats, 66-52, on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center. The Flashes improved to 13-4 overall on the season and 2-2 in conference play. Senior Jaylin Walker became Kent State's career 3-pointer leader with 248 threes and scored a team-high 21 in the contest. Kent State returns home for a three-game homestand. The Flashes will host Northern Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup with Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. Kent State will close out the homestand with a Friday night game on Jan. 25 with Buffalo.
MIAMI
The Miami University men's basketball team returns home Saturday as it welcomes Akron to Millett Hall after falling to Toledo on Tuesday night. Nike Sibande's 26 point performance allowed him to cross the 800 point barrier for his career. He is now at 802 career points and only 198 points away from becoming the 35th player to score 1,000 points at Miami.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
NIU Suffered their first conference loss of the season on Tuesday at home against Central Michigan. Senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Huskies, senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) added 18 points and junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) chipped in 13. NIU will head back on the road on Saturday, January 19, as the Huskies travel to Kent State.
OHIO
The Ohio men's basketball team (9-7, 1-3 MAC) returns to action on Friday, Jan. 18 when they head to Toledo, Ohio for a matchup with the Rockets (14-3, 2-2 MAC). The Bobcats enter the matchup with Toledo with an overall record of 9-7 and an 1-3 mark in MAC play. 16 games into the season, Ohio is averaging 71.4 points per game. They are shooting 43.8 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from three-point range and 63.9 from the free throw line. The Bobcats are also averaging 39.9 rebounds a contest to go along with 14.3 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.9 blocks per game. Individually, Jason Carter is averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three-point range and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Teyvion Kirk is adding 16.3 points per game 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
TOLEDO
Toledo (14-3, 2-2 MAC) looks to stretch its winning streak to three when it hosts MAC East Division foe Ohio (9-7, 1-3 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 18 in Savage Arena. The lone meeting of the season between the two schools will be televised on the CBS Sports Network at 7:00 p.m. The Rockets have rebounded from a 0-2 start in league action with an 85-77 win at Western Michigan last Saturday and a 71-59 home win over Miami on Tuesday. Toledo is currently tied for third place in the MAC's West Division and trails co-leaders Central Michigan (14-3, 3-1) and Northern Illinois (10-7, 3-1) by just one game.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan men's basketball fought to the finish but fell just short of an upset with an 88-79 loss to No.16 Buffalo. Despite the outcome the Broncos had four score in double figures for the third straight game with senior Josh Davis leading all scorers with a season-high 24 points. Davis shot a staggering 10-of-16 from the field while registering six rebounds and four assists. The Broncos will look to earn their first conference victory of the season as they travel to Bowling Green to take on the Falcons at the Stroh Center.
