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MAC East Basketball Report

MAC basketball weekend recap

Four MAC East teams sit atop the division standing as Thursday’s results set up a more-than-meaningful final day of regular season conference play.

Miami 50, Bowling Green 45, OT

Low scoring and a defensive struggle, the contest between the Falcons and Redhawks lived up to expectations. Bowling Green’s Scott Thomas sent the game to overtime with a buzzer-beating three but Miami converted from the line to seal the deal in the extra period. Six of Miami’s ten overtime points came at the foul stripe, as the Redhawks held the lead through it.

Michael Bramos drowned a game high 23 points, falling just a bucket short of scoring half of his teams points for the second consecutive game. Tyler Dierkers put together his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Miami’s starting five again carried the load, scoring all of its points. Bowling Green got 14 points off the bench.

Only one Falcon, Nate Miller, reached double figures in points, netting 12. Darryl Clements had a rough night, shooting just 3-14 from the field and committing five turnovers. The Falcons shot better from the field but again struggled from the charity stripe, making only two of six. In a close game that reaches overtime, missed free throws will do you in.

Miami wins this game despite troubles shooting beyond the arc. The Redhawks made just four of 24 (all by Bramos). This win keeps alive Miami’s chances for a top seed with an absolutely pivotal game against Buffalo. The defense was much better but their shooting has to improve very quickly. Bramos is leading this time and bringing them to victories right now. If he has an anything resembling an off night, Miami will not win. This was more of a signature, gritty Miami win and it will want to establish their tempo against opponents who want to push the ball more.

Like Bramos for Miami, Bowling Green is very contingent on Nate Miller. He had 16 rebounds to go along with his 12 points. Miller scored all of the Falcons’ overtime points. Bowling Green is still in the mix but has to improve free throw shooting. It is one aspect that coaches cannot stand players to struggle with. Execution from the free throw line is integral. Bowling Green also needs to turn it on late in the game. Sans Thomas’ buzzer beater, its only other bucket in the final three minutes was Joe Jakubowski’s layup. Defense is the Falcons’ game but you cannot get that cold in closing stages of games.

Akron 60, Ohio 51

Bye-bye bye. It’s the name of an N’Sync song and now a phrase that sums up Ohio’s chance of starting tournament play Thursday rather than Tuesday. Nate Linhart impressed on his senior night, scoring 15 and rebounding seven in a sweet victory in his final game at home.

Akron’s other main contributor, sophomore Brett McKnight, finished the night with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Zips struggled to find the touch in the first half, hitting just 26.7 percent, and holding a slim 27-24 lead at the half. However, in the second half, the Zips nearly doubled their first half shooting (52.4 percent) and put the Bobcats away. Akron led through most of the first twenty and all of the second twenty minutes of play,

Ohio shot better than Akron on the whole but did not do much else well. Akron’s suffocating defense forced a season-high 24 turnovers from the Bobcats. They average 14.2 turnovers per game this season but have been a mess in their last three road games. 19 turnovers in losses to both Kent State and Eastern Kentucky and 24 in this loss. Coach Groce spoke of Akron imposing its will on his team in his post-game comments.

Rebounding has been a pitfall over and over for the Bobcats and Akron took advantage too. The Bobcats fell short 33-25 in that category. Despite the troubles on the boards, the ever-consistent Jerome Tillman pulled down seven and put up 17 points. The MAC Player of the Year candidate may not get the recognition he deserves with Ohio’s struggles but he deserves a lot of consideration for this award. Tillman leads the MAC in points and rebounds, while shooting the fourth best percentage from the field. It is hard to make a more convincing argument for anyone else in the league.

Akron inflicted its will on Ohio and forced too many turnovers for the Bobcats to overcome. I still think Akron may be the one to watch going forward. The Zips have by far the biggest scoring margin in the MAC at + 7.2 (next closest is Kent at +4.8). They’re only fifth in shooting but second in field goal defense and first in three-point defense. They do not have electric scorers but one or two usually step up in scoring and the defense does the rest.

Kent State 77, Buffalo 71

Against Bowling Green, Chris Singletary had the chance to make two free throws and tie the score late in the game. In that one, he would only make one. The same opportunity arose Thursday but this time Singletary hit both, sending the game to overtime and Kent State to an eventual win.

In overtime, Al Fisher took over for the Flashes. Fisher scored eight of Kent’s ten overtime points in the period that was tight until Andy Robinson missed a three with 1:08 left and Kent State then extended its lead to five. The final point total for Fisher was 15. Not Fisher, but Chris Singletary, was the top scorer with 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Julian Sullinger recorded his first double-double of the season (12 points, 11 rebounds).

These two were pretty even except for a couple of key areas. Buffalo pretty much lost this game because of missed free throws and turnovers. The Bulls shot only 51.9 percent from the line. They turned it over 19 times to Kent State’s 12. Although Greg Gamble drowned 17 and Rodney Pierce 16, it was not enough to make up for the other deficiencies.

Buffalo is an up-and-down team. I don’t really know what to make of the Bulls, after they have now lost five of six on the heels of their nine-game win streak. It looked like Buffalo was going to be the cream of the crop for a lot of this season but they have fallen and are not all that imposing anymore. This is not the right direction to be going heading toward tournament time. The Bulls looked like a shoe-in for a bye but will now probably have to beat Miami in what is a game that could very well leave the loser with a longer stint at the Q.

Kent State has a lot of potential. It is the best scoring team in the MAC but average on defense. Playing against the defensive juggernauts Kent State has not been able to be stronger in its best area. The play of Chris Singletary and which Tyree Evans and Al Fisher show up Sunday at home will tell the tale of whether Kent State takes care of what it can control in the MAC race.

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MAC East Beast of the Week: Michael Bramos, Miami

Carried Miami to two essential wins at Millet. 34 points on 10-17 shooting Sunday and 23 points Thursday. He has scored 57 of Miami’s 118-point two-game output, just short of half. Talk about leading a team.

MAC East Sunday Forecast

It all comes down to this. After 15 conference games, we’re pretty much right where we started, with four teams deadlocked and Kent State just one out. Finally, the season-long mystery of which three East teams get byes will be solved. I cannot wait to see it play out.

Ohio at Bowling Green-This game has more riding on it for Bowling Green than for Ohio. Yes, the Bobcats would like to get a higher seed (possibly that 7 th which could lead to a matchup with the MAC West’s winner) but the Falcons are going for the first-round bye. But for some reason I really think Ohio will win this game. The Bobcats are bad on the road but very well could have won the first one at home and will be playing hard to get that sour taste of a losing streak out of their mouths.

Miami at Buffalo- the feature game. Buffalo went into Oxford and came out with a double-digit win. Will the scenario be reversed? Buffalo can’t really score all that well outside of Pierce and sometimes Gamble/Betts. Miami can’t score that well outside of Bramos. Miami’s defense is better so I choose them to be the victor, getting revenge on the road.

Akron at Kent State-by far the hardest game to figure out Sunday in the East. It is a rivalry game with so much riding on it, as contests between these two often do. Kent State always seems to break Akron’s heart and it could do it hear with a bit of an upset win. This will be the game of the day.

By Connor Kiesel
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer
Published March 6, 2009