Big ol' day/night in MACsketball. Okay, breathe. We can get through this.
Kent State 57, UAB 48 — They might've been a tournament team a year ago, but the Blazers are not the same team. Nice win by KSU nonetheless. Randal Holt, Justin Greene, Chris Evans and Michael Porrini all hit double figures and hit their free throws (12-for-13 combined).
Ball State 71, Tennessee-Martin 48 — Locked in a slugfest in the first half, the Cardinals outscored the Skyhawks by 16 points out of the locker room, running away with a road victory backed by a 61.5 eFG%. Jarrod Jones had 22 points and the team passed well with 22 combined assists.
OHIO 61, Morgan State 53 — The winless Bears out of the MEAC really put up a fight, and given their schedule the close score indicates they play everybody well. Just not enough to win. Walter Offutt had an outrageous 17 points and six assists, and it's good they have him - http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100526/d-j-cooper D.J. Cooper is having a rough go of it, scoring eight points on 10 shots. He did have seven assists and four steals though. But OHIO is 5-1 so far. That'll help the football fans heal a bit.
Temple 86, CMU 74 — Time for the Owls to start a new basketball streak against their half brothers. The Chips' defense had trouble getting stops, but at least Trey Zeigler continued his impressive season, finishing with 22 points. Andre Coimbra added another 22 of his own.
St. Bonaventure 66, Buffalo 60 — Zach Filzen's shooting was unparalleled, ending up with 26 points (6-of-8 on threes) and Javon McCrea helped with 15 points and seven rebounds, but a quick little run in the second half helped the Bonnies stay ahead enough to earn the win.
Toledo 73, Chicago State 61 — Say this about the Rockets; they're not losing bad games. But nobody they are beating really help their resume all that much. This time the help came from Dominique Buckley (21 points, six rebounds, four assist) and Matt Smith (14 points, nine rebounds) as UT routinely got to the free throw line and made the easy shots to keep Chicago State winless on the year. And Toledo's now at 6-1.
Troy 73, Miami 60 — Julian Mavunga's 24 points and eight rebounds were nowhere near enough as the Trojans jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back.
Nebraska-Omaha 77, NIU 72 — This is not going well. UNO is in their first year of reclassifying to a Division I program and yet another supposedly-worse team squeezed out a victory at the Convo. Tim Toler even scraped together 25 points thanks to his streaky-shooting 3-pointer game and freshman Marquavese Ford added 16 points … and nothing'. To boot, this is UNO's first program win against a D-I team. Sigh. NIU may not get a win until January 2 when they play Roosevelt University, an NAIA school. And even then.
In women's games:
Michigan State 60, EMU 59 (OT) — Game of the day. The Lady Eagles did all they could to shock the Spartans but, not unlike their football team, they found last-second magic, hitting a 3-pointer to force overtime, then icing the game late in the extra frame. Tavelyn James tried to do too much, netting 19 points on 25 shots while playing all 45 minutes. Paige Redditt had an outstanding 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Akron 87, Saint Peter's 50 — Could the Zips be a frightful contender in the MAC? They're playing like it, even if SPC isn't very competitive this year. Rachel Tecca led the Zips with 25 points and eight rebounds.
BGSU 71, Butler 61 — The Lady Bulldogs are little like their male counterparts, and it showed. Jessica Slagle and Chrissy Steffen both threw in 15 points apiece. The Falcons had trouble stopping Butler score at times but did amass 15 steals.
WMU 69 Milwaukee 63 — It remains to be seen how the already-overmatched Broncos will do this year if Miame Giden misses an extended period of time, but they did polish off a victory at home, thanks to freshman Michelle O'Brien's double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. Corie Buchanan led WMU with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Duquesne 83, OHIO 60
Bradley 86, CMU 79
Today's men's games:
2:00 p.m. — Akron at Middle Tennessee State
3:00 p.m. — BGSU at Western Kentucky (Fox College Sports)
Today's women's games:
1:00 p.m. — Stetson at Ball State
2:00 p.m. — Colorado State at Toledo