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MAC Basketball Weekly Recap

Scores

Monday, December 19

IUPUI 66, Ball State 57

Akron 88, Youngstown State 62

Tuesday, December 20

Nebraska 72, Central Michigan 69

Evansville 77, Miami (Ohio) 75

Norfolk State 72, Toledo 70

Eastern Michigan 52, Radford 48

Western Michigan 60, Winthrop 55

Kent State 67, Saint Peter's 58

Valparaiso 59, Northern Illinois 48

Ohio 76, Northern Iowa 59

BYU 93, Buffalo 78

Wednesday, December 21

Akron 79, North Carolina A&T 52

Texas-Arlington 74, Kent State 73

Thursday, December 22

Utah State 81, Kent State 62

Ohio State 69, Miami-Ohio 40

Wright State 60, Central Michigan 42

Virginia Tech 71, Eastern Michigan 50

Toledo 80, Florida Gulf Coast 63

Bowling Green 61, Florida International 53

Friday, December 23

Morehead State 62, Ball State 54

Ohio 82, North Carolina A&T 66

Western Michigan 91, Oakland 76

The Mid-American Conference is going through a rough period in this late stage of December. The league is losing stacks of non-conference games against mediocre teams. Central Michigan lost to Nebraska of the Big Ten by three points this past week. Miami of Ohio lost to Evansville by two. Norfolk State ambushed Toledo by two points. Kent State got clipped by Texas-Arlington, if you can possibly believe it... yes, that's the same Kent State team which won multiple NIT games last season. Buffalo got thumped by Brigham Young (although the Cougars, to give them due credit, are not a mediocre ballclub). Teams like Wright State and IUPUI also handed defeats to Mid-American Conference crews. It was just an ugly scene in this particular part of the Midwestern United States.

The one particularly bright spot in the MAC remains the Ohio Bobcats. You'll recall that Ohio, as a No. 14 seed, stunned third-seeded Georgetown in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island. That game put the Bobcats on the map, and after missing the Big Dance in 2011, it seems that coach John Groce's team is intent on getting back where it belongs. Ohio's 17-point smackdown of a solid Northern Iowa club will come in handy on Selection Sunday. What's even more important about the win is that it gives some non-conference heft to Ohio's schedule. This might be only December, but that triumph over Northern Iowa certainly has the feel of a BracketBusters-style win in the month of February.

Bowling Green beat Florida International to give the MAC a small measure of meaning over the past week. Kent State got blasted by 19 points at Utah State. Eastern Michigan couldn't pull off an upset at Virginia Tech, while Miami of Ohio was thoroughly outclassed by Ohio State.

> Check out the MAC basketball standings here @ VanDelay Sports

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer