MAC Basketball Review: Hill Of Beans

Recaps and notes from today in MAC basketball:

West Virginia 77, Akron 56 — Well, I guess Kent State can hang this one over their head as well. It doesn't appear that the WV big men were that daunted by Zeke Marshall, who got holed up in foul trouble, playing just 19 minutes. WIth folks like Marshall, Quincy Diggs and Brett McClanahan well-contained, Nick Harney had a nice night with 12 points and eight rebounds.

But it's too bad they couldn't at least hang better. Maybe next time Keith Dambrot should remind them of how they'll crumble under the pressure.

Kent State 76, Louisiana-Lafayette 67 — Meanwhile there's little resistance in the way of the Flashes who are now 3-1 in this season. But … that's not many games, and shall explain any attempt to lionize them amongst the top mid-major teams.

Although I'll give ULL credit: they played KSU down to the final minute rather admirably, even taking a four-point lead in the second half. So this was not a sure-win, despite their 3-4 record entering the match. Four of Kent State's main guys all finished with at least 12 points: Michael Porrini and Randal Holt led with 15 while Justin Greene put up 14 points and eight rebounds. Carlton Guyton had 12.

Utah Valley 58, Northern Illinois 47 — No, stop searching out there for a win. You won't find it. NIU was only down three points to the Wolverines at halftime, but other than limiting the turnovers they weren't very proficient on offense or defense. And what's with all the 3-point attempts? The high scorer on the team was Abdel Nader with … eight points. That's all. On SEVENTEEN shots.

Today's men's games:

7:00 p.m. — Texas Southern at Ball State (MAC Sports Livestream http://www.mac-sports.com/Watch/LiveStreaming.aspx )
7:00 p.m. — Miami at Cincinnati
7:00 p.m. — EMU at No. 4 Syracuse

(Sadly that EMU-Syracuse game is going to take a backseat to the ghastly Bernie Fine story, although in a more pristine world this game would be about former Cuse assistant Rob Murphy returning to face his mentor with a ragtag bunch of competitors. Alas.)

Today's women's games:

6:15 p.m. — Ball State at Evansville
7:00 p.m. — Western Kentucky at BGSU (BCSN)
8:00 p.m. — Southern Illinois at NIU