Hustle Belt - 2015-2016 MAC Men's Basketball: Week 16MAC Football, MAC Basketball, MAC Recruiting, MAC Baseball and all of the other #MACtion hijinks in between - hustlebeltblog@gmail.comhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50387/hustle-fav.png2016-02-27T20:15:49-05:00http://www.hustlebelt.com/rss/stream/108580012016-02-27T20:15:49-05:002016-02-27T20:15:49-05:00Huskies with their 19th win of the year
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<p>A big first half by the Huskies gives Northern Illinois an easy win over the Broncos. Aaric Armstead and Marin Maric pace the Huskies while Thomas Wilder gets 17 on 22 shots. </p> <p>On Saturday afternoon in DeKalb, Illinois the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/northern-illinois-huskies" class="sbn-auto-link">Northern Illinois Huskies</a> defeated the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/western-michigan-broncos" class="sbn-auto-link">Western Michigan Broncos</a> in a MAC West rematch. The Broncos defeated the Huskies earlier in the season when <span>Travon Baker</span> and three other Huskies we're ejected after a flagrant foul by Baker on a Broncos player. The Huskies bench was huge in this one as the trio of <span>Laytwan Porter</span>, <span>Chuks Iroegbu</span> and <span>Levi Bradley</span> had 25 points on 11-14 from the field.</p>
<p><span>Thomas Wilder</span> tried to do everything he could to bring Western Michigan back after a 19-point halftime deficit. Wilder struggled from the field and was without a three point field goal for the second game in a row. After Seth Dugan made a layup at the 10:31 mark of the first half the Huskies went on a 29-10 run to close the half. Armstead contributed 11 points in the run and it keyed the Huskies to take a big halftime lead.</p>
<p>At the 11:47 mark of the second half the Huskies increased their lead to a 58-31 lead their biggest lead of the game. The game seemed very much in hand at this point but Western Michigan didn't go away. The Broncos went on a 28-10 run of their own to claw back to within nine with only a minute left. The run was keyed by Wilder contributing eight points and Bryce Johnson contributing seven points of his own.</p>
<p>It wasn't all bad for Western as while Wilder registered 17 points, five rebounds, six assists and six steals to only three turnovers. <span>Tucker Haymond</span> also had a nice game as the guard had 12 points and five rebounds in the contest.</p>
<p>The big difference was the Huskies defense as they limited the Broncos to 38 percent from the field while Northern shot 53 percent. It was their 18th time this season they allowed 70 or fewer points to their opponent this year. The Huskies are 16-2 in those contests and it seems to be the key to their success. In relation to their overall record they are 3-7 when allowing 71+ points which showcases the importance of their defense and limiting second chance points.</p>
<p>These last games will be very important for NIU as they could be finish from the 3 seed to the 9 seed in the MAC tournament. The Huskies travel to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday while Western Michigan plays Toledo at home before closing out the season with CMU on the road.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/27/11127674/western-michigan-broncos-vs-northern-illinois-huskies-mens-basketballRob Willer2016-02-27T17:20:17-05:002016-02-27T17:20:17-05:00Cards make 18 threes in win over EMU
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<p>Cardinals with 61 points in the first half, school record 18 threes.</p> <p>The Ball State Cardinals make a program-best 18 3-pointers against Eastern Michigan in their huge 115-79 win in Muncie, Indiana. Ball State still looking to clinch a first round bye in the MAC Tournament with two more games left, stays top the West division with a 10-6 conference record while EMU dips to 7-9.</p>
<p>Even with six Cardinals in double-digit scoring, Sean Sellers and Franko House led the way with 26 and 20 points respectively. Sellers was a huge part of the Cardinals' 3-point shooting, going 7-for-11 there with five free throws, including four rebounds. House had 10 rebounds for a double-double, shooting 7-for-8 from inside with six free throws.</p>
<p>Jeremie Tyler also had a good day with 3-for-9 behind the arc, Francis Kiapway with four makes, Ryan Weber and Naiel Smith also chipped in for a pair.</p>
<p>Fouls, free throws and trios -- the Cardinals went on cruise control for the first 20 minutes of the game, going to the locker room at halftime with a 61-41 lead. Not bad for a team that averages 70.1 points per game. Ball State was able to shoot 16 free throws (11 makes) off of 11 EMU fouls, out-rebounding them 24-15. The Cardinals finished with 21 free throw makes off of EMU's 20 personal and five technical fouls.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Last time Ball State scored 60 points in a half against a D1 opponent? 1997 ... Against Eastern Michigan.</p>
— Dakota Crawford TSP (@DakotaCrawford_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DakotaCrawford_/status/703672687332364288">February 27, 2016</a>
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<p>James Thompson received a pair of technicals in the game which eventually led to him being ejected in the second half. All-around bad day for him and the Eagles. Thompson had 10 points with eight free throws and four rebounds, and two of EMU's top scorers, Ty Toney and Willie Mangum, both finished without a point, both going 0-for-5 from the field.</p>
<p>Raven Lee and Brandon Nazione were really the ones with noteworthy performances. Lee kept the game somewhat promising after the Cardinals got off to a 14-0 start, mostly effective in the first half and finished with 14 points, three assists and two steals. Nazione led EMU in scoring with 22, shooting 4-for-6 from behind the arc, and grabbed five rounds. Aside from Nazione's four 3-point makes, Ethan Alvano had the only other make for the Eagles as they shot 5-for-23 as a team.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/27/11126762/eastern-michigan-eagles-vs-ball-state-cardinals-basketball-final-score-recapAlex Alvarado2016-02-26T21:39:17-05:002016-02-26T21:39:17-05:00McAdams' 29 leads Akron past Bowling Green
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<p>It was the Reggie McAdams show in Akron on Friday night, as he scored 29 points in a 89-54 Zips victory.</p> <p><span>Reggie McAdams</span> is one of those players that you're never really sure whether you are going to get a pretty good game from or a really good game from. On Friday night against Bowling Green, it was pretty clear from the start what type of game the senior sharpshooter was going to give the struggling <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/akron-zips">Zips</a>.</p>
<p>Coming off of a head-scratching loss at Miami, Akron found the magical elixir against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/bowling-green-falcons">Falcons</a> hitting 46 percent of their whopping 41 three-point attempts to cruise to a 89-54 home victory. The win keeps the Zips one game ahead of Ohio, Buffalo, and Kent State, who are on their heels in the MAC East race.</p>
<p>McAdams was far and away the star of the show, scoring 29 points on 7-10 shooting from beyond the arc. He matched his jersey number in the first half, scoring 21 points which almost matched Bowling Green's point total for the half (26). It wasn't quite his career high (he scored 31 against Central Michigan last season), but he still put on a 3-point clinic in what was a huge bounce-back win to keep the Zips ahead of everyone else in the MAC East.</p>
<p>There really isn't much to take from a blowout victory, other than that an Akron team clicking on all cylinders is very tough to beat. The hard part is, there really isn't one guy you can key on. Currently eight players on the Akron roster average over 7 points per game, but none of them average over 13.5. Game planning against Akron is really difficult, mainly because you can't just focus on one or to guys to stop. Eight players are capable of going off every night, and you never know who exactly it's going to be.</p>
<p>What makes matters worse is what happens when Akron is shooting well from beyond the arc. Of those 8 players averaging more than 7 points per game, 6 of them are shooting better than 40 percent from the 3-point line. That brings a new dynamic to the gameplan, and one that is isn't easy to plan against especially in a tournament setting. Center Isaiah Johnson even hit a three in Friday's game, and although he isn't the guy that is going to take many it still shows that even he could hit one too.</p>
<p>Bowling Green is in a tough spot, because although they were blown out tonight they have the talent level to compete in the conference tournament. They have the potential to win a game in Cleveland if they get there and shouldn't be discouraged from a bad loss like this one.</p>
<p>Zach Denny had a pretty good showing for Bowling Green, scoring 16 points on 6-12 shooting. No other Falcon scored in double digits, though <span>Rasheed Worrell</span> was close with 8.</p>
<p>Other than McAdams' explosion, Kwan Chetham had a nice game for the Zips scoring 16 points shooting a nearly perfect 5-6 from the floor. <span>Antino Jackson</span> sniffed a triple-double, scoring 10 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 8 assists. <span>Jake Kretzer</span> and <span>Josh Williams</span> joined the three-parade as well, with all 9 of their points coming from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>The Zips finish out the season next week with two huge home games against Ohio and Kent State. Meanwhile, Bowling Green heads to Kent State on Tuesday and closes out the regular season against Buffalo.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="must-reads-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span>Game Leaders<span class="must-reads-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span>
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<th align="left">Player</th> <th align="center">Akron</th> <th align="center">Bowling Green</th>
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<td align="left"><b>Points</b></td>
<td align="center">R. McAdams (29)</td>
<td align="center">Z. Denny (16)</td>
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<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<td align="left"><b>Rebounds</b></td>
<td align="center">An. Jackson (6)</td>
<td align="center">Three tied (4)</td>
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<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<td align="left"><b>Assists</b></td>
<td align="center">An. Jackson (8)</td>
<td align="center">I. Ali (5)</td>
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<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<td align="left"><b>Blocks</b></td>
<td align="center">I. Johnson (2)</td>
<td align="center">R. Worrell (2)</td>
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<tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF" onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'">
<td align="left"><b>Steals</b></td>
<td align="center">An. Jackson (3)</td>
<td align="center">Z. Denny (3)</td>
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</tbody>
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https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/26/11124844/bowling-green-falcons-vs-akron-zips-mens-basketball-recap-final-scoreBrandon Hickey2016-02-23T23:58:45-05:002016-02-23T23:58:45-05:00BGSU Batters Bobcats 87-82 To Earn Season Sweep
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<figcaption>Rasheed Worrell | <a href='http://www.bgsufalcons.com'>BGSU Marketing and Communications</a></figcaption>
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<p>The Bobcats suffered some major deja vu tonight against the Falcons in Bowling Green's Stroh Center.</p> <p><span>What if I told you that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/ohio-bobcats">Ohio Bobcats</a> would start a road game on a 9-0 run and finish with 82 points, fueled by 29 from <span>Antonio Campbell</span> and 24 from <span>Jaaron Simmons</span>?</span></p>
<p>You would (probably) say that those Bobcats must have won their game comfortably, right? Not so fast, my MACsketball-loving friends.</p>
<p>Ohio did all of the above in their attempt to win a sixth straight game and hand the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/bowling-green-falcons">Bowling Green Falcons</a> an eighth straight loss. Well, they did all of the above except win comfortably. In fact, they lost to Bowling Green for the second time this season, 87-82.</p>
<p>For the Bobcats, this game was all too similar to their loss to the Falcons last month in Athens. They started the game hot, built a double-digit lead, let that lead dwindle to almost nothing by halftime, then watched as BGSU's offense exploded for more than 50 second half points amid a plethora of fouls and free throws.</p>
<p>The story of the first half was Campbell. He scored the game's first four points to help Ohio jump out to a 9-0 lead, and he did not stop until he had 19 points at halftime. He hit everything from lay-ups to mid-range jumpers to threes and sank eight of his nine shots.</p>
<p><span>Treg Setty</span> acted as Campbell's complement and scored nine points on 4-for-6 shooting. Their combined 28 points were important, because Ohio received scant contributions from the rest of the team during the first 20 minutes. <span>Kenny Kaminski</span> sank a triple on his first field goal attempt of the game and Simmons drilled one just after the first media timeout, but neither scored for the remainder of the half.</p>
<p>After the Bobcats took their 9-0 lead, BGSU made small surges throughout the first half to get within five points, but Campbell or Setty would make shots to rebuff the rally each time. Campbell's last bucket of the half, a three, gave Ohio a 36-28 lead with 3:24 left in the half.</p>
<p>BGSU's Wes Alcegaire responded with a three of his own less than a minute later, then blocked a Setty shot and ran back down the court for another trey. The Falcons ended the half when <span>Antwon Lillard</span> pulled down an offensive rebound off a <span>David Joseph</span> miss and followed with a layup just before the buzzer. The teams went to the locker room with Ohio holding a slim 37-36 lead.</p>
<p>The second half was the <span>Spencer Parker</span> show. Parker was one of several BGSU players to be benched for the start of the game because of academic issues. He played only eight minutes in the first half and did not score, but after halftime, he played all 20 minutes and scored an equal number of points.</p>
<p>After a pair of Setty buckets lifted Ohio's lead to 45-38, Parker scored BGSU's next seven points to keep them in the game despite more heroics from Campbell. That paved the way for <span>Rasheed Worrell</span>, who had also been benched to start the game but had a big second half. Two monster dunks and a layup from Worrell brought the Falcons back to within one.</p>
<p>Then, just two minutes later, Worrell threw down another thunderous jam to put Bowling Green up 57-56 with 9:40 remaining in the game. It was BGSU's first lead of the game.</p>
<p>The Falcons held a 59-58 lead with 8:00 to go, and as we discussed in the <a href="http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/22/11095754/ohio-bobcats-vs-bowling-green-falcons-mens-basketball-preview">preview</a> for this game, BGSU has had several collapses in the final eight minutes of games during their losing streak. Would it happen to them again? No.</p>
<p>Parker scored Bowling Green's next nine points, including four straight makes at the free throw line and a three. However, the Bobcats stayed shot-for-shot, and when BGSU went scoreless four times in a five-possession stretch, Ohio took a 69-68 lead into the final media timeout with 3:12 left.</p>
<p>In the final few minutes, BGSU could not miss from anywhere. They sank their final four field goal attempts and made eight consecutive free throws. Simmons continued to score for Ohio and ultimately finished the half with 21 points, but it was not enough to keep up. The Falcons ended the second half with 51 points and a much-needed win.</p>
<p>Bowling Green shot .525 from the floor and .773 from the free throw line, but they were deadly in the second half. They made 17 of 28 shots from the floor after halftime and 15 of 18 free throws. The latter is an enormous departure from the Falcons' season trend at the charity stripe.</p>
<p>Ohio was even better from the floor, as they shot at a .533 clip. The Bobcats also made 12 three-pointers. However, they attempted just eight free throws as the Falcons were whistled for a meager 11 fouls. Ohio was never in the bonus at any point during the contest.</p>
<p>BGSU out-rebounded Ohio 35-25 and committed only seven turnovers. They had a 46-30 edge in the paint, and their bench out-scored the Bobcats 59-3.</p>
<p>Alcegaire and Parker led the Falcons with 20 points apiece, while Lillard scored 15 and Worrell had 14. Ohio was paced by Campbell's 29 points and Simmons' 24. Setty finished with 16. Campbell also led all players with eight rebounds.</p>
<p>Ohio (18-9, 9-6 MAC) could have tied for the best record in the league with Akron's loss to Miami, but they'll now have to try to rebound against Buffalo at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Meanwhile, BGSU (14-14, 5-10 MAC) will get another chance to take down a MAC power when they travel to Akron for a 7:00 p.m. game on Friday. That one will be televised on CBS Sports Network.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/23/11101718/ohio-bobcats-bowling-green-falcons-mens-basketball-recapMatt Daley2016-02-23T23:00:13-05:002016-02-23T23:00:13-05:00#3MU sinks NIU in a pivotal MAC West matchup
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<p>Four Chippewas score double digits, as Central Michigan grab a much needed win at home, defeating the Northern Illinois Huskies. </p> <p>In a game that had huge implications on the MAC West race and the MAC Tournament placing, Central Michigan (15-13, 8-7 MAC) was able to make their 3-pointers, and defeat a game Northern Illinois (18-10, 7-8 MAC), 76-64.</p>
<p><span>John Simons</span> lead all scorers with 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Chippewas in a pivotal victory. <span>Chris Fowler</span>, also added 16 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. <span>Josh Kozinski</span> was virtually unstoppable, for the Chippewas scoring 15 points from behind the 3-point arc. <span>Braylon Rayson</span>, CMU's leading scorer on the season, had 10 points, and added 5 rebounds. The patented #3MU offense was in full effect, sinking 10 three-pointers on the night in what has been a down year for the Chippewas in that statistic.</p>
<p>For Northern Illinois, <span>Marin Maric</span> lead the Huskies down low with 10 points and he also grabbed 11 rebounds for another double double. <span>Travon Baker</span> also scored 10 points for the Huskies in what was an offensive struggle for NIU. Contrary to CMU's lights-out performace, Northern Illinois struggled to make shots, going a woeful 3 of 19 attempted three pointers, and 36% on the night.</p>
<p>Both teams were able to convert at the free throw line (NIU led with 77.5%), but the key difference down the stretch was CMU winning the battle in three pointers (NIU 3, CMU 10) and defensive rebounds (CMU 24- NIU 22), the latter of which the Chips normally struggle with. <span>DaRohn Scott</span> and <span>Luke Meyer</span> were also able to get it done down low on both sides of the ball, with the duo scoring the first 8 points of the game for CMU, and finishing with a combined 12 points and 9 rebounds as role players.</p>
<p>Central Michigan looks to grab at least a share of second place in the MAC West, as they travel to Toledo to take on the Rockets on Saturday. CMU was able to beat Toledo in the previous meeting. Tip is set for 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Northern Illinois, meanwhile, looks to shake off this tough road loss, returning home where they have been strong all season, to take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/western-michigan-broncos">Western Michigan Broncos</a>. The Broncos walked away with a win in the last meeting. Tip for that game is set for 4:30 on Saturday.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/2016/2/23/11103282/northern-illinois-huskies-vs-central-michigan-chippewas-mens-basketball-final-recap-february-23-2016Grant McPherson2016-02-23T21:25:12-05:002016-02-23T21:25:12-05:00EMU gets by WMU 73-62
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<p>Mangum went 4-for-6 from deep, Wilder had a really bad night. </p> <p>After a messy first half for both teams, Eastern Michigan (15-13, 7-8 MAC) came away with a 73-62 win at home over rivaled Western Michigan (11-17, 5-10 MAC). Willie Mangum helped EMU out with the 3-point shooting and Thomas Wilder's really bad night helped make things even easier for the Eagles.</p>
<p>After The Eagles committed eight turnovers, the Broncos took an early 13-8 lead, but EMU would quickly flip the script on them. A transition 3-pointer from Mangum and another deep ball from Brandon Nazione would give the Eagles a 21-17 lead five minutes later.</p>
<p>Before picking up his first points on free throws, Thomas Wilder missed his first three field goals and had five turnovers, mostly from traveling calls. For the most part, Wilder was a non-factor. Unlike last time when he put up 35 points and 10 rebounds, he was limited in his shot attempts and inefficient in his shooting. Only 10 points to his name, going 2-for-9 from the floor with six free throws and caused nine turnovers.</p>
<p>"When we're not in the bonus, we can really be aggressive," Rob Murphy said after the game talking about how EMU's defense may have gotten the best of Wilder's game early on. "He's a very good basketball player, but I give our team a lot of credit for holding him in check and not give him any easy looks."</p>
<p>The Eagles were only 2-for-7 from deep in the first half, but Mangum would pull up with three triples in the second to give EMU a 48-43 lead. Broncos turnovers would continue to help EMU out there with Tim Bond following that up with a transition dunk and a put-back layup off of a pair of steals. "I told my guys to dial in, stay confident, continue to play hard," Murphy said, "we continued to play defense, made some key shots... Willie hit a big three and Ray Lee got it going for us."</p>
<p>Mangum's second-half shooting helped him lead the Eagles with 16 total points, making six of his 11 shots (4-for-6 from deep) as Thompson would have eight second half points to have 14 for the night.</p>
<p>It seemed like WMU's scoring int he paint in the first half (18) would keep them in this, but EMU would out-work them down low for the following 20 minutes (20 EMU, 10 WMU) in their runs. Again, a lot of that came from transition points off of turnovers. With Wilder's nine, the Broncos had 16 total turnovers which the Eagles were able to get 19 points off of.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/23/11102308/wmu-broncos-emu-eagles-basketball-final-scoreAlex Alvarado2016-02-23T10:00:07-05:002016-02-23T10:00:07-05:00Still much to play for as EMU hosts Western
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<figcaption>EMU's Ty Toney | Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Or will the Broncos give themselves the chance to go undefeated against the other Directional Michigans this year?</p> <p>Even though the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/eastern-michigan-eagles">Eastern Michigan Eagles</a> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/western-michigan-broncos">Western Michigan Broncos</a> sit in the bottom two spots of the MAC West, these two squads have a lot to play for when they take the court tonight in Ypsilanti. Namely, these teams are fighting for a Michigan MAC title. The Eagles have already beaten in-state foe CMU twice this year, but dropped their first match-up against the Broncos back in January. Western just beat Central this past Saturday and is hoping to ride the momentum of taking two of its last three games.</p>
<p>Last time Eastern and Western hit the court, the game was dominated by WMU's Thomas Wilder. He went off for 35 points in that game, a career high, going 5-5 from three-point land. Wilder is also just had a very strong game Saturday in which he put 26 points and was 10-16 from the floor. Unless the Eagles have a new containment strategy for him, it's very possible Wilder will have another stellar night in Ypsi.</p>
<p><span>Ty Toney</span> was Eastern's most effective offensive option last time out against Western. The guard had 23 points in that contest, and is coming off a 17 point game in the Eagles' Saturday win over Toledo. Movement on the perimeter can be a problem for the Broncos defensively, so it's possible the Eagles will try to highlight Toney again on offense, as well as getting <span>Raven Lee</span> more in the mix. Lee is averaging 14.8 points per game on the season. And lest we forget guard Willie Mangum, who hit five three-pointers in the Eagles' last outing.</p>
<p>Eastern faithful can also hang their hat on the abysmal conference road record the Broncos have going - Western has only won a single MAC road contest this year, a 74-68 win over Bowling Green. The Eagles are 5-2 at home in MAC play on the season.</p>
<p>The battle at the #5 spot will also be intriguing Tuesday night. The Broncos' center <span>Drake LaMont</span> just put 18 points against Central while Eastern's freshman center James Thompson is averaging a stellar 15.3 points per game and had 17 last time he faced Western. Thompson also had 11 rebounds in the January outing against WMU.</p>
<p>Both Western and Eastern have had very up-and-down seasons. When the Eagles' offense gets going it's one of the best in the MAC, but the team has struggled defensively. WMU has been unable to get a consistent string of strong games together. It's tough to predict which version of these teams will hit the court and grab an in-state win tonight.</p>
<p>And even though Western is sitting at 5-9 in MAC play and the Eagles are 6-8, because of the cluster of 7-7 teams above them in the MAC West, there is still a lot of MAC Tournament seeding implications in this game. Late-season conference play gets pretty intense. We'll see how this one shakes out at 7:00pm Eastern (streaming on ESPN3).</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/23/11098494/wmu-broncos-vs-emu-eagles-mens-basketballBen Roush2016-02-22T19:27:30-05:002016-02-22T19:27:30-05:00Ohio Seeks Redemption Against BGSU On Tuesday
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<p>Believe it or not, the Falcons actually won in Athens last month. These two teams have taken vastly different paths since. The Bobcats will try to continue their run at a conference championship, but can they avoid another slip-up against BGSU?</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/bowling-green-falcons">Bowling Green Falcons</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/ohio-bobcats">Ohio Bobcats</a> tangle at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio on Tuesday night, as the two teams conclude their 2016 home-and-home series. They met in Athens six weeks ago, and the picture for both was vastly different at that time.</p>
<p>Ohio dominated much of the first half of that game and led 37-23 with 4:20 left in the half. Unfortunately for OU, that was the high point of the game. BGSU closed to 38-33 at halftime and then exploded for 58 second-half points in a 91-75 victory. For Ohio, the bad part was not just the 68-38 collapse after building that 37-23 lead; it was how they lost.</p>
<p>The Falcons' 58 points after halftime came amid a cascade of Bobcat fouls that ultimately led to a parade of BGSU players at the free throw line. OU was whistled 18 times in the final 20 minutes; it was so bad that <span>Jaaron Simmons</span> fouled out -- after not having any fouls at the half.</p>
<p><span>Ismail Ali</span> scored all of his 19 points in the second half, with nine coming from the free throw line. Ali, <span>Spencer Parker</span> and <span>Rasheed Worrell</span> combined for 45 of those 58 points.</p>
<p>There were other problems, too. OU was out-rebounded 42-32 and gave up 18 offensive boards. They were also outscored 40-24 inside the paint. Their bench was dominated, too; BGSU reserves doubled Ohio's by a 36-18 count.</p>
<p>After the game, the Falcons followed with a win at Eastern Michigan while Ohio dropped a game at Kent State. BGSU was 3-1 in MAC play and 12-5 overall. Ohio had fallen to 1-3 in the MAC and 10-6 overall.</p>
<p>The rest of the season has been like night and day for both teams. Ohio responded to their adversity by winning eight of their last ten and their last five in a row. Meanwhile, Bowling Green has won just once over the last five weeks (1-9) and has lost seven in a row. The result has been Ohio's ascension to a 9-5 mark in the MAC, which would be good enough for a top-four seed and a bye to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals if the season ended today. On the other hand, BGSU is now 4-10 in the MAC and would be the league's #11 seed at the moment.</p>
<p>The problem for BGSU has been glaring: they simply have not been very good during the final eight minutes recently. They led Ball State 54-50 but were outscored 22-10 over the final eight. They led Buffalo 67-61 but were outscored 27-7. They trailed Akron just 59-57 but were blitzed 24-11 in the final eight minutes. They have also done very poorly at the Stroh, were they are 1-6 in the MAC. That lone win was in the MAC opener against Miami.</p>
<p>The solution to Ohio's problems was a combo platter of Simmons and Antonio Campbell. Campbell is fourth in the MAC with 17.5 points per game and second with 9.9 rebounds per game. He's second in blocks and fourth in field goal percentage. Simmons is second on the Ohio roster behind Campbell in scoring (14.0/game) and leads the MAC with 7.7 assists per game. If he can't find Campbell, he'll dish to <span>Kenny Kaminski</span> and <span>Jordan Dartis</span>, who can be deadly from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>You should expect Ohio to be psyched up for this game, given what happened six weeks ago and also because they have a real shot at the MAC regular season title. As for BGSU, it's hard to know what to really expect. They are still playing hard for first-year head coach Michael Huger, but the energy at the end of games just doesn't seem to be there anymore.</p>
<p>This might be the time for a last stand for the Falcons. Their chances at a home game in the MAC Tournament are probably gone, but they could still improve their seed for a better first-round opponent. Either they finally break their long home losing streak, or Ohio exacts revenge and continues their march towards Cleveland.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2016/2/22/11095754/ohio-bobcats-vs-bowling-green-falcons-mens-basketball-previewMatt Daley