MAC Men’s Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Loren Cristian Jackson, Akron, Guard
Junior, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep)
Cristian Jackson led the Akron Zips to a pair of wins over two top-ranked opponents in Mid-American Conference play last week. Akron defeated Bowling Green (74-59) at home and Central Michigan (80-67) on the road with Jackson leading the scoring in both games, notching 28 and 31 points (59 points total), respectively. During that stretch, Jackson averaged 29.5 points on 60.6 percent shooting from the floor (20-of-33) which included a 50.0 percent effort from deep (8-of-16). In addition, he was perfect from the free throw line, knocking down all 11 attempts. Jackson also posted five steals (2.5 stl/g), four assists (2.0 ast/g) and three rebounds (1.5 rebs/g). Against the Falcons, Jackson shot 9-of-17 from the floor with a 3-of-7 performance from long distance and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. He grabbed three rebounds, dished out one assist and had two steals. The Zips improved to 12-2 at home and 4-2 in league play. At Central Michigan, Jackson put on a show, scoring 20 second-half points en route to the 31 point performance. Jackson was extremely efficient, cashing in on 11-of-16 shots from the floor and 5-of-9 from downtown. He registered a perfect 4-of-4 effort from the charity stripe while dishing out three assist and securing three steals. The Zips improved to 6-3 on the road and 5-1 in MAC play.
MAC Men’s Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Boubacar Toure, Eastern Michigan, Center
Redshirt Senior, Dakar, Senegal (Phase One Academy)
Toure led Eastern Michigan to back-to-back Mid-American Conference wins last week, as the Eagles downed both in-state rivals, Central Michigan (73-70), Feb. 11, and Western Michigan (69-51), Feb. 15. Toure averaged 18.5 points per game and grabbed a team-best 9.5 rebounds to go along with four assists, a steal, and played 33.5 minutes a contest. The Dakar, Senegal native only missed one shot from inside the arc, as he went 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) from the floor between the two games. On Tuesday, the redshirt senior posted his 10th double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds versus the Chippewas. Toure shot 90 percent (9-of-10) from the field and contributed a career-high in assists with three. He and fellow teammate Ty Groce were the first pair to notch a double-double and score 20+ points since 2017. Against Western Michigan, Toure led the Green and White with 17 points, on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting. He also grabbed a team-best six rebounds versus the Broncos. The center ranks second on the team averaging 10.9 points per game, but leads the team with 12.5 a contest in MAC play. Toure leads the MAC with a 69.0 field-goal percentage (116-of-168).
Other Top Performances
Ishmael El-Amin, Ball State, Guard
Junior, Minneapolis, Minn. (Hopkins)
El-Amin averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last week in Ball State’s games against the MAC division leaders. The junior guard poured in 22 points, his most ever in a league game, on just 11 shots in Tuesday’s win over West Division leader Northern Illinois. He hit 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range, including a heavily contested 3 in the final minute to help seal a 63-59 win. El-Amin also defended the league’s top scorer Eugene German who needed 20 attempts from the floor to score his 18 points. El-Amin reached double figures again Saturday with 16 points against East Division frontrunner and overall league leader Bowling Green.
Jayvon Graves, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Malvern, OH (St. Vincent-St. Mary's)
Graves finished just shy of his career high in scoring as he had a game-high 27 points in Buffalo's 83-67 win over Toledo on Friday night. Graves went 11-of-20 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range to lead all players. When Graves wasn't scoring himself, he was setting up his teammates as he also finished with a game-high five assists. The Malvern, OH native also had three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Troy Simons, Kent State, Guard
Senior, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Simons scored a career high-27 points that helped the Kent State Golden Flashes bounce back after back-to-back losses as the Flashes took down Ohio, 72-67 on Saturday. The Flashes recorded a season-high 17 3-pointers, led by Simons who shot 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Simons finished the game with two rebounds and swiped a game-high four steals. In the first half, Simons scored 19 of his 27 points shooting 5-of-7 from long range while also throwing down with a dunk that landed him on SportsCenter as the No. 8 play.
Willie Jackson, Toledo, Forward
Senior, Cleveland, OH (Garfield Heights)
Senior Willie Jackson posted a pair of double-doubles last week for Toledo, averaging 11.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg with a 56.3 FG%. He opened the week with an 11-point, 16-rebound effort in a win over Miami before tallying 11 points and 10 boards vs. Buffalo.
Brandon Johnson, Western Michigan, Forward
Redshirt junior, Chicago, Ill. (Thea Bowman Leadership Academy)
Johnson led the Broncos this past week with 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in two road games at Ohio and at Eastern Michigan. In the two games, Johnson was stellar from the field shooting 42.9 percent and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line. Against Ohio on Tuesday, Johnson registered eight points to go along with five rebounds, one block and two steals in 34 minutes of action. The Chicago, Ill., native followed up that performance with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds at Eastern Michigan. Johnson was 6-of-11 from the field against the Eagles and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Johnson over the week also averaged 1.5 blocks per game and ranks 7th in the MAC in total blocks. After last week’s performances, Johnson is now just 96 points away from becoming the 44nd member of the WMU 1,000-point club.
