Yesterday in MACsketball:
Alaska Anchorage 62, Ball State 44 — What. The. Hell. There are so many pieces about this that I don't understand. For one, this is a Division II team. UAA beat Houston Baptist prior to this to make it two Division I wins in a row for them, and while they're 2-1 against D1 competition, they're also 1-2 against D2 competition. More puzzling, they're in an NCAA Division II division that, for whatever reason, includes a Canadian team. Okay, enough about the college sports scene in Alaska. The Seawolves basically thumped the Cardinals, which LED TO EXTREMELY CLEVER HEADLINES. They couldn't shoot worth a lick in the first half, and it got worse in the second. And that's too bad, because BSU began the game with a seven-point run. Jarrod Jones had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Now please leave that state; tis bad luck for you. Ball State's next game: Wednesday, 12/8 at Eastern Illinois
OHIO 78, Santa Clara 72 — Easy there, D.J. Cooper. We know you had somethin' to prove after shooting flatly againt Kansas. But 29 points seems a little excessive, don't it? Coop didn't have many assists but he was 12-for-12 on free throws. Nick Kellogg did his part with a season-high 14 including a threeball with slightly more than a minute left in the game which cemented the Bobcats' lead. T.J. Hall brought some other statly goodness in with 15 points and six steals in 30 minutes off the bench. Now the MAC favorites can breathe a little easier. OHIO's next game: Saturday, 12/4 vs. Marshall
Illinois 78, Western Michigan 63 — Sure was nice of the Big Ten to arrive in a MAC basketball court, bring some ESPN Internet cameras with them, and ... and, well, that's when they stopped being nice. The ranked Fighting Illini trailed for only a brief 30 seconds at the beginning and then kickstarted the game to a 49-24 halftime advantage. So, yes, WMU was able to pick away at the lead just a teeny bit after that. But only when the game was in hand. Flenard Whitfield had a miserable game (two points, 1-7 FG, zero rebounds) but center Matt Stainbrook was able to get in there and contribute 16 points. Maybe it would've been fair to bring David Kool out of retirement, just for this one. Next game: Wednesday 12/1 vs. Towson
James Madison 74, Eastern Michigan 68 — A solid road effort against a potent CAA team; but they just fell short. It looked fun all throughout as EMU was within a bucket in the final minute, but they just had too many mistakes. 17 turnovers were committed in this game. JMU also got to the free throw line a ton: 31-of-39 were made by the Dukes while EMU was just 7-for-11. Brandon Bowdry cleaned up with a superb game, however: 22 points and 13 rebounds. Darrell Lampley should be commended for his 15 points, six assists, and three steals. So close, but the discrepancy is so noticeable. Eastern Michigan's next game: Friday, 12/3 vs. Monmouth
Detroit 71, Bowling Green 62 — Unfortunately, BGSU kept chasing the Titans' dust in this one throughout the entire game. UDM gets the coveted wire-to-wire victory in the three-day tournament that they're hosting. But what a sloppy affair on both sides: each team had 20+ turnovers. Everyone made way for Dee Brown, who helped the Falcons with 22 points. Is there any hope for this team? I'm curious to see if dunk specialist Torian Oglesby can be a factor: he had only eight points and seven boards, but he had three dunks. (He also missed a dunk.) If nothing else, it's a modicum of excitement that'll be helpful. And what did Oglesby have to say on Twitter after the game? ... Okay then. Bowling Green's next game: Today vs. Albany in Detroit
Indiana State 58, Buffalo 54 — This one had a very slow pace, as if everyone had a carapace. Neither team really had the equipment to get a three-possesion lead until the Sycamores did so in the final minute. One of the issues was turnovers: they had 20 of 'em. But foul trouble also haunted the Bulls. Three players picked up two fouls in the first eight minutes, including Mitchell Watt, who actually had two in the first 1:33. He finished with three points and five fouls in nine minutes. Eek. Zach Filzen led the Bluebulls with 13. That's enough grinding for one weekend. Buffalo's next game: Wednesday, 12/1 at Army
Today's basketball games:
3 p.m. — Bowling Green vs. Albany
4 p.m. — Toledo at Illinois Chicago
NCAA Soccer Tournament, third round
4 p.m. — (3) Akron vs. (14) Indiana