Four MAC Men's Basketball Contests On Tonight's Schedule
MBB Release: https://bit.ly/2FZvrJ8
Updated Statistics: https://bit.ly/2STKuGG
Tonight’s Schedule
Tuesday, February 12th
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan – 7:00 PM ET (
ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Bowling Green - 7:00 PM ET (
ESPN+)
Buffalo at Akron - 7:00 PM ET (
ESPN+)
Eastern Michigan at Ohio - 7:00 PM ET (
ESPN+)
What You Need To Know...
• Toledo has won five straight conference matchups and are now 17-0 when holding opponents under a 45.0 FG%.
• The Bulls won their 22nd straight game at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon with their 90-76 win over Central Michigan. The Bulls overcame an 18-point first half deficit, their largest deficit overcome this year.
• Junior forward David DiLeo needs 14 points to become the 33rd Chippewa in program history to score 1,000 career points;
• The MAC is currently ranked as the ninth conference in the nation based on average NET Rankings. (Feb. 8, 2019). Buffalo (23) & Toledo (58) are currently ranked in the Top-100.
Team-By-Team Notes
AKRON
Undefeated in league play at James A. Rhodes Arena (5-0) and only allow opponents to score 56.8 points per game. Akron has held nine opponents under 60 points. The Zips lone loss was by one point (75-74) to Marshall. UA will return to action Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. as No. 23 Buffalo comes to town. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 1350-AM.
BALL STATE
Ball State got back on track last week, snapping a four-game losing streak with a pair of wins. After suffering five of their seven MAC losses by a combined 16 points (3.2 per game), the Cardinals finally broke through in a tight contest with a 72-71 win at Northern Illinois. It was their first victory this season in a game decided by five points or fewer. BSU backed it up Saturday with a 79-59 win over Western Michigan, snapping a four-game home losing streak. Kyle Mallers scored a career-high 22 points and made a career-best six 3-pointers. His roommate Brachen Hazen (back) returned the court for the first time since early December and added 11 points with three 3’s of his own. Ball State snapped a four-game losing streak with a 72-71 win and did it on the backs of its three most veteran players. Tayler Persons led the way with 29 points, made six 3's and hit critical free throws in the final minute. Trey Moses scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Tahjai Teague logged a double-double of his own with 14 and 13. Ball State will play four of its next five games at home beginning this Saturday. The Cardinals will host Western Michigan at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ as the first game of a doubleheader at Worthen Arena.
BOWLING GREEN
Bowling Green and Central Michigan are set to conclude this season’s home-and-home series on Tuesday (Feb. 12) night inside the Stroh Center. Tuesday’s ballgame will mark the 80th meeting between the two schools. Bowling Green holds a 41-38 advantage in the all-time series. Junior guard Dylan Frye is averaging 20.7 points per game over Bowling Green’s last three contests. The Falcons are 11-1 at the Stroh Center this season. Bowling Green has set the venue’s attendance record in each of the program’s last two home games. Standing-room only crowds of 5,000 fans witnessed BGSU’s upset win of No. 18 Buffalo and last weekend’s Battle of I-75 showdown against Toledo
BUFFALO
The Bulls won their 22nd straight game at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon with their 90-76 win over Central Michigan. The Bulls overcame an 18-point first half deficit, their largest deficit overcome this year. Senior Nick Perkins was one of 10 players named as finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is awarded to the nation's top center. Perkins, one of the top sixth men in the league, is averaging 13.7 points per game this year off the bench. Buffalo picked up its 20th win of the season on Saturday, the fourth time in the last five years that the Bulls have won 20 or more games and just the eighth time in program history. The Bulls are set for road contests this week at Akron on Tuesday night and at Toledo on Friday evening before opening a season-long three-game homestand next week.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Junior forward David DiLeo needs 14 points to become the 33rd Chippewa in program history to score 1,000 career points; With CMU’s next win, the Chippewas’ sixth consecutive .500 or better season will be guaranteed, tying the second-longest streak in program history; Currently with 52, senior guard Larry Austin Jr. is on pace to threaten or break the Central Michigan single-season steals record, held by Dave Grauzer (63, 1978-79).
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eastern's 57-49 win over Northern Illinois was its first of the season when trailing at halftime (24-27)... It also marked the first win of the campaign when shooting less that 45 percent and being out-rebounded... Senior James Thompson IV is within 88 rebounds of the Eastern Michigan all-time rebounding record, trailing only Kennedy McIntosh.
KENT STATE
n the first installment of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Wagon Wheel showdown, the Flashes fell 72-53 to rival Akron on Friday night at the James A. Rhodes Arena. The Flashes stand 17-6 overall and 6-4 in league play after going 1-1 last week. Up next for the Flashes is a matchup with Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Thursday, followed by a rematch with Eastern Michigan at home on Saturday.
MIAMI
Miami earned a split of its two MAC games, including a 20-point win over its biggest rival Ohio on Saturday. Junior Bam Bowman had a career-high 23 points in the victory, and had his second double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. The RedHawks have their midweek bye this week and return to action at Western Michigan next Saturday.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
For the second time in four days, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will travel to the State of Michigan as the Huskies visit Western Michigan on Tuesday night. In conference play, senior Dante Thorpe is ranked in the top-10 in the Mid-American Conference in scoring (sixth at 16.8 points per game), field goal percentage (tied for seventh at 57.5 percent), free throw percentage (third at 83.8 percent) and three-point percentage, where he leads the MAC shooting 57.1 percent.
OHIO
Bobcats take on EMU at home this week before a stretch of two road games at CMU and Buffalo. The Bobcats enter the matchup with Eastern Michigan with an overall record of 11-11 and a 3-7 mark in MAC play. Ohio is averaging 69.4 points per game. They are shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 29.8 percent from three-point range and 62.8 percent from the free throw line. The Bobcats are also averaging 38.0 rebounds a contest to go along with 14.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game. Individually, Jason Carter is averaging 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
TOLEDO
Senior Chris Darrington scored a game-high 20 points on Saturday night to lead Toledo (20-4, 8-3 MAC) to a 78-71 victory over arch-rival Bowling Green (16-7, 8-2 MAC) before a sold-out crowd of 5,000 in the Stroh Center. The victory gave the Rockets their fourth 20-win season in the last six years and was UT's eighth victory in last nine outings. Toledo has won nine of its last 10 meetings vs. Bowling Green and leads the all-time series by a 92-80 margin. The Rockets are 17-0 when holding opponents under a 45.0 FG%.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
With three home games this week, WMU is 103-34 at home during conference play under head coach Steve Hawkins …. During the second half of MAC play, WMU is 29-17 since 2013 … sophomore Michael Flowers leads all “true” underclassmen in scoring in the MAC this season at 16.4 points per game.
