Tonight in MACsketball:
Central Michigan 62, Illinois-Chicago 52 — They did it! They tamed the Robo Kreps! The strong road win wasn't too much of a contest in the second half, although UIC kept threatening to make it a close game, but it was basically a seven-to-12-point lead for much of the contest. The hellacious opening road trip ends with a satisfying double-digit win, thanks to Trey Zeigler's 17 points and William McClure's 12/10 output. Now rest. Central Michigan's next game: Wednesday, 12/1 vs. Temple
Cleveland State 64, Akron 51 — Don't take it personally. The Vikings are simply on a mission, and it's not to discover Newfoundland. (That's nobody's intended mission, except for maybe Annie Proulx.) The undefeated Horizon team took away the threeball (3-of-16), or maybe they just weren't falling. So Zeke Marshall had to gain 'em the hard way, through the old-style "two-point goal" method, finishing with 14 points as well as four blocks. And so ends CSU's reign of terror against the MAC. Hey, wanna join in 2011-12? Akron's next game: Wednesday, 12/1 at Detroit
Northern Illinois 86, Maryland-Eastern Shore 80 — Just a fun little shootout on ... I'm guessing Maryland's Eastern shore. But most of the fun was hogged by Xavier Silas, who is starting to become a greedy little pointscorer. He finished with 34, which matches his career high that he set against NAIA Cardinal Stritch in the previous game. NIU only trailed for 16 seconds in this affair, but then again, the UMES Hawks haven't beaten a D-I team yet. Northern Illinois' next game: Monday, 11/29 vs Boise State
Youngstown State 73, Toledo 67 — The Rockets' road losing streak dating back to 2008 continues for another week, although they did run into the locker room at halftime with a one-point lead. But you know how Penguins are: relentless and narrated by Morgan Freeman. However, UT did show a glimpse of what needs to happen for them to win: Malcolm Griffin has to create. He had 18 points, six assists and three steals. The other components: be at home, and make sure the other team has an awful shooting day. Toledo's next game: Sunday, 11/28 at Illinois-Chicago
No Thanksgiving games, unless you count Ball State's tipoff with St. John's which technically begins at 1:45 a.m. Muncie time.
Friday's Games:
4 p.m. — Miami at Ohio State
5 p.m. — Bowling Green at Niagara
7:30 p.m. — Lehigh at Kent State
8:00 p.m. — OHIO vs. Kansas in Las Vegas (ESPN3.com)