The Mid-American Conference returns to its usual schedule with all 12 teams in action on Wednesday night. The start of the 2013 MAC Basketball Tournament is under a month away, so the push for seeding is on and the teams are looking to build some confidence over the final four weeks of the season.

The Akron Zips certainly aren’t lacking confidence, receiving 12 votes in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Zips also got nine votes in the USA Today/Coaches’ poll. With their 15-game winning streak, the Zips have moved up to 54th in the RPI Rankings, despite playing the 149th toughest schedule in the country. The next highest MAC team is Ohio at 83. Western Michigan is the other MAC team in the top 100 at 96.

As mentioned, the Zips extended the nation’s longest winning streak with an ugly 54-50 win over Miami of Ohio on Saturday. The Zips trailed by nine at halftime after a season-low 16 points and had to grind out a second half victory. The Ohio Bobcats kept pace with the Zips in the MAC East Division, downing Bowling Green 72-63. Western Michigan was dealt the lone upset of the weekend, falling to Ball State 65-62 in Muncie. Kent State put together a fine offensive performance, letting out a few weeks worth of frustration on Central Michigan in an 87-72 romp. Toledo held off Eastern Michigan 60-52 to keep the Eagles from getting that elusive first road win. Buffalo and Northern Illinois engaged in a sloppy affair, with the Bulls prevailing 59-54.

Read more...

If you’ve ever heard the cliché, “That’s why they play the games”, it could be used to describe Saturday’s slate of MAC basketball games. It looks to be a day for the favorites to sweep the board with little trouble. With six games on tap and no marquee matchups on the schedule, it could take an upset or two to turn it into an exciting day of basketball.

There weren’t any upsets during the week either, as Akron and Ohio were both victorious over lesser competition, Western Michigan, Toledo, and Eastern Michigan defended home court, and Bowling Green took advantage of yet another poor offensive performance from Northern Illinois to grab their first road win. In Tuesday’s standalone MAC contest, the Zips avoided a letdown at home by taking charge in the second half to down the Central Michigan Chippewas 68-56. Ohio held Ball State to just 14 points in the first half, using a 20-point halftime cushion to coast to a 27-point rout of the Cardinals. Western Michigan got a stiff test from Kent State, but scored 50 points in the second half to erase a six-point halftime deficit in an 82-76 win. Toledo got a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Nathan Boothe to squeak past Miami of Ohio 65-64. Eastern Michigan clamped down in the second half, holding Buffalo to just 13 points, in a 65-46 victory. Bowling Green held Northern Illinois to 27.5 percent shooting and just 15 first half points in a 57-41 road win.

Read more...

The final month of the MAC regular season is in full swing as the mid-week round of games gets ready to tip off with a Tuesday night tilt between Akron and Central Michigan. The other 10 teams in the conference will stay on their regularly scheduled Wednesday night, highlighted by Western Michigan hosting Kent State. Eight games remain in conference play for 10 of the 12 MAC teams, so the basketball season is winding down and teams are looking to fix whatever ails them as tournament time approaches.

The Akron Zips made a statement last Saturday, putting together one of their most complete efforts of the season in an 86-72 win over the Ohio Bobcats. The win gave Akron a game-and-a-half lead in the MAC East Division and put them solely in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed in the MAC Tournament. The Zips got double-doubles from both Zeke Marshall and Demetrius Treadwell, who combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds. Alex Abreu was the leading scorer with 21 and two other Zips were in double figures. Nick Kellogg had 15 for the Bobcats to lead the way, as the Zips held DJ Cooper to just 3-for-10 from the field.

Read more...

On Saturday, the two titans of the Mid-American Conference will meet for the first of what could be three meetings between the two schools, if they both navigate the field in the MAC Tournament next month. The Ohio Bobcats travel to Akron to take on the Zips in the most anticipated conference game of the season. All 12 teams take the court again on Saturday, as the grind of the MAC regular season continues.

A lot of things went according to plan on Wednesday night. Akron, in what could have been a look-ahead spot, played great defense, holding Bowling Green to just 55 points in a 13-point road triumph. Western Michigan had their difficulties, but beat Miami of Ohio by four to maintain their lead in the MAC West Division. Toledo showed some offensive prowess, shooting 51.7 percent from the field in an 11-point win over Ball State, despite being outrebounded by 20. Five players were in double figures in scoring for Buffalo, who scored 91 points en route to a 91-73 win over Central Michigan. Northern Illinois, who has epitomized Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during the month of January, bounced back from their record-setting offensive futility to beat Kent State 67-65 in front of 719 people at the Convocation Center in DeKalb.

Read more...