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MAC East Basketball Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from February 19, 2009

The top two in the MAC East suffer loses, as the race becomes more muddled heading into Bracketbuster Saturday.

Weekend MAC Hoops Snapshot

It was Sunday, bloody Sunday for the MAC East, with surprising results against the West.

Saturday

• Ohio 91, Toledo 58: The Bobcats stomp the Rockets with a big time 25-point performance from Jerome Tillman.
• Miami 64, Western Michigan 46: It was close at the half but Miami runs away in the second half, propelled by strong defense.
• Kent State 61, Central Michigan: The Flashes eek out a close one, helped by a seven-rebound advantage.

Sunday

• Ball State 53, Buffalo 51: A surprising loss but one decided with just over a minute left.
• Northern Illinois 83, Akron 79: Shocking loss #1. Akron was one of the hottest teams in the MAC, setting itself up for a strong late season run with good defense…or so I thought.
• Eastern Michigan 65, Bowling Green 57: Even more shocking loss #2. Bowling Green could not get anything to fall or sufficiently stop a team that has beaten one Division I squad this season.

Weeknight MAC Hoops Breakdown

Tuesday

Kent State 64, Ohio 51

A couple months ago, the continuation of Kent State’s streak of twenty-win seasons looked like a reach. Its win against Ohio leaves Kent just five wins away from that mark with five regular season games remaining.

Jordan Mincy went off for the Flashes, tying a school record by going 5-5 from three and netting a career-high 27 points. Mincy averages 3.3 ppg on the season. The Bobcats got Chris Singletary into foul trouble but could not stop Mincy, who shot 9-10 overall and was in an unbreakable zone.

The Bobcats led by four at the half and eight in the first four minutes of the second. But then the Flashes kicked it into gear, going on a 16-0 and turning an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead at 42-34. Ohio went cold from the field but also turned it over almost every possession in its over seven minutes scoreless streak. Way too many turnovers, 19 for the game, and six at the hands of freshman Steven Coleman.

Jerome Tillman recorded a double-double for Ohio with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The next highest scorer to Mincy for Kent State was Tyree Evans who scored nine on three triples.

With a commanding win at home against Toledo and the losses from its competitors, the door was opening for the Bobcats to get back in the race for a bye. It is now slowly beginning to close again. This loss puts them at 6-6, two games back of the four tied at 8-4. Ohio is a terrible 2-10 on the road and if it doesn’t figure out how to win away from the Convo soon, it will find its stint in Cleveland a very short one.

Kent State, on the other hand, moves its win streak to seven and is heating up at the right time of the year.

Wednesday

Akron 53, Miami 44

Points were at a premium for the Zips and Redhawks Wednesday night. Only 31 points were scored in the first half, with Akron holding a 17-14 lead. The ugly first half saw just two made field goals in the last six minutes.

Akron led throughout the entire second half though Miami drew it close, nudging within three with 4:52 left. However, from there, a 12-3 Akron run sent its lead out to 48-36 with just under two to go.

Chris McKnight was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points (more total for the game than either team could muster in the first half). Humpty Hitchens added 12 but once again the stat to monitor for him is turnovers. He committed only one.

Frankly, Miami’s shooting was barely palpable. The Redhawks shot just 27.7 percent from the field, 20 percent from three. Michael Bramos scored 12 points but made just three of his attempted 18 field goals. Nick Winbush provided a glimmer of positive, putting up 16 points on 5-8 shooting. However, not only was shooting a problem for Miami but also turnovers. It gave the ball away 18 times, with all five starters committing two or more turnovers. Akron scored 20 points off the takeaways, compared to Miami’s five.

Miami shoots 44 percent for this season so this performance should probably be chalked up as an aberration. However, two losses in three games is something to be concerned about. The Redhawks need to get back on the right track.

After a not so good loss to Northern Illinois, Akron rebounds at home, where it plays its best. Akron had been rolling and with this win, gets back into position to get a bye.

Bowling Green 59, Buffalo 48

Brian Moten has to love playing the Buffalo Bulls. In their first meeting, Moten scored 20 points; Wednesday he upped that to a season-high 22. 18 of his points came from beyond the arc. Moten replaced Chris Knight, who went down with a leg injury, in the first minute of the game.

Bowling Green was in control the whole game, with Buffalo leading only once with the score at 9-8. The Falcons led by 15 at the half. The Bulls cut the deficit to seven by the 16-minute mark but would get no closer.

The two teams were a contrast in shooting. Bowling Green was clipping shots at a rate of 54.7 percent, while Buffalo could only manage to make 34 percent of its. Buffalo has struggled mightily finding the hoop the last two games. The Bulls shot for an average of 35.5 percent in the two losses.

Bowling Green has surprised me and is right in the middle of this heated East race. I’m not sure that they will come away with one of the three byes the East will get but they could cause some problems come tournament time. Going on the road and beating the MAC’s top team is a real positive step.

Having won nine games in a row it seemed like Buffalo was due to lose one sooner or later. However, following up the close road loss to Ball State with a home loss has removed any air of invincibility the Bulls may have been building. The high of the nine-game win streak is just a couple losses away from not only being forgotten but also demolished. The pack has caught up and if Buffalo really is the best it must now rise back up.

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MAC East Beast of the Week: Jordan Mincy, Kent State

What a performance from this senior Tuesday against Ohio. He was on fire and the Bobcats had no extinguisher. 27 points on a night he will never forget. Geno Ford must be applauded for his decision to start Mincy. The Flashes have lost only once since Mincy, along with Anthony Simpson, were added to the starting lineup.

Wait, Really?!:

East record against the West going into Sunday: 29-4

After Sunday: 29-7

Coming soon: MAC East Bracketbuster Preview

By Connor Kiesel
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer