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MAC Basketball Tournament Review

It's Friday, meaning the first two rounds of the MAC Tournament are complete and we're on to the semifinal games. Heading into tonight's games let's take a quick look at what we've seen over the first two days of this tournament.

What We've Learned
Actually, we learned nothing about who the best four teams in conference are, apparently we already knew. So much for the neutral court leveling the playing field in the first-round games! Over the first two days of the tournament there were no upsets, meaning the one through four seeds are the teams that we'll be watching in the semifinals tonight.

Most Impressive Team – Akron Zips
Sure, they did it against the #7 seed, Central Michigan (13-18), but the Akron Zips looked fantastic in their quarterfinal match-up last night. Great ball movement on offense, high energy defense, a balanced scoring attack with five players scoring in double-digits (Romeo Travis led all scorers with 16 points). Great effort by the Zips last night in an easy victory over a slightly overmatched Central Michigan team.

Least Impressive Team – Ohio Bobcats
I considered giving this award to the Toledo Rockets who let Eastern Michigan hang around throughout their entire quarterfinal match-up yesterday afternoon, but at least they held on and won.

The Bobcats who I've been calling Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all year really didn't look prepared to win this tournament. Their effort versus Bowling Green was less than inspiring, and Leon Williams really could have been the only Bobcat on the court versus Miami and Ohio may have faired just as well.

Give a lot of credit to the Miami scheme for finding their post players a boatload of high percentage shots around the bucket, but a lot of people expected more out of this athletic, talented Bobcat team. The shellacking that Miami put on them to close Ohio's season should sting for quite some time.

Best Individual Performance – Tim Pollitz (Miami)
Sticking with the Miami vs. Ohio theme, you've got to love the effort that Tim Pollitz gave his team yesterday. Ohio ended Miami's season the last two years, Pollitz made certain that it would not become three-in-a-row. An undersized power-forward, Pollitz utilized a variety of post moves and showed everyone in attendance why he was on the All-MAC First Team. Look at Pollitz's stat line: 25 points on 11-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and only 3 fouls which allowed him to stay on the court for 38 whopping minutes.

The Future is Bright – Eastern Michigan
Charles Ramsey really looks to have this team headed in the right direction. A solid win in the first-round over #9 seed Ball State and a gritty effort versus regular-season Conference Champions Toledo should have those surrounding this program feeling really good. What's more, the Eagles are only going to lose one player from their rotation this year, senior C Craig Cashen. As forwards Brandon Bowdry and Justin Dobbins age and mature, the Eagles could have one of the most solid frontlines in the league for years to come.

Biggest Loss – Toledo Rockets – Keonta Howell?
Keonta Howell hurt his foot near the end of the Rockets quarterfinal win over Eastern Michigan yesterday. During the evening session games word began to travel around press row that Howell actually broke his foot and would be out for the remainder of the season. This morning the Toledo Blade reported that Howell had "hurt his foot" and would try to go versus Miami tonight. It appears that Howell will play as he came out for warmups tonight and appears fine.

Most Anticipated Match-up – Kent State vs. Akron
Western Michigan tried to spoil the hopes of Northeast Ohio yet again this year, but Kent held on to punch their ticket to the semifinals tonight. Finally the Zips and Golden Flashes will face off in the tournament in Cleveland. The Q should be absolutely electric for this one. Both teams have multiple scoring options, and favor a slightly faster than average tempo. I'm expecting nothing less than a great game and a fantastic atmosphere for this one.

MAC Basketball Tournament