Written by Adam Burke

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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.

The Eastern Michigan at Ohio game was postponed over concerns spawning from the armed robbery of a woman just outside of campus. The robber had not been caught, so Ohio University canceled classes on Wednesday and also postponed the basketball game. The game has been rescheduled for February 20. According to police, the robber got away with $5. He is still at large, however, classes did resume on Thursday.

The question now becomes, how will the extended layoff affect the Bobcats as they make the trip to Akron to battle the first place Akron Zips? The last time the Bobcats had a week-long break was December 22-29. They beat Marshall 94-57. After squeaking out a one-point victory at Kent State last Saturday, the break may have come at a good time for the Bobcats.

It will be a tough task to go into the James A. Rhodes Arena and beat the Zips. Akron is a perfect 10-0 at home this season. Recent history is on Ohio’s side, as they have won five of the last six matchups with Akron. Akron will be wearing new Nike black uniforms as part of social media night and the atmosphere in the JAR should be great, in what could be a preview of a rematch in the MAC Tournament Finals.

Ohio won the last meeting, 64-63 at Quicken Loans Arena in the MAC Tournament Finals. It was a thrilling ending, with Akron appearing to tie the game on a tip-in of an intentionally missed free throw, but replay showed that the free throw attempt had actually gone in the basket, leaving Akron down a point. A last second heave from Quincy Diggs was nowhere close and the Bobcats and their fans celebrated. They rode that momentum into an impressive win over Michigan and a hard fought loss to North Carolina.

Saturday’s 5 p.m. tip can be seen live on ESPNU.

In other MAC action, Western Michigan returns home to host Buffalo. The Broncos are slowly pulling away from the field in the West Division. They have a one game lead over Toledo, who is ineligible for the postseason, and at least a two game lead over everybody else in the division. They also have the third-best overall record at 13-7, trailing only Akron and Ohio. The Broncos have now won five straight, with their two conference losses coming against Akron and Ohio.

Buffalo is coming off a 91-point effort at home against Central Michigan, so the Bulls should have some confidence entering Kalamazoo. The road team has won four of the last five regular season meetings in this series. These two teams are very close in a lot of statistical categories with one big exception. The Broncos are holding MAC opponents to 57.4 points per game, while teams are scoring more than 70 per game against the Bulls.

Kent State is in danger of dropping to .500 overall when they host Eastern Michigan. The Golden Flashes are desperate for a victory. They have lost four straight, including a 67-65 defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois on Wednesday. History serves them well in this matchup, as the Flashes are a perfect 10-for-10 over the last decade against the Eagles.

The Eagles are averaging just a hair over 50 points per game on the road this season. They are 10-2 at home, but are winless in true road games. The Eagles are 339th in scoring in the country, averaging just 56.9 points per game. The Flashes are just 6-6 at home, but expect them to come out motivated on Saturday.

This matchup will be shown live on SportsTime Ohio at 6 p.m.

Miami of Ohio heads north to Mount Pleasant for a Saturday night date with Central Michigan. Both teams come in riding losing streaks, with the Redhawks dropping four straight and the Chippewas on a three-game skid. Something will have to give in this game. During those streaks, both teams have struggled on the defensive end of the floor, as the Redhawks have allowed 73.25 points per game and the Chips have been worse, giving up over 80 points per game.

Coming off consecutive 13-point losses, Bowling Green will host Ball State in a matchup of the MAC’s middle of the pack. Neither team has had much success over their last 10 games, with BG picking up just a couple of wins, while Ball State has three victories. Somebody will have to win on Saturday.

This could be a pretty slow game, with Ball State ranking 233rd in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted tempo rankings and Bowling Green checking in 300th. The stats back it up for Bowling Green, at least at home, where they are scoring just 56.8 points per game and allowing just 54.6. In their nine home games, the Falcons have shot just 36.6 percent, yet have won six times. Both of Ball State’s conference wins have come on the road.

Northern Illinois will have the chance to win consecutive games for the first time since February 26 and March 2, 2011 when the Toledo Rockets come to town for a Saturday matinee. The Huskies have played well in this series, winning seven of the last nine matchups between the teams. After losing to the three best teams in the MAC, Toledo took out some frustration on Bowling Green and Ball State, averaging 80 points in those two victories. They appear to have a little momentum on their side.

Northern Illinois has been bi-polar over their last four games, scoring a total of 141 points in their two wins and 59 points in their two losses. Which Huskies team shows up on Saturday is anybody’s guess, but Toledo won’t be able to take the dogs lightly.