I thought both of these teams would be good this season. The Bowling Green Falcons started pretty poorly in the non-conference, only to compile a 12-6 conference mark and finish second in the league. The Ball State Cardinals looked good at times during a tough non-conference schedule, only to do pretty much the same in conference play. However, they looked fairly good in knocking off a streaky Eastern Michigan squad in their first round game.

Game Details

• When: 9 P.M., Thursday, March 14th, 2019
• Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
• Watch and stream: ESPN+
• Line: Ball State -1, according to ESPN.com

Players to Watch

Tayler Persons, Sr, Guard, Ball State: A do everything player, he really makes the Cardinals offense go.

Trey Moses, Sr, Center, Ball State: The 6’9 big man had surgery in the off season and has only shown flashes of his former self.

Demajeo Wiggins, Sr, Center, BGSU: The 6’10 senior is averaging a double double on the season.

Justin Turner, Soph, Guard, BGSU: The 6’4 guard from Detroit is one of the best players in the country and is averaging 18.7 points per game. Like his Ball State counterpart Persons, Turner seems to play his best when the game is on the line.

Prediction

Both teams are loaded with talent all over the floor. Even though Bowling Green will lose their big man next season, they have been playing great basketball to close out this season and their future looks bright. The Cardinals are losing a couple of their best players next season, so I expect a sense of desperation from them this conference tournament. They have been through enough together to trust that they could win the three more games needed for a MAC tournament title. I expect Moses and company to give 100% and give the Falcons everything they can handle in this game. I might be getting a bit sentimental when predicting that the Cardinals will win on a late bucket.