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MAC East Basketball Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from February 27, 2009

As the season draws closer to an end, the picture in the MAC East is not only not coming into focus; it is getting foggier. The division suffered through a tough BracketBuster Saturday and then all six played in Thursday games that shook up the standings even more.

BracketBuster Snapshot

Vermont 78, Buffalo 70

Canisius 71, Bowling Green 66, OT

Evansville 75, Miami 61

Eastern Kentucky 73, Ohio 51

Kent State 79, Morehead State 76

Valparaiso 74, Akron 66

• Only Kent State comes away with a win as all the rest fall. Probably the worst loss is Bowling Green’s at home to a Canisius team that is the worst in the MAAC. Akron also loses at home to the second-to-last place team in the Horizon. Unfortunately for MAC fans, the day illustrates that, as a whole, the conference is down. One of these teams from the East will most likely make the tournament and will have earned it but watch out for much better BracketBuster showings in the next two to three years as new coaches bring in more of their guys and further establish their systems.

Thursday

Bowling Green 67, Kent State 66

In a game that had seven lead changes in the last five minutes, Otis Polk’s layup with 47 seconds remaining shifted the score for the final time, giving Bowling Green a 66-65 lead. The Falcons would go on to win 67-66.

The last 25 seconds of the game, after Polk’s layup, were full of action. With 25 seconds left, Nate Miller stole the ball away from Chris Singletary. Kent State fouled Erik Marschall, who made one of two free throws. Kent State was down only two but then Miller came away with another steal, this time off Al Fisher. After the turnover, Bowling Green now had a chance to seal the deal. However, Nate Miller went to the line and missed two free throws, giving Kent State one final chance, down two with nine seconds to go.

Chris Singletary was sent to the line with three seconds left, so it came down to two free throws to tie the game for Kent State. The first one was good; The Flashes were one free throw away from a probable overtime. However, Singletary could not convert the second. Surely, a heartbreaking miss for him and loss for the Flashes in the final seconds.

Five Falcons scored in double-digits, with the highest being Nate Miller at 16. The real vital stat comes from Miller, who had two steals, both in the final thirty seconds. As a team, Bowling Green outrebounded Kent 29-23.

The leader for Kent State was Jordan Mincy, who scored 19 and dished out four assists. It is Mincy’s second real good performance in three games. He scored a career-high 27 in the win against Ohio.

In the second half, Bowling Green’s defense stiffened, allowing only four field goals in the last ten minutes. Bowling Green outshot Kent State 51 to 45 percent. Kent State shot 87.5 percent from the line, over 26 percent higher than Bowling Green but the Falcons went to the line ten more times.

Ohio 75, Miami 56

Ohio has swept Miami for the first time in ten seasons. After Jerome Tillman put in a monster effort in Oxford, this game’s breakout performer was freshman Steven Coleman, who matched a career-high 21 points.

This meeting was the 183 rd Battle of the Bricks, one of the best rivalries in the MAC. Both teams came out shooting anything but bricks in the first half. Each shot over 50 percent in the first half, as it was close at halftime, Ohio leading 41-37. In the second half, Ohio flipped the script.

Miami regressed to shooting struggles that have done caused losses in past games, going only 6-21 from the field in the second period. Ohio then ran away with the game, outscoring the Redhawks 34-19 in the final twenty minutes. Michael Bramos scored 16 and led the Redhawks but he only was 6-16 shooting. On the season, Bramos has attempted more shots than ever and is shooting under 40 percent, below his career average. The Redhawks will need Bramos, their team leader, to find a more consistent touch.

Like Bowling Green in its win, the Bobcats ended with five players earning ten or more points. Seniors Jerome Tillman and Justin Orr each scored 13. The other Bobcats senior, Michael Allen scored 10 but the standout stat for him is his five assists to zero turnovers.

The really impressive guy to go back to though is Steven Coleman. He’s scored 21 once before this season but it was in November against Austin Peay. Coleman was 5-5 in the first half, sinking open threes and driving to the hoop. He finished the game 7-9, doing so against the team’s biggest rival. This freshman from Florida has tons of potential. He is a very active player, which sometimes leads to mistakes and turnovers but most of that can be chalked up to his youth.

Coleman and Orr are two key players going forward for this Bobcats team. Jerome Tillman is a MAC Player of the Year candidate but he cannot shoulder the entire load. If the role players like Coleman, Orr, Freeman and Allen can hit their shots when Tillman is focused on, as they did Thursday, the Bobcats are capable of a run.

One more note: Excellent attendance at the Convo, as the Bobcats drew 7.231, which is astronomical for a MAC weeknight game. Ohio had a big-time recruit in Athens who got to experience a rivalry game and atmosphere full of great energy. That is a positive all around for the MAC.

Akron 62, Buffalo 57

Buffalo now has company at the top of the MAC standings. In a sloppy game that saw 41 total turnovers, Akron emerged victorious, putting itself at 9-4 in the MAC and in a first-place tie with Buffalo and Bowling Green.

An all-around performance from the Zips, who saw no one eclipse 11 points but four score 10 or more. Chris McKnight was the Zips’ top dog with 11 points and four rebounds. Buffalo’s Rodney Pierce put in a game-high 20 points, doing his part in spite of the team’s losing streak.

The key in this game was defense. Both teams turned it over a lot but Akron shot a better clip from the field. The game was close in the second half and Buffalo even took a one-point lead at the 5:38 mark. But Akron was a step ahead all night, taking the lead back on the next possession and never giving it away again.

The situation may be starting to get worrisome for Buffalo. The Bulls won nine in a row but have now lost four consecutive. Buffalo is not the best shooting team in the MAC; we know that. This means it cannot allow opponents to shoot too much better than them and in the last three losses, each has shot over 50 percent. I still like Buffalo’s depth but they are not scoring as consistently as a group right now and not doing a successful enough job of containing opponents.

Akron , on the other hand, is a team finding its rhythm at the right time of the year. The loss to Valpo is bad but the MAC as a whole fared poorly on the day. Keith Dambrot’s group plays good defense and spreads the ball around. It has taken some time but the younger group of Humpty Hitchens, Chris McKnight and Brett McClanahan is beginning to meld with the upperclassmen Nate Linhart, Daryl Roberts and Brett McKnight. The Zips are perennially very difficult to beat at home and this season is no different as they can boast of a 10-2 mark. Two of

their last three are in Akron, which gives them a definite advantage in the race for the top seed.

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MAC East Beast of the Week: Nate Miller, Bowling Green

It’s tough to give this one out this week as no team won both of its games. Despite his team’s heinous loss to Canisius, Miller put up a double-double (22 points, 13 rebounds), plus three steals. In the big time win over Kent State he was instrumental with a stat line of 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in two of Kent State’s final three possessions.

Where we stand

Three games remain for each squad in the regular season, This closing stretch will decide three of the top four seeds, which are all up in the air. The only West threat is Ball State, who is two games out. The Cardinals (or whoever wins the West) are assured of at least the second seed. All six of the MAC East teams could still come away with a first round bye. Here are the remaining schedules:

• Buffalo (9-4): @ Ohio, @ Kent State, vs, Miami
• Akron (9-4): vs. Bowling Green, vs. Ohio, @ Kent State
• Bowling Green (9-4): @ Akron, @ Miami, vs. Ohio
• Miami (8-5): vs. Kent State, vs. Bowling Green, @ Buffalo
• Kent State (8-5): @ Miami, vs. Buffalo, vs. Akron
• Ohio (7-6): vs. Buffalo, @ Akron, @ Bowling Green

Looking at the schedules, I think Akron is in prime position to get the top seed. I don’t see them losing either game at home and the game at Kent State is a rivalry game that could really go either way. Miami is one I expect to rebound after this string of bad games. Buffalo, I’m not so sure of, having to go on the road for the next two. If the Bulls don’t beat Ohio Saturday I’m not sure they get a bye, let alone the top seed.

It is extremely difficult to sort this out as it is bunched as tightly together as the ACC. If I had to pick right now, my predictions for the three to get byes would be 1. Akron, 2. Miami and 3. Buffalo. Come back next week and my opinion may well change greatly; that is the way the MAC East is this campaign and also why I cannot wait for the MAC Tournament.

MAC East Sunday Forecast

• Buffalo at Ohio - this will be on ESPNU at 12pm so make sure to check it out. Ohio is coming off of an emotional win, while Buffalo really, really needs a win. The Bobcats are so good at home but this is a classic bounce back/letdown scenario. It will be decided in the final minutes.
• Bowling Green at Akron - big meaning here as the two are now tied with Buffalo for first in the MAC. The winner has a chance to come away with sole possession. These two both love to grind it out but I think Akron does a better job at that and gets the win.
• Kent State at Miami - Miami has to be thrilled to get back home after three straight road losses. I think they’ll relish in the friendly confines and get the season sweep of Kent State.

By Connor Kiesel
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer