Written by Adam Burke

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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.

In other Saturday MACtion, Western Michigan maintained their one-game lead in the MAC West Division by knocking off Buffalo 70-61. Toledo, the second place team in the West, beat Northern Illinois 69-64. Kent State got back on track, beating Eastern Michigan 75-62 to snap a four-game losing streak. Miami of Ohio picked up a nice road victory over Central Michigan with a 70-61 win. Bowling Green took a 13-point lead into halftime and put it on cruise control in the second half, downing Ball State 70-59.

Fresh of their big win over Ohio, the Akron Zips take the court on Tuesday night to host the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Zips are a buzz saw that nobody wants to walk in front of right now. They have the longest winning streak in the country at 13 straight and have an average margin of victory of 15.4 points over that span.

Akron has dominated this series, winning nine of the last 10 matchups, with the lone loss coming in a 65-64 Chips win back in 2008. Central Michigan comes into this game as losers of four straight, so it will be an uphill climb for them to even stay in the game. On the road, the Chippewas are allowing their opponents to shoot 50.1 percent from the field. If that trend continues, this game could get out of hand quickly.

The game will be shown live on SportsTime Ohio at 7 p.m.

Another action-packed Wednesday in the MAC has four games with a 7 p.m. tip and one 8 p.m. tip. The most notable of the 7 p.m. tip-offs takes place in Kalamazoo, where the Western Michigan Broncos host the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Broncos are 8-1 in University Arean at Read Fieldhouse this season and are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Flashes. The Broncos hold a one-game lead over Toledo, who is ineligible for postseason play, and a 2.5-game lead over Eastern Michigan.

This is a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions. The Broncos have won six in a row, all six in conference play, while the Flashes have lost four out of five and are in a four-way tie for third place in the MAC East Division. The Broncos are doing it with defense, holding their last five opponents to 56 points per game, a statistic that could lead to some frustration for the Flashes, who have shot below 40 percent in three of their last five games.

Buffalo heads back out on the road again for the fourth time in five games with a trip to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan. The Bulls have just three road victories in 10 tries this season and the Eagles are 10-2 at home. Whichever team is able to play this game at their pace should have the upper hand. Buffalo is in the middle of the pack in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted tempo rankings, while Eastern Michigan ranks 309th out of 347 teams. The Eagles are averaging just 54 points per game, while the Bulls are scoring just shy of 64 per contest.

The game will be shown live on SportsTime Ohio at 7 p.m.

Ohio looks to get in the win column with a trip to struggling Ball State. The Cardinals have just one win in their last seven games, while the Bobcats are looking to keep pace with Akron and have a shot at a tie for the East Division title when those two meet on February 27 in Athens. The last five games in this series have been nailbiters, with three going to overtime, and a couple of close wins for Ohio.

Toledo hosts Miami of Ohio in just their seventh home game of the season. The Rockets are 4-2 at home so far this season, while the Redhawks have dropped seven of 10 on the road. The Rockets have found their offensive touch of late, averaging 76.3 points per game during their three-game winning streak, which could be a bad sign for the Redhawks, who are being outscored by an average margin of 12 points per game on the road this season.

Bowling Green looks for their first road win of the season in DeKalb against Northern Illinois. The Falcons are 0-9 on the road this season and 0-4 in MAC play. Their best shot for a road win might be against the Huskies, who have been an enigma this season. The Huskies are averaging just 55.9 points per game, but have gone over that total in four of their last six games.

This is the late game of the bunch, tipping off at 8 p.m.