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MAC East Report - January 15, 2009

It’s the first week of MAC East play and two games were hotly contested throughout, while the same can be said for one half of the other. With the beginning of conference season upon us, I’ll provide my thoughts on each of the MAC East games and also give you a brief refresher on each team’s out-of-conference seasons before I look ahead to the weekend.

Tuesday

Buffalo 63, Akron 61

The Buffalo Bulls have a pension for playing close games. Of their 14 games thus far, seven have been decided by 5 points or less. Their record in those contests: 4-3, brought over .500 with Tuesday’s two-point win. In a game determined by the slimmest of margins, it was free throw shooting that was the deciding factor. Each team shot 27 free throws. Buffalo converted 22, Akron 18. There is your margin of victory.

It must be noted that Buffalo doubled Akron’s rebound count and the Zips shot better from the field. However, the team that is more successful at the free throw line often emerges the winner in tight affairs, as evidence by this one. Calvin Betts scored the clinching layup and led the way with 14 points. Also of note, Rodney Pierce’s perfect 6-6 night from three.

Out-of-conference Snapshot

Buffalo: The Bulls got the MAC some media attention when they gave then undefeated UConn all it could handle at Alumni Arena. The game came down to the final minute but despite the 68-64 loss, Buffalo performed impressively against one of the best from the Big East. Their other losses come to Evansville, Niagara and Siena, so there is nothing to be ashamed of there.

Big win: 83-73 over Temple. You’ve surely heard the name Dionte Christmas and the array of puns that came about from his 35-point outburst in a win over Tennessee. Well, to use another, Buffalo played the part of the Grinch and although Christmas scored 25, the Bulls took away the gift of victory. Unlike the fabled tale, there were no roast beast or hearts two sizes too small.

Akron: Like the Bulls, none of the Zips’ losses are glaringly bad. A 29-point loss to URI is a large margin but it was on the road and URI is a quality team that fell to Duke by only 3.

Big win: The win over Niagara on the road stands out. RPI forecast puts the Purple Eagles’ RPI at 85 as of now. Freshman Anthony ‘Humpty’ Hitchens has produced points wise but compiled 45 turnovers.

Wednesday

Kent State 72, Bowling Green 48

A tale of two halves unfolded in Kent Wednesday night. The first half saw a score knotted at 33. The second was domination by the Golden Flashes. Kent State opened up the game with a 16-0 run and won the second half 39-15. Whatever coach Geno Ford said in the locker room worked. Staggering stats: Bowling Green shot 6-26 from the field in the second half. The Falcons took 20 shots from beyond the arc and only made two.

Kent State plays good defense, as evidenced by their containment of Ohio’s Jerome Tillman the game before. Tyree Evans is a sharp shooter; do not leave him open from three or you will be sorry. Al Fisher is the leader of the team and it needs him to be the spark. Evans and Chris Singletary are very good contributors but I think everyone feeds off of Fisher.

Seniors Brian Moten and Nate Miller are key for the Falcons. But Chris Wright, the sophomore, has shown promise with 22 points in the Buffalo win.

Out-of-Conference Snapshot

Bowling Green: The loss to Central Arkansas had to be a little concerning but it was only by a deuce. The Falcons pretty much beat the teams they should have and lost to the ones you expected in this part of the schedule. You give them credit for that.

Big win: Well it’s not a win but the 61-57 loss at Ohio State was the best looking showing in out-of-conference. Ohio State is a good team from a major conference and although the Buckeyes led by as many as 13, Bowling Green kept fighting and was within two with 11 seconds left.

Kent State: There were some tough opponents in this stretch. The Flashes played Texas A&M, Kansas and St. Mary’s in a three-game stint. Geno Ford did not get an easy schedule to start his tenure. Cleveland State is a strong, Horizon League squad but it is difficult to find positives from a 26-point drubbing at home

Big win: Again, I’m cheating and going with an admirable loss. A 6-point defeat at the hands of Illinois in overtime at the South Padre Invitational is notable. Illinois is currently 15-2 and Kent State really pushed the Fighting Illini.

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Ohio 66, Miami 62

It was the same rivalry but a new coach infused a different result. The Bobcats had not won in Oxford in five years and were beaten handily 73-49 there last season. On Wednesday night, Jerome Tillman did not let that happen. Tillman scored a career-high 35 points in the victory and is developing a three-point shot, converting 4 of 7 from downtown. Michael Bramos scored 17 points but that was not enough for Miami.

The deciding factor in this game was the play of Tillman, who took over the game in stretches, going inside and out. If you’re going to beat the Bobcats, you have to try to shutdown or at least contain Tillman. You have better odds letting Tommy Freeman, Steven Coleman and Michael Allen try to beat you then allowing Tillman do it. The Bobcats’ role players are capable but if Tillman gets above 20 and into the 30s it’s going to be tough to win.

Miami is hurt by the loss of Kenny Hayes. You cannot underestimate the presence of a senior point guard and Miami will need to find someone to fill that void. The Redhawks are missing that solid second scorer to Bramos that Hayes acted as. The Bobcats still need to solidify a more consistent center but this was an excellent win for them. John Groce has instilled a defensive intensity and confidence in a team with a mix of veterans and youth. Bobcat fans, appreciate Groce because like Sylvia Crawley, Ohio’s former women’s coach, a major conference job may only be a few seasons away.

Out-of-Conference Snapshot

Miami: According to RPI Forecast, the Redhawks’ current RPI is 17, a real good mark. This is a byproduct of an extremely strong slate that included games at UCLA, Pittsburgh, Xavier and Temple. They played a really good game against UCLA and their style matched up well against the Bruins. Although they didn’t pull out a win, it was a good showing on the road.

Big win: Maybe I’m overrating Temple but I think going on the road and beating a more than solid A-10 squad is big. Unlike Buffalo, Miami stifled Christmas, holding him to only 11 points (I’ll spare you more Christmas puns). Miami wins by 16 over the Owls but it was prior to Kenny Hayes’ injury.

Ohio: The Bobcats played Louisville and Xavier and lost pretty badly to both but that’s not really a surprise. What makes you go ‘huh’ is a loss to Lamar in the tournament at Louisville. Ohio struggled through a three game road losing streak but seemed to find its groove heading into conference play.

Big win: beat Tulsa 75-63. The Golden Hurricane just lost to Memphis by a mere point and has an RPI ranking of 77 from RPI Forecast.

Weekend Forecast for the MAC East

It’s going to be cold, very cold. I’m not a weatherman but I can tell you to get into the arena quickly if you plan on attending Saturday’s games. But if you want a basketball forecast…

• The Bobcats head to Buffalo looking to stay undefeated in MAC play. Mission for the Bulls: stop Jerome Tillman. Advice for Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon: take a page from Kent State and double Tillman at all costs. Tillman struggled inside with Kent State’s double teams. Ohio is coming off an emotional road win and cannot come out flat. Don’t be surprised if Buffalo wins this one, their first home game of the MAC season.
• Miami takes on Kent State in a game you can check out on TV. I think Kent’s three man scoring punch will be too much to handle at home.
• Bowling Green is 6-0 at home and 0-7 on the road. Akron comes to town Saturday night. I expect the Falcons to be motivated after the 24-point loss; however, Akron has lost one in overtime and the other by two. I don’t see them starting the conference season 0-3.

By Connor Kiesel
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer