from the MAC website:
Quote:MAC WEEKEND
Several key matchups are featured Sunday (Jan. 2) afternoon as the league race gets underway full-time.
Toledo at Eastern Michigan - These two teams are the favorites to win the West Division in most preseason polls ... EMU is 1-0 in the MAC after an early Dec. win over Marshall ... UT has rebounded from a 1-5 start to win 3 in a row, including a triumph over Auburn.
Kent State at Ball State - The five-time defending East title holder Golden Flashes are noted for their quick starts and are 8-3 overall, 1-0 in the MAC ... BSU is 4-0 at home but has a road loss in the league at Miami.
Buffalo at Bowling Green - Last year's surprise team, the Bulls received the preseason nod to win the East ... BG has streaked to a 6-2 start and are senior laden ... UB will face early pressure as the Bulls dropped their MAC opener vs. defending league champion Western Michigan.
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois - No one has stopped the Broncos yet, they are 34-8 (.809 win pct.) under Steve Hawkins and won at Buffalo by 17 points Dec. 4 ... NIU is 1-0 in the league and 5-4 overall after a 10-win season last year ... injured PG Brian Snider (foot injury) has not played since Dec. 12 but Rickey Willis 25 assists during that time for WMU.
Ohio at Akron - The Zips were tabbed to finish second in the East by Street and Smith's but opened with a league loss at NIU in Dec. ... the Bobcats were 0-9 in the MAC on the road last year and have lost 13 regular season league road games in a row ... OU's 5-3 start is its best in the last 3 seasons.
Central Michigan at Marshall - The Chippewas need just one win to equal last year's total of 6 victories ... CMU was 0-9 last year in MAC road games ... the Thundering Herd is 0-1 in the MAC but plays four of its next five MAC games at home ... five of Marshall's first nine games have been decided by four points or less.
Two most interesting matchups (besides any game involving the Flashes
) are UT@EMU and UB@BG. Both visiting teams (who some thought were the favorites going into the year, though few think that now) are really under the gun to win these games and both home teams are hungry to show they are contenders. I'd love to see both. I'll be in Muncie, however, where another home team desperately needs to right their ship after an opening loss to Miami.
A great day to go to a MAC basketball game, especially with the the dog games the NFL is putting out.
Big games indeed. It will be fun to see which teams answer the bell.
The MAC game of the week is in Dekalb, IL today between WMU and NIU. NIU is improving, WMU is still rolling even with Snider out.
Calling it the MAC game of the week seems like quite the stretch, but whatever floats your boat, John...
John52168 Wrote:The MAC game of the week is in Dekalb, IL today between WMU and NIU. NIU is improving, WMU is still rolling even with Snider out.
It's the MAC I'll be attending, so it's my MAC game of the week. :D
I think this is the game where we really find out if we're going to be in the mix for the West.
If the three is falling for us, look out. If not, the Broncos could romp.
Speaking of dog NFL games, any Bears game this season qualifies as a dog, but losing 28-7 at the half to a Packer team with nothing to play for may be the all-time low for this team...
Final scores:
@ Marshall:
CMU 88, <span style='color:green'>Herd 83</span>
<span style='color:red'>
Ball State 76</span>,
Kent 67
<span style='color:orange'>
BGSU 95</span>, <span style='color:blue'>Buffalo 88</span>
Hey, MAC East, who's your daddy? :D
I know who the Chips Daddy is.
Congratulations to the Cardinals on beating the Flashes.
Quote:I know who the Chips Daddy is.
Not in football.
CMichFan Wrote:Final scores:
<span style='color:orange'>BGSU 95</span>, <span style='color:blue'>Buffalo 88</span>
I guess BG looked past Oakland for the conference match up.
I hate it when teams to that. :mad:
DrTorch Wrote:CMichFan Wrote:Final scores:
<span style='color:orange'>BGSU 95</span>, <span style='color:blue'>Buffalo 88</span>
I guess BG looked past Oakland for the conference match up.
I hate it when teams to that. :mad:
At least we didn't do what Toledo did and looked past almost our entire OOC schedule.
On the game, Buffalo is a tough team and they have the talent to win the MAC. Those two big white guys up front are very intimidating, and the dude with the hair is a great shooter. It also doesn't hurt to have Turner Battle leading the charge. I don't think Kent is going to have it as easy as they seem to think they do. BG looks to have that "toughness" back, after it took quite the long vacation following the graduation of Mcleod, Pardon, and Matela. Look out for Josh Almanson. He is strong inside, but has the touch from beyond the arc. Stephen Wright has been another pleasant surprise. The West is going to be interesting, to say the least.
Quote:I don't think Kent is going to have it as easy as they seem to think they do.
Oh, trust me, I don't think you'll find any Flashes fan tonight who thinks this is going to be easy. :( But that's for the win, Falcons.
CMich-
Read the bulletin. It's all hoops, now!
EMU 75, Toledo 70 Final
NIU 32, WMU 30 Half
Ohio/Akron on Deck.
hey bg, what guy with the hair are you referring to?
cage was the one who was on fire shooting.
NIU 67, WMU 65 - 2:39 left in 2nd half
Ohio 30, Akron 30 - Half
I was pleasantly surprised with the BSU win over Kent. Kent is BY FAR a better team than Indiana or Butler, our last two losses. Our defense really took Kent out of its game, but the Flashes fought to the end.
I'm surprised at a couple of scores today. To see BG win a game in the high 80's/ 90's is a bit of a surprise to me. Buffalo, the preseason league #1, is now 0-2 in MAC road play.
EMU beating Toledo is also a surprise. I fully expected Toledo to drag down our OOC RPI and then start playing well in league.
NIU/ WMU score is no surprise with two similar teams and NIU being a tough place to play.
You're right, the west is going to be a dogfight. I'll bet the west winner will have a 12-6 or 11-7 record.
Even more so than ever, the quality of the MAC top to bottom will probably keep us at one team in the dance. Kent is probably our lone shot at an at-large berth.
A lot of people are overlooking WMU, but the Broncos are king of the hill until knocked off...
Motown Bronco Wrote:WMU 72 NIU 69 - Final :)
Like I said. Game of the week. The Ben Reed hit a jump shot with 10 seconds left to give the Broncos the three point lead and eventual win.
That kid is the truth; he made that shot with three guys in his face. :eek: WMU has A LOT of talent; they're a very, very good team.
We really can't lose this kind of game and expect to compete for the West. However, I was really pleased with our effort, particularly on D, and I'm more convinced than ever we can run with anyone in the conference.
Be that as it may, moral victories are still losses in the end. I believe we win this game a year from now, but our inexperience really shows up big time in these tight games. We just can't seem to close teams out.
In other news, it appears the West is going to be an incredible dogfight. BSU and BGSU both serving notice today, while EMU takes care of business. It's going to be a bloodbath these next few weeks...