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MAC West Mid-Week Report

MAC basketball mid-week recap from January 29, 2009

Inter-conference play has begun in the MAC with a number of intriguing match-ups played Tuesday and Wednesday night. Instead of the normal recap, I’ll be focusing this week on the performances of each MAC West team and what they’ll need to do find success in this weekend’s contests.

Western Michigan (7-12, 4-2 Mid-American Conference)

Western Michigan lost a 74-71 heart-breaker at home Tuesday night against MAC leading Buffalo. Even in defeat the Broncos showed that they are much better than their 7-12 record indicates with a competitive effort that was full of swagger and discipline. Junior guard David Kool once again carried the WMU squad, scoring 20 points and adding 5 assists on the day. Senior forward Derek Drews pitched in 14 points himself, but the Broncos once again suffered from a severe production drop-off from their bench players who were outscored 36-10 by the Bulls. This is probably the main thing that needs to improve for WMU if they want to be a serious contender in the conference tourney. One promising development for the Broncos is the reemergence of senior guard Shawntes Gray who has had consecutive strong performances scoring 16 points against Eastern Michigan on Saturday and 12 on Tuesday night.

Up Next: Western Michigan will face a stiff test Saturday afternoon when the travel east for a match-up with Kent State. Road wins against MAC East foes are hard to come by for MAC West teams, but if the Broncos get another stellar game from their power trio of Kool, Drews, and Gray matched with a solid performance inside by freshman forward Flenard Whitfield they’ve got a great shot at stealing one from the Golden Flashes. (The game is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. EST)

Ball State (9-9, 4-2 Mid-American Conference)

Ball State came up short on the road Wednesday night, falling 62-58 to Bowling Green. Still, the Cardinals once again looked like solid MAC West contenders getting balanced production from their inside-outside offensive strategy. Freshman forward Jarrod Jones continued building his case for MAC Freshman of the Year by posting a game-high 15 points and 8 rebounds in the losing effort. Senior guard Brandon Lampley added 12 points and continued to embrace his leadership role on the team in the absence of injured guard Anthony Newell.

This team is beginning to gel in every aspect and though the raw talent isn’t as impressive as some conference opponents the commitment to effort and teamwork that is being stressed by the coaching staff is shaping a Cardinal team left for dead into a group of men capable of hanging with any conference opponent.

Up Next: Ball State will be back at home Saturday afternoon when they take on Ohio. Jarrod Jones will face his biggest test of the MAC season so far when he matches up against Jerome Tillman in the paint. Tillman will get his points regardless of the Cardinal game-plan, but if Ball State is going to come away with a win Jones must find ways to score his own baskets while establishing a rebounding edge early against the Bobcats. (The game is set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. EST)

Toledo (4-16, 2-4 Mid-American Conference)

Toledo ran into their second straight MAC loss Wednesday night going down 70-61 against visiting Akron. The defeat marks the first MAC home loss of the season for the Rockets who are still battling inconsistency in conference match-ups. Senior guard Tyrone Kent once again led the Toledo charge scoring 19 points in a short 23 minutes dictated by foul trouble throughout the evening. The Rockets have the experience and talent to compete in the MAC, but suffer frequent defensive lapses and rebounding deficits. The emergence of sophomore Justin Anyijong has been one of the few highlights in a season that has been a disappointment from the start. Anyijong scored 10 points in Wednesday’s defeat and also registered a game high 8 rebounds.

Up Next: Toledo hits the road Saturday heading to Buffalo for a contest against the MAC leading Bulls. The game is set for a noon tip-off and will be televised on ESPN2. The match-up offers the Rockets a chance for a marquee win that could boost confidence and momentum leading up to the conference tournament. Tyrone Kent will look for another big scoring performance alongside fellow senior guard Jonathan Amos who has been the Rocket X factor throughout the season. I don’t expect Toledo to come away with the W, but this team has enough shooting talent to hang with the Bulls in what is bound to be a guard heavy battle.

> Check out the MAC basketball standings here @ VanDelay Sports

Northern Illinois (6-12, 2-4 Mid-American Conference)

Northern Illinois continued to slide in conference play losing 80-52 against Miami on Wednesday night. The loss is the Huskies fourth in the last five games. Northern Illinois scored the first five point of the contest, but were down in a big way 40-20 at halftime. NIU wasn’t expected to be a strong MAC competitor this season, but the 28 point road loss marks an emotional season low for the Huskies who were looking to stay afloat at 3-3 in conference. Darion Anderson scored 13 points for NIU, but was the only Huskie in double-digits. Once again the story was bad defense and worse offense for Northern Illinois who shot a dismal 21.9 percent from the floor.

If the Huskies want to be competitive the rest of the season they’re going to need a strategy that gets more open shots for freshman Mike DiNunno. Northern Illinois will win a few more games this season, but once again I don’t see them finding success in Cleveland when the MAC tournament roles around.

Up Next: Northern Illinois will return home Saturday afternoon to face Bowling Green. NIU can regain some swagger if they get a balanced effort on both sides of the ball and do a little better hitting shots against the Falcons. There have been a few spurts of very solid play from this team, but bringing intensity game after game has been an issue that needs to be resolved quickly. (The game is set to tip-off at 4:00 p.m. EST.)

Eastern Michigan (3-17, 1-5 Mid-American Conference)

Eastern Michigan once again found themselves on the wrong end of a blow-out Tuesday night losing 68-46 at Kent State. The loss was the fourth in a row for the Eagles who have had a dismal season thus far. EMU took a 9-4 lead early in the game, but found themselves down 27-21 at halftime. The story for the Eagles was 28.1 percent shooting from the floor matched with 17 turnovers on a night that reaffirmed the distance left to travel for a squad trying to burst out of conference mediocrity. Junior center Justin Dobbins had another strong performance scoring 19 points to lead the Eagles in defeat. The play inside has been good for Eastern all season long and they managed a 44-40 rebound advantage in this game despite the lopsided score.

The Eagles haven’t turned potential into success this season and are yet to find a rhythm on offense. It has been rare this year for Eastern Michigan to get a 10 point effort or 5 assists from any of their guards and this has limited their improvement greatly.

Up Next: Eastern Michigan will be at home Saturday for a match-up with Miami. The Eagles have yet to show any killer instinct, but this game offers up an opportunity for EMU to give it everything they’ve got against one of the best opponents they’ll see in the Convocation Center all season. I expect EMU to play well in the first half, but eventually succumb to the experience and consistency of the Redhawks.

By Damian Caudill
VanDelay Sports Staff Writer
Published January 22, 2009