How the conferences shake out as 2013 approaches

Non-conference play is almost over, and it has been quite a stretch. We’ve learned a good deal about a lot of teams, while some are still a mystery for various reasons – injuries, suspensions, ineligibility and a light schedule are all possible reasons. In addition, a few conferences have already seen a game or two mixed in with the non-conference schedule.

Conference play is right around the corner, and while a non-conference resume doesn’t tell the whole story, it does shed some light on teams and conferences. In conference play, there is more familiarity since teams play each other every year, although the changing landscape is starting to diminish that factor a bit. That’s one reason why we see some teams put forth a very good non-conference showing, including some good wins, then go on to have a mediocre showing in conference play.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how every conference in America shapes up.

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If Ohio shores up their defense, watch out in March

AMHERST, Mass. – Ohio University at first glance would seem like an obvious pick to win the Mid-American Conference this season. Their personnel, their experience that includes a run to the Sweet 16 last year, and their coach are all reasons to feel that they are the team to beat. But if their 85-76 loss at UMass on Wednesday night is any indication, there are things that could derail a championship and an attempt to make another run in the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio is unquestionably a veteran team. The Bobcats have no freshmen and are dominated by upperclassmen, with three senior starters, five seniors overall and seven juniors. They have used the same starting lineup in every game thus far, and nine Bobcats average double-digit minutes and another averages 9.3. But those numbers are a bit deceptive, as from a production standpoint there is a pretty good drop-off after the top six players in the rotation.

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At Kent State, Ford Hopes to Make Simpson a Star

KENT, Ohio – Wednesday night’s Bowling Green-Kent State game was the first time I’d seen BG in the Louis Orr era, in fact the first time since fairly early in the “Dakich Administration” (and no, I don’t much care for their current Brown uniforms). I had seen Kent State, the preseason favorite in the MAC’s Eastern Division, twice before in this Coach Geno Ford’s inaugural season. Sitting on press row next to a Kent administrator last night, I whispered that play appears down in the MAC from my short tenure with Dakich ten years ago, that BG has nobody on this year’s team like Antonio Daniels, Anthony Stacy or Keith McLeod, and that Kent State has no one the likes of Trevor Huffmann, Demetric Shaw or Antonio Gates. Clearly a fan of major conference basketball (and specifically Duke), that administrator made the case that college ball is down everywhere, implying that result to be the trickle down effect of so many prep players and underclassmen turning pro. The major programs have to take lesser, as do the mid-majors, low-majors, and so on. And I agree. And as a result, Ivy teams this decade remind me of Division III teams when I coached at that level in the early 80s.

But that wasn’t the whole story. Back in the 90s, the MAC was viewed as a strong and improving basketball conference, the best in the Midwest short of the Big Ten (and head and shoulders above the Horizon, then called the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). So good, in fact, that BG’s Antonio Daniels was – apparently – overrated in the 1997 draft, made the fourth pick overall by the then-Vancouver Grizzlies. So good that there was little dispute that Jim Larranaga’s move from BG to George Mason in the spring of 1997 was a downward move. (To Larranaga’s credit, his 11+ years at Mason constitute a primary reason why the Colonial Athletic Association, like the Horizon, is now clearly above the MAC.)

With those observations as a backdrop, it was hardly surprising – and must be attributed to way more than home-court advantage – that in the battle of preseason MAC and Horizon League favorites earlier this season, Cleveland State beat Kent State 67-41, and the Vikings looked like they could name the final score.

Last on this, in sports as in life it often takes excruciatingly long for change to be recognized. For that reason, the MAC still convenes each year for a “big-time” conference tournament at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, while the Horizon has yet to “go public,” preferring to play tournament games at separate venues, hosted by higher seeds (and that’s only after protecting the first two seeds with that awful double-bye).

All of that said, the games are still played, and traditional rivalries respected. Perhaps the biggest these last ten years in the MAC’s Eastern Division is that between Miami and Kent State, which will be renewed this Saturday in Kent. Here’s hoping both Kent State-Miami games are great ones in this final season for Miami’s fine coach, Charlie Coles.

Coming into last night’s game against Bowling Green, we all knew what Ford had in his backcourt. Undersized senior second guard Al Fisher was last year’s Player of the Year in the conference, having averaged 14 points (over 16 in conference play), 4 assists, nearly 1.5 steals, and a remarkable 4 rebounds. This year he’s at 15 points, nearly 4 assists, nearly 2 steals, and 3 boards. Three inches bigger, stronger, and a better shooter, much-traveled former big-time recruit Tyree Evans joined Fisher in the backcourt in mid-December, and is averaging 17 points, and shooting 46 percent both in front of and behind the arc. 6-4 broad-shouldered junior Chris Singletary is more of a point guard than the aforementioned Fisher and Evans, like Fisher averages nearly 4 assists, scores 14, grabs 4 rebounds, and is the acknowledged team leader. (Ford calls Singletary “another coach in the huddle.”)

But the forward positions have been more problematic, with 6-9, 270-pound junior Brandon Parks often too low and too slow to help offensively, or on the boards. Lefty senior Julian Sullinger has proven clever near the goal, but while stout he’s closer to 6-3 than to his listed 6-5, and as his coach acknowledged often “too short to grab lots of rebounds.”

Enter newcomer and junior Anthony Simpson, a transfer from Illinois’ Highland Community College. Simpson can run and jump and looked more like a real basketball player than any other forward in the gym last night. This will make the point: I’d seen two of their games from start to finish before last night, had committed the names of six Kent State players to memory, and Simpson wasn’t any of the six. All I knew about him was that there was a JUCO transfer who split time with Sullinger at the power forward spot, who seemed to be taking a few minutes away from Julian, though apparently is more productive off the bench than as a starter. In Sunday’s loss at Ohio opening Kent’s conference season Simpson had played a total of six minutes, missed the only shot he’d attempted, and pulling down just one rebound.

He came into the BG game having started four of Kent’s 15 previous games, averaging 19 minutes, six points, and six boards (actually, six boards in 19 minutes is a terrific total; as a result of watching Cleveland State’s George Tandy, this writer has started to love the phrase – and the statistic I can’t find anywhere for the college game – “rebounds per minute played”). Ford said that he held Simpson to just six minutes at Ohio Sunday because “he couldn’t sustain playing competitively over any more minutes.”

In last night’s first half, Ford played Simpson 13 minutes, playing him more than previously along with Sullinger, largely in place of Parks due to Parks’ two early fouls. Simpson managed to contribute offensively near the goal, scoring eight in that half, on 3-4 shooting. But rather inauspiciously, Simpson managed a total of zero rebounds during those 13 first-half minutes. Combined with just one rebound for Sullinger in 16 first-half minutes, Kent State boasted a total of one rebound from the forward positions for the entire half. As a team BG out-rebounded KSU 23-14 in the half, grabbing 11 offensive boards to Kent’s nine defensive boards, and at halftime the game was tied at 33.

Then a new player came out of the locker room at halftime wearing uniform no. 21, and in a his best half of the season Simpson dominated the paint, scoring another eight points (on 4-6 shooting) and grabbing seven big rebounds. Kent State won the boards in that second half by four, and won on the scoreboard by 24, finishing with a convincing 72-48 win. Fisher contributed 23 points (many in the second half of the second half, after the issue was decided), but the story of the game was Simpson. And not a moment too soon with Miami in town Saturday.

I asked Ford what he said to Simpson at halftime to elicit that kind of play, and he responded only half-kiddingly that “Anthony may not have understood a word I said at halftime.” But Ford acknowledged that he needed that kind of game – that kind of half – from Simpson desperately, that to compete with the better teams in the MAC he needs Simpson to build on that performance, and live up to his “big, strong, athletic body.” And if he does, with the three quality guards we all know about, maybe this Kent group will be good enough to win the Eastern Division this down year in the MAC, maybe even win the MAC Tournament, and in post-season (the NCAA Tournament if they win the conference tourney), just maybe be good enough to give some team from another mid-major conference, one that’s passed the MAC in recent years, a run for its money. At least, that’s Ford’s plan.

A Big East and A-10 Hoops Day with Rocks and Ducks

STORRS, CT – Today’s task was to evaluate Rhode Island’s Ryan Center and UConn’s Gampel Pavilion. In addition, I was hoping to get enough material to write some kind of game story.

It was perfect. Akron, a very good MAC team with a coach that always gives me a good quote, coming in to try to steal a win from a strong Rams team from the A-10. That Mid-Major struggle was the early game.

The night cap was the Huskies taking on Big East foe, Rutgers. Sounds like a simple operation. Take care of the URI/Akron game then drive a little over an hour and knock out the late game.

Holy crap, did that plan go south in a hurry.

First off, the Rhode Island women played before the men and that game moved at the pace of some Post Office workers. The men’s game concluded with the Rams pounding Akron.

After the game I finish writing my evaluation then I stuck around and started to get some post-game comments and finally figured out it would take too long. I needed to get on the road to UConn.

The Rhode Island campus in Kinston is a good 10 miles on two-lane roads from I-95. It took me 20 minutes just to get to the highway and the whole trip is supposed to take 75 minutes.

After reaching I-95, it was a 25 mile drive down to the exit to start the cross country journey to Storrs.

I missed the turn off and it took me about 20 minutes to get turned around. Then it was too dark in my car to read the directions without pulling over to stop under a light, which I did every five minutes.

I finally asked a woman coming out of a gas station where UConn was from where we were. She knew, but explaining it to me in concise way was not something she could do easily.

She said, “Drive down this road until you get to the big rocks and turn right, then follow the signs.”

Of course, I wanted to know how far down it was and she explained she was not very good at miles.

So I asked how about in driving time. She thought for a few moments and said, “Drive for maybe 20 minutes.”

I then inquired as to what these rocks looked like.

“Not rocks, ducks! It is big ducks”

I said ducks and she said it back to me, only it still sounded a little like she was saying rocks.

So I said ducks again and she said something I could not understand but I thought it was either rocks or maybe ducks. I just couldn’t make it out for sure. I thanked her and proceeded to drive looking for some either big rocks or ducks.

After about 18 minutes I spotted a bridge that had big columns with big stone or cement ducks on top of them. So I guess she said ducks.

There was a sign for UConn and I went in the direction the sign was pointing and 10 miles later the campus appeared. I had no idea where the arena was located but I saw a line of cars and I figured it was in that direction.

So I decided to out-flank those cars by driving around the outside of the campus and coming in the back. I got around the back and there was a line of cars and I got in it. After about 10 minutes I inched up to a policeman and asked him where to find my correct parking lot.

In between directing cars he yelled out, “Up the hill and to the right.”

That was about as concise as telling me to turn at the duck or rock.

Thirty minutes later I inched up to Gumpel and there were no policemen, parking lot attendants or anyone that looked official.

There was a huge line of cars turning in next to the arena, so that looked like where I could park. If it was the wrong lot, I felt pretty confident I could talk my way in for free. I have done that earlier today at Rhode Island, at Butler several million times, UNC, NCSU, UGA, Maryland and a bunch more over the years.

But while I still about 150 feet away someone came out with a couple of barrels and closed off that parking area off to the right of the arena. To make it worse, he walked away.

Now there was nobody to talk into letting me park. I drove around outside the perimeter of the campus again and parked on the street about a mile from Gampel Pavilion and started walking toward the general direction of the arena.

I decided to shave some time off by cutting between two dorms. It was like a maze of dorms. I walked toward my right then back toward my left around another building and then right again and finally left around one more building and then I saw a fence.

That maze came to an abrupt end and I never found the cheese. I just walked 300 yards out of my way in 20 degree cold.

I was boiling mad at this point.

I finally got to Gampel and I was on the opposite side of the building from the gate I was supposed to enter. I walked around the whole building able to see inside the seating bowl each time I passed one of the three gates I had to go by before I got to the west gate.

I walked in still hopping mad and a guard told me I couldn’t bring a case into the building and that I should take it out to my car. You know, that car that is over a mile away on the other side of the maze of dorms.

I informed him it was my computer. He wanted to know why I had a computer. I told him so I could write about this crappy campus and piece of crap arena.

He said, “Oh, I thought you were a fan” I let him know that sports writers could be fat pigs too.

When I got in there was about six minutes left in the first half. I waited until half time and set my computer up. It took me one of the media people 15 minutes to figure how to get me logged on the wireless internet.

At this point I am a broken man. I have a lot of words to write and not much game left to do it.

So let’s see what we have here.

The Rams just took apart Akron. Rhode Island shot 55.8 percent (29-52) for the game and 57 percent from beyond the 3-point line (8-14).

Akron shot just 35 percent for the game and not a single Zip scored in double figures. Rhode Island’s strong defense had a lot to do with how poorly Akron played.

In the night cap, Connecticut beat the tar out of Rutgers 80-49. Rutgers shot just 28.8 percent (15-52) for the game UConn was big and fast. When they pulled down a rebound they shot out a quick pass and they were off to the races

Rhode Island against UConn might have been a better game today

And now for the arena comments.

Gampel Pavilion opened in 1989 and it is pretty underwhelming for a school from a Big Six Conference. It is not a dump, it is well kept, it is just the bare minimum in terms of a basketball venue.

It is a cement structure with a walkway around the inside of the seating bowl and that separates the upper seating section from the lower seating section. The upper seats on the ends are plastic bleachers and the rest are plastic chair backs. There is no outer concourse or lobby. In the four corners on the walkway level there are some concession stands that serve food. The score boards are attached to the wall above the seats. They are standard boards with video boards and player stats. I guess they don’t put more money and effort into making it nice because they play a fair number of games every year at the XL Center in Hartford and that is much bigger. The crowds at Gampel are big time. It holds 8000 and 2000 plus each game are screaming students. It is loud and intimidating.

Now Rhode Island built a much nicer arena. Ryan Center opened in 2002 with a thrilling overtime over USC.

It has a lower seating area with padded seats on the sides and upper seating consisting of plastic chairs with a beautiful carpeted concourse that runs under the upper seating section. The seats go up, rather than out, so the sightlines from the top row are great. It seats 7657 and every seat is a chair back.

Rhode island has pretty good parking nearby and they don’t charge to park I don’t think they have a maze of dorms either.

They just need more fans, it was at most, half-filled today.

So that is my East Coast swing for this year. Any day I can get two games in is a good day even with ducks, mazes and traffic jams.

Hey! Shouldn’t there be a cigar in this story?

Mid-American Preview

Mid-American Conference 2008-09 Preview

by Phil Kasiecki

In the Mid-American Conference, multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament remain elusive. Last season, Kent State looked to have the resume to get an at-large bid, but the Golden Flashes won the conference tournament and were the only team to advance. The conference remained well-represented elsewhere, as Akron advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT and Miami received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational.

The end result masks the excellent basketball in this conference year in and year out. One might say it’s an innocent victim of the tendency to judge how good a conference is by the number of NCAA Tournament teams it produces, a questionable basis to be sure. The conference consistently has multiple teams that win over 20 games and picks up some good non-conference wins, but it’s rare that one or two teams dominate and pull away from the pack with the kind of resume that looks like that of an NCAA Tournament team.

As was the case last year, the strength appears to be in the East Division. In this case, the strength isn’t noticeable at the top so much as the bottom, as Bowling Green and Buffalo should be significantly improved, while the bottom teams last year in the West are in rebuilding mode. That could change before long, but for this season at least the East should reign supreme once again.

Three schools have new coaches this season, with two coming as a result of a coach leaving for another head coaching job. Kent State promoted Geno Ford to the top job, succeeding Jim Christian after he left to take over at TCU. Ohio hired John Groce to lead the program after Tim O’Shea took the head coaching job at Bryant University. Toledo fired Stan Joplin after the season, replacing him with former Notre Dame assistant Gene Cross.

Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Al Fisher, Kent State
Top Newcomer: Julian Mavunga, Miami
Defensive Player of the Year: Jonathan Amos, Toledo
Best NBA Prospect: Al Fisher, Kent State

All-MAC Team
Michael Bramos, Sr. G-F, Miami
Al Fisher, Sr. G, Kent State
David Kool, Jr. G, Western Michigan
Carlos Medlock, Sr. G, Eastern Michigan
Jerome Tillman, Sr. F, Ohio

East Division

Kent State Golden Flashes (28-7, 13-3 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Al Fisher (13.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.3 spg)
Sr. G Jordan Mincy (2.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg)
Jr. G Chris Singletary (10.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.9 spg)
Sr. F Rashad Woods (5.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
Jr. F Anthony Simpson (junior college transfer)
Schedule Highlights: Not surprisingly, the Golden Flashes play a challenging non-conference slate, but also include eight home games. Highlighting the home games are Saint Mary’s (return from last year’s BracketBusters) and another BracketBusters game, and they’ll also host UNC Wilmington before traveling south for the remainder of the South Padre Island Invitational. Notable road games include Kansas, Horizon favorite Cleveland State and Temple. In MAC play, they have a stretch where they play five of seven on the road, with Western Michigan by far the toughest game. They get Ball State and Northern Illinois on the road only as inter-division games go.
Outlook: The Golden Flashes may have a new leader in Geno Ford, but this is a solid program and Ford was with the team as an assistant beforehand. Add to that the talent and experience in the backcourt, led by reigning Player of the Year Fisher and mates Mincy and Singletary, and you have the favorite in the conference once again. Woods has never played up to his billing coming out of high school, but has one more chance, and Simpson should anchor the inside. This team isn’t as deep up front with the personnel losses, so repeating their positive rebounding margin may not come easily. But the backcourt experience will help them navigate a tough non-conference schedule and the always challenging conference slate. This is a solid team as part of a solid program, and a coaching change isn’t going to alter that.

Miami RedHawks (17-16, 9-7 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Kenny Hayes (12.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Sr. G-F Eric Pollitz (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Sr. G-F Michael Bramos (16.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.3 spg)
Sr. F-C Tyler Dierkers (6.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg)
Fr. F Julian Mavunga
Schedule Highlights: As is usually the case, the RedHawks’ non-conference schedule features some good challenges. They open in Los Angeles in the 2K Sports Classic with Weber State and could then face UCLA. They also have road games at Pittsburgh, Horizon contender Wright State, Xavier, Temple, West Virginia and Dayton, as well as a BracketBusters game. Only three non-conference games are at home, all in a row: Northwestern State (who they also play on the road), UW-Milwaukee and Valparaiso. Four of their first six MAC games are at home.
Outlook: Although Tim Pollitz is gone, the RedHawks have plenty returning in Charlie Coles’ final season before he calls it a career, and again have recruited well. Bramos will lead the way, with Hayes a good scorer and Eric Pollitz a fine blender as the other guard. Where they’ll miss the elder Pollitz is in the frontcourt, but Dierkers is solid and Mavunga could be the conference’s top freshman. They also have plenty of other bodies up front that are capable, like sophomores Dwight McCombs and Nick Winbush. The frontcourt is the place of most concern since they were out-rebounded last season, while they turned the ball over less than any other MAC team. The RedHawks play good defense and solid basketball, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they are able to close Coles’ career out on a high note.

Bowling Green Falcons (13-17, 7-9 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Joe Jakubowski (7.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.0 apg)
Sr. G-F Darryl Clements (7.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.2 spg)
Sr. F Nate Miller (13.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.5 spg)
So. F Chris Knight (10.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Jr. C Marc Larson (4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Falcons’ non-conference schedule includes six home games, one of which is a BracketBusters game. The most notable of them is against Fordham to close out the non-conference slate. They open with three games in the NABC Classic in Minneapolis, with two tough ones to start in Colonial contender Georgia State and host Minnesota, then later have road dates with Ohio State and Missouri Valley contender Illinois State. Three of the first four MAC games are at home.
Outlook: The Falcons might be the sleeper team in the conference, as Louis Orr has quickly put this team in a position to contend and returns all 10 letterwinners from last season and has a redshirt returning. They are strong up front, with Miller leading a good unit that led the conference in blocked shots last season, led by Larson. Knight had a nice freshman season and looks to be en route to a nice career, and sophomores Otis Polk and Cameron Madlock both have nice potential, especially Madlock as he matures, and they also get back Eric Marschall after he had to redshirt last season. The perimeter is solid and unspectacular, with Jakubowski capably running the show and Clements and senior Brian Moten being the primary scorers on the wing. Moten could start, but had a fine year coming off the bench and thus will likely stay in that role. Though the Falcons led the MAC in blocked shots, they were out-rebounded last season. But their overall defense is good, as they were second in field goal percentage defense. Orr has this program already going in the right direction, and they could be contending as early as this season.

Ohio Bobcats (20-13, 9-7 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Michael Allen (4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 spg)
Fr. G Stacey Waters
Sr. F Justin Orr (6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Sr. F Jerome Tillman (13.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Jr. C Kenneth van Kempen (2.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference slate features five home games and has plenty of challenges. They host Tulsa in early December, then close out the non-conference slate with three straight at home that includes Patriot League stalwarts Holy Cross and Bucknell. Road games include early ones at Ohio Valley contender Austin Peay and George Mason, three games in the Marques Maybin Classic at Louisville, Xavier, Colonial contender Delaware, and rapidly improving Marshall. The Bobcats will also go on the road for a BracketBusters game.
Outlook: After Tim O’Shea left to return to New England, the Bobcats hired John Groce, who had been ticketed for a head coaching job for a few years. He’ll inherit a tem with some good veterans and incoming talent, although a clear complement to Tillman doesn’t exist right away. Tillman will anchor the inside alongside van Kempen, who has shown promise in his first two seasons, and Orr is athletic and could break out to be the primary complement offensively. Allen very capably runs the show, while Waters is a solid shooter with an improved game off the dribble. Freshmen Steven Coleman and Frankie Dobbs could also see minutes there, as could holdover Tommy Freeman. With the departure of Leon Williams, they’ll be hard-pressed to post the second-best rebounding margin in the conference again, so it’ll be up to the guards to improve and grow up fast.

Akron Zips (24-11, 11-5 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Steve McNees (5.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.8 apg)
So. G Darryl Roberts (3.9 ppg)
Sr. F Nate Linhart (8.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.6 spg)
Jr. F Chris McKnight (6.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
So. C Mike Bardo (1.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Zips play six home games in non-conference play, opening with Canisius and Big South favorite Winthrop. They also host a game in the Legends Classic after opening at Pittsburgh, and later host Dayton. Other highlights of the slate include road games with MAAC contender Niagara, Colonial favorite VCU and Rhode Island, as well as a BracketBusters game. MAC play opens with three of four on the road, but a stretch with three of four at home immediately follows. They also got a break in inter-division games, getting Western Michigan and Central Michigan both at home only.
Outlook: The Zips appear to be in for a rebuilding year, but they have some players to start rebuilding around and a deep class of freshmen that they will have to tap into right away. Linhart is one of just two seniors on this team, and he’ll help lead a team that may start three sophomores. McNees and Roberts are the most experienced guards on the roster and could be pushed by four freshmen, especially point guard Anthony Hitchens. Chris McKnight and brother Brett will see time alongside Linhart, and Bardo will need to contribute more with increased minutes or give way to freshman Steve Swiech. Only two teams turned the ball over less than the Zips last season, something which they would do well to repeat if they want to keep up the good run they have going.

Buffalo Bulls (10-20, 3-13 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Byron Mulkey (6.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.4 apg)
Sr. G Andy Robinson (13.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.8 spg)
Sr. G-F Greg Gamble (8.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.4 spg)
So. F Jawaan Alston (3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
Sr. C Vadim Fedotov (5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg in 14 games)
Schedule Highlights: All five of the Bulls’ non-conference home games come right in a row at the end of November and start of December. Included are games with MAAC contender Niagara, Temple and Connecticut. The Bulls will hit the road for games at MAAC favorite Siena, a BracketBusters game, and three games in the Rainbow Classic. MAC play starts with four of six on the road, with the two home games being tough ones against Ohio and Kent State.
Outlook: The Bulls have more experience this time around and five starters returning, but still plenty of questions up front. The perimeter is fine, although Robinson was suspended during the off-season after posting a message on social networking site Facebook offering to pay someone to read a book and write a paper on questions that were assigned with it. Gamble is a solid do-everything wing and Mulkey is a capable floor leader. There is good depth, with junior Calvin Betts the first player off the bench and classmates Sean Smiley and Rodney Pierce in the mix as well. Betts could start for some teams in this conference. Alston played well at the end of last season, and the hope is that he carries it into this season. Fedotov will be coming back from a torn ACL and Kambi Laleye has shown some promise, but newcomers Mitchell Watt and Titus Robinson could push both. The Bulls led the conference in scoring last season, but did so while shooting just over 41 percent from the field, worse than all but two MAC teams. That negated the impact of forcing more turnovers than all but one team, although they also gave the ball back often. Improved efficiency at the offensive end will go a long way towards moving up in the standings.

West Division

Western Michigan Broncos (20-12, 12-4 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G David Kool (16.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Sr. G Shawntes Gary (8.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Sr. G Michael Redell (4.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.6 apg)
Fr. F Flenard Whitfield
Jr. C Donald Lawson (2.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: Six home games are on tap in non-conference play, including a BracketBusters game. The Broncos will open the season in the Charleston Classic against TCU, then either Clemson or Hofstra in the second of three games. The toughest road games will be at VCU, UNLV and Southern Illinois. In inter-division MAC games, they get Kent State and Ohio at home only, but will have to travel to Oxford for the lone meeting with Miami.
Outlook: With the departure of Joe Reitz and complement Andrew Hershberger, the Broncos figure to be much more perimeter-oriented this season. That should suit them fine since they return an excellent duo in Kool and Gary, with a good complement in floor leader Redell. There’s good depth as well with Andre Ricks as the main holdover and a couple of freshmen who could get some minutes. Whitfield looks to be the best freshman, and he along with Muhammed Conteh could get a lot of minutes right away. Lawson is the main holdover up front and has a chance to be a good inside presence, which is the main thing they will need with the offense the guards will supply. There is additional size among the newcomers with 6’11″ LaMarcus Lowe and seven-footer Luke Adaline. The Broncos led the conference in field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin last season, and repeating the latter is likely to be a challenge. More importantly, they will need to cut down on turnovers after having 117 more of those than assists last season. The division isn’t very strong, so it should be theirs to lose barring a series of injuries and/or off-court issues this season.

Central Michigan Chippewas (14-17, 8-8 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Robbie Harman (5.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.2 spg)
So. G Jeremy Allen (7.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 spg)
Jr. G Jordan Bitzer (8.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.6 spg)
Sr. F Chris Kellerman (7.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Fr. F Zach Saylor
Schedule Highlights: The Chippewas have six home games in their non-conference schedule, plus a game against Robert Morris at The Palace in Auburn Hills. The most notable home games are against Horizon contender Wright State, Missouri Valley contender Illinois State, and a BracketBusters game. They also have an unusual exhibition game on January 5 against Northwood. The Chippewas will hit the road to take on Marquette and Kentucky. After opening MAC play at home against Western Michigan, the slate gets very tough: five of the next seven are on the road. They could get off to a tough start to rebound from, even though they have five of the next seven MAC games are at home (the BracketBusters game is mixed in).
Outlook: Expectations were very high for the Chippewas last season, and they never lived up to them. But Ernie Ziegler has the program on a course of improvement, and though Giordan Watson isn’t a small loss, there is some good talent still around. The question on the perimeter is who becomes a floor leader, as Allen and Bitzer can score while Harman was a good reserve that will have to adjust to playing more. Kellerman leads a frontcourt that has a good addition in Saylor, who might now get to start since senior Marcus Van was thrown off the team in late October for a violation of team rules. The Chippewas were one of the worst defensive teams last season despite forcing the most turnovers in the MAC, and they were also out-rebounded.

Eastern Michigan Eagles (14-17, 8-8 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Carlos Medlock (14.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.1 spg)
Sr. G Tyler Jones (4.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Sr. F Wendale Farrow (3.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
So. F Brandon Bowdry (redshirt)
Jr. F Justin Dobbins (10.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Eagles will play six non-conference home games, highlighted by a visit from Atlantic 10 contender Temple and a BracketBusters game. Early on, they will play two games in Purdue in the NIT Season Tip-Off, starting with the Boilermakers, then later head to Michigan and Illinois. MAC play begins with two at home, but with inter-division games they didn’t get help in having to play Kent State and Ohio on the road only.
Outlook: Although the Eagles return three starters, they may not have enough complementing Medlock to seriously contend. Medlock is one of the conference’s top players, as he carried the team often last year. Dobbins is a fine complement, but after that the pickings get slimmer. Farrow is the only other returning starter and should be a little better after adjusting from junior college. If Jones can’t hold down the other guard spot, freshman Danny Barnes could grab it instead. Some defensive improvement would certainly help, as just three MAC teams forced fewer turnovers and the Eagles also allowed opponents to shoot over 36 percent from long range last season.

Toledo Rockets (11-19, 7-8 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Jonathan Amos (12.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.6 spg)
Sr. G Ridley Johnson (8.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
Sr. G Anthony Byrd (4.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Sr. G-F Tyrone Kent (16.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.8 spg)
So. F Mohamed Lo (1.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Rockets play five home games in their non-conference schedule, highlighted by visits from three Atlantic 10 schools (UMass, Dayton and Rhode Island) and Houston. They open the season at Florida in the CBE Classic, which then takes them to Miami for three more games after a trip to Cincinnati to play Xavier. They’ll also hit the road to take on America East contender UMBC, Horizon contender Wright State and Colonial contender Delaware, as well as a BracketBusters game.
Outlook: New head coach Gene Cross won’t be starting from scratch with this crew, as he inherits a team with four senior starters and all are on the perimeter. Leading the way is Kent, a solid scorer who isn’t selfish, and Amos can run the show and tied for seventh in the nation in steals last season. Johnson is a steady player and always a threat from long range, and Byrd is the complement to the other three. For good measure, their best freshman is a guard in Stephen Albrecht. But where they may need a freshman or two to help is up front, as sophomores Lo and Justin Anyijong didn’t do much last season, although Anyijong mainly needs to gain strength. Zac Taylor and Ian Salter could push both of them, especially since each offers more size. There are several areas for improvement, and a couple won’t come easily as they had the worst rebounding margin and have much of last season’s team back that lacks proven size, and they were also last in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.

Ball State Cardinals (6-24, 5-11 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Brandon Lampley (4.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Sr. G Rob Giles (2.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
So. F Malik Perry (6.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Sr. F Anthony Newell (16.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Fr. F Jarrod Jones
Schedule Highlights: Eight home games are on tap in non-conference play, highlighted by visits from Purdue and Saint Joseph’s, as well as a BracketBusters game. The toughest road games will be at Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and UC Santa Barbara doesn’t figure to be a cakewalk as well. In MAC inter-division games, they get Kent State and Ohio at home only and Miami and Akron on the road.
Outlook: After the bad ending to the Ronny Thompson era, most figured Billy Taylor’s first season in Muncie would be a very difficult one, and the record just about matched expectations. This season won’t be much better, but there are some building blocks in Perry and Jones to start with. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if a couple of newcomers, Maurice Hubbard and Randy Davis, grab a lot of minutes or even start in the backcourt. Newell joins Perry in the frontcourt and should anchor the front line, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were to lead the conference in scoring or rebounding. Only Toledo shot the ball worse or was out-rebounded by a wider margin than the Cardinals last season, so there are a couple of areas for a lot of improvement. To their credit, the Cardinals turned the ball over less than all but one MAC team last season, and if they do that again they will get plenty of chance to shoot the ball better.

Northern Illinois Huskies (6-22, 3-12 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Michael Patton (6.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
So. G Darion Anderson (12.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Fr. G-F Dominique Johnson
Fr. F Tyler Storm
So. C Sean Kowal (transfer from Colorado)
Schedule Highlights: With just three home games on tap in non-conference play, the Huskies will be on the road often. They open in the 100 Club Classic, hosted by Kennesaw State, then close November in the Great Alaska Shootout. The big game in December is a visit to Air Force. Three of the first five MAC games are at home, and the inter-division games are basically a wash as they get Kent State and Akron at home only and Ohio and Miami only on the road.
Outlook: Ricardo Patton’s second season should bring some improvement, but it probably won’t come quickly since the Huskies figure to play newcomers heavily. Anderson and Patton were thrown into the fire last season, and that should help them now that they have a year under their belts. Johnson and Storm are solid additions, the latter being a nice face-up forward with a good touch from long range that can lead to some matchup problems. Kowal is the team’s tallest player and gives them a much-needed injection of size, as no one else is taller than 6’8″. With so many newcomers slated to play a lot of minutes, it’s tough to figure out how this team will look later in the season and at the end, although it’s not a bad bet that the number of wins will be in single digits once again.

Conference Outlook

Although the conference is sure to be quite competitive as usual, with no clear favorites, there is a pattern emerging. Kent State has become a contender every year, as has Western Michigan in the West Division, and one could also put Miami and Ohio in that category as well. The Golden Flashes and Broncos are favored in their divisions again, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Miami came out on top. Bowling Green is the sleeper, and Akron could surprise if their young talent comes around in time. As has been the case for a while, the East looks to be better than the West, although Central Michigan’s improvement and Toledo hiring Gene Cross, who can recruit the Midwest very well, could have the West challenging the East before long.

MAC Tournament Semifinals

MAC Semifinals

by Bill Kintner

CLEVELAND – For second time in two days Akron has exacted some revenge against a team that beat them earlier in the season.

Tonight it was Western Michigan that felt the revenge wrath of the Zips as they fell to Akron 73-62.

In a game where Akron (23-9) consistently led and led by double digits starting at the end of the first half, it came down to the Zips’ strong shooting performance. Akron shot a blazing 58.7 percent (27-46) from the field versus 44.7 percent (21-47) for Western Michigan (20-12).

“I think we were able to shoot the ball well. One of the things coach emphasized was sharing the ball. I feel we didn’t run as many plays as we have because we were able to pass the ball around,” said Akron’s Chris Knight.

Akron coach Keith Dambrot thought his team turned up the intensity to pull out the win.

“We matched their intensity,” Dambrot said with a smile after the game.

Another key for the Zips was containing Western Michigan’s David Kool, who scored 24 points in yesterday’s win against Eastern Michigan. Akron managed to hold him under 50 percent (6-13) for the game, although he still got 17 points.

“We used a variety of people (on Kool), mostly (Nate) Linhart, who is very long. I thought the length bothered him,” explained Dambrot. “He gets a lot of points around the rim and at the line. I think Linhart gave him a little more trouble than he’s used to.”

The game started out with Akron’s Cedrick Middleton hitting a three-pointer at the 19:37 mark and the Zips never trailed in the game. Akron finally pushed the lead out to double digits at the 6:32 mark when Chris Mc Knight put in a layup to make it 25-15.

By the half Akron pushed their lead to 13 points at 37-24.

In the second half, the Broncos didn’t cut Akron’s lead to single digits until the 1:31 mark when Kool hit a three-pointer to make it 67-59. The Zips pushed the lead back to 11 by the end of the game at 73-62.

“They shot lights out. It was just too much for us to overcome,” said Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins. “We showed a lot of fight in the second half, but every time we came back they hit big shots.”

Miami/Kent State

Does history repeat itself? Miami attempted to answer that question in the semifinals against Kent State.

With 2 seconds left Miami inbounded the ball in front of their bench and got the ball to their ace, Tim Pollitz. He got it in the lane, about five feet from the basket, twisted, shot it and it bounced off the rim, and Kent State held on 49-47.

It was just a year ago that Doug Penno hit the game-winner against Akron as time expired to punch Miami’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

But tonight it was not to be for Miami.

With 34 seconds remaining in the game Miami’s Kenny Hayes put in a layup to tie the game 47-47.

After a Kent State (27-6) timeout, they began working the ball around the perimeter and they finally got it to Al Fisher. He drove down the lane, spun to his right and shot a floater over the out-stretched hand of Tyler Dierkers to put Kent State up 49-47 and that was stake the landed in Miami’s heart.

Fisher said he just was looking to get any shot when he got the game winner.

“We were just looking to get a shot up,” said the junior guard. “It’s easier when your coach and teammates have a lot of trust in you. It takes off a lot of the pressure.”

Miami actually out-shot Kent State 42.2 percent (19-45) to 35.8 percent (19-53) but Kent State coach Jim Christian thought it was experience and maintaining intensity that did the trick.

“We’ve been in many of these situations before. We’ve won many close games,” he said. “There is something to be said of the will to win. You have to be intense the whole time.”

Miami (17-15) scored the first basket a little over two minutes into the game on a layup by Hayes to go up 2-0. Aside from a brief one-point lead a little over two minutes later, Kent State led the whole first half and went into halftime up 25-23.

The second half was more back and forth with the biggest lead being four by the Golden Flashes at the 4:25 mark on a jumper by Rodriquez Sherman. The game was tied 12 times and there were nine lead changes.

A tired acting Miami coach Jermaine Henderson thought his team played hard and just came up short.

“I think we played hard and left it all out there,” he said after the game. The right guy got a shot off but it came up a little short.”

Notes

• I mentioned yesterday that Keith Dambrot is a great coach; he is also entertaining to watch during the game. His favorite position on the sidelines is bent over with his hands on his knees; with his tie hanging down like an outfielder waiting for the pitch to be delivered. Sometimes he runs the length of the bench clapping his hands. Bottom line, if you take a look over at the Akron bench there is a good chance Drambot will entertain you.
• Yesterday I ranked Ohio’s dance team as the best looking team in the MAC. Upon further review I would rank Western Michigan’s as number two and Akron’s as number three. There you have it, the MAC Hot Dance Team rankings.
• Former Miami great and current Cleveland Cavalier Wally Szczerbiak was in attendance for the Miami/Kent State game, sitting in the front row across from the Miami bench.
• The clock crew has had a tough tournament. They have consistently screwed up starting and stopping the clock at the proper time. I hope this is not the crew that works the clock for the Cavaliers’ games.

MAC Finals Recap

MAC Final Recap

by Bill Kintner

CLEVELAND – It came down to two nearby rivals and a packed Quicken Loans Arena in the Mid-American Conference Championship, but in the end the No. I seed pounded the No. 3 seed as Kent State cruised by Akron 74-55.

Kent State (28-6) was the dominant team in the MAC this year and the Golden Flashes dominated Akron by almost every measure.

They out-shot Akron (23-10) from the field 50.9 percent (27-53) to 30.8 percent (18-52) and from the foul line 88.9 percent (16-18) to 54.3 percent (18-33). Both teams shot poorly from three-point land, but the Golden Flashes won that one, too, 33 percent (4-12) to 27.7 percent (5-22). Kent State also out-rebounded the Zips 36-27.

This year Kent State won the East Division title, they had the player of the year, the coach of the year and the best defensive player, Haminn Quaintance, who was chosen tournament MVP. Tonight he scored 16 points, pulled down six rebounds and had a blocked shot.

Kent State has an RPI of 21 and most likely would have been in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happened tonight. This game was probably for seeding purposes and the Golden Flashes made their case in convincing fashion.

For the second straight year, the Zips saw their Big Dance dreams shattered as they again lost in the championship game. Last year it was a buzzer-beater by Miami’s Doug Penno that sunk them.

It was a relatively tight game until Akron hit a dry spell toward the end of the first half that allowed Kent State to close out the first half on a 16-1 run that sent the Zips into the locker room at halftime down 13 points at 33-20.

In fact, a dry spell is putting it mildly. Akron went the final 7:46 without scoring, missing their last nine shots and three free throws to end the half.

Akron coach Keith Dambrot thought that his team’s poor shooting hurt them at the other end of the court.

“I think our offensive performance affected our defense,” said Dambrot. “I think we got inside on them better than we ever have. We got it at point-blank range, we just couldn’t make it, which is difficult.”

“We just wanted to put pressure on the ball and give them a hard time getting into their offensive sets. We wanted them to chance what they wanted to do,” explained Kent State guard Al Fisher.

In the second half Akron did make a run, cutting the Kent State lead to 10 points at 51-41 at the 8:20 mark on a basket by Nate Linhart. Kent State’s Mike Scott responded by making a jump shot. Right after that he was intentionally fouled on a steal play. He sunk both foul shots.

Then Kent State’s Chris Singletary converted a three-point play, but was knocked down after making the final foul shot by Linhart who backed into him.

Kent State coach Jim Christian had some choice words for Linhart after everyone got untangled.

“Singletary is a key person for us when putting pressure on the ball because he is so strong. That was a key for us to have an option like him to go to,” said Christian.

When the final horn sounded, Fisher, the MAC Player of the Year, provided an exclamation point on a good night by doing a back flip in front of the Kent State bench.

Notes

• LeBron James of the Cavaliers and Akron’s most famous native son was in attendance for tonight’s game.
• Tonight’s meeting was the 125th meeting between the two programs. Kent leads the all-time series 65-60. Akron won last year’s three games and Kent won this year’s three games.
• This is the seventh time in the past 11 years that Kent has played in the MAC Championship game. Kent has won five of those seven games.
• The all-tournament team:
  Joe Reitz, Western Michigan
  Jeremiah Wood, Akron
  Al Fisher, Kent State
  Mike Scott, Kent State
  Haminn Quaintance, Kent State

MAC Tournament Quarterfinals

MAC Tournament Quarterfinal Notes

by Bill Kintner

CLEVELAND – With four games today I am just going to get the highlights of the quarterfinal games and try to give fans a flavor for what is going.

Game One

Led by David Kool’s 24 points No. 2 seed Western Michigan (20-11) beat No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan (14-17). In a game that Eastern Michigan never led, they did make it interesting when at the 10:34 mark they tied the game at 34-34 on two Jarrad Axon foul shots, but that was a fleeting moment of joy as the Broncos closed it out to end Eastern Michigan’s season.

Favorite quote:

“We weren’t talking well on defense and they are a great shooting team. With this being their first game of the tournament, we knew they were going to be pumped up and ready to go and we did not match their intensity and that hurt us in the long run.”
-EMU guard Travis Lewis.

• This is WMU’s first trip to the semifinals since 2005.
• WMU leads the all-time series with EMU 49-44.
• Western Michigan plays Akron at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Two

Akron, the No. 3 seed stayed true to form and whipped up on the No. 6 seed Central Michigan 81-60. This game was close for the first 23 minutes before the Zips opened up a double-digit lead at the 16:42 mark. Akron’s Jeremiah Wood led all scorers with 17 points. Akron (22-9) shot 56 percent (28-50) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-17) from beyond the three-point line. Central Michigan (14-17) shot just 34.5 percent (20-58).

Favorite quote:

“Today it was, ‘I just want to play basketball.’ Whatever I could do I wanted to do. We are in the part of the season where every game can be your last and I just wanted to leave everything out there.”
-You thought the quote was going to be Akron coach Keith Dambrot and nine times out of 10 it usually is, just not today.

• Akron leads the all-time series with CMU 23-13.
• Akron plays Western Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Three

No. 1 seed Kent State pounded No. 8 seed Toledo into submission 77-54. The first half was relatively close, with Toledo (11-19) getting their biggest lead at three at 7-4 at the 16:42 mark. At halftime Kent State (26-6) led 39-29. In the second Kent just enlarged their lead as they were led by Mike Scott’s 23 points.

Favorite Quote:

“On the court we do not think we should get any fouls. The officials made a few calls we did not necessarily agree with and the calls gave us a disadvantage and took away from us being aggressive.”
-Toledo forward Jerrah Young.

• Kent State had a nice crowd at the game and they made a lot of noise.
• Toledo leads the all-time series with Kent 78-41.
• Kent State plays Miami at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Game Four

It was a typical Miami (Ohio) game that No. 5 seed Miami pulled out over No. 4 seed Ohio 74-61. The game was a lot tighter than the score indicates. Miami (17-14) was led by Michael Bramos’ 23 points, and after getting pounded on the boards by 19 in their last game, the RedHawks out-rebounded the Bobcats 42-31. With 2:10 left it was still a close game with Miami clinging to a four point lead at 63-59. Ohio would score just one more basketball in the game.

Favorite quote:

“I think we won with our guards and we got solid contributions from everybody on the boards. Last night we got out-rebounded by 19, so to come back tonight and go plus-11 was a big thing.”
Miami forward Tyler Dierkers

• Ohio leads the all-time series with Miami 93-88.
• Miami plays Kent State Friday at 9:30 p.m.

MAC Notes

• Miami has a four-man broadcast team, which is by far the biggest in the MAC. Steve Baker delivers the play-by-play, Joe Berry adds the color, Tim Bray gives sideline updates and Tommy Leugers engineers the whole deal. Some MAC schools simply have one guy that does all four jobs.
• And yes, Tim Bray actually does something besides carry Steve Baker’s luggage. At 1:30 p.m. today he was in the media room hard at work doing research for tonight’s game Miami/Ohio University game. Tommy Leugers calls him “Tidbit Tim” for all the great research he does that provides his reports. I would put that broadcast team up against any from the BCS programs.
• They are playing the woman’s tourney here at the same time as the regular tourney, so it makes for a lot of downtime especially on Friday and Saturday for the fans and writers.
• Akron coach Keith Dambrot is one of the best quotes in college coaching. After I finished interviewing him, he looked at my rather large stature and told me to come up to Akron to take a look at his program and he would take me to one of the best restaurants ever. That may just cost him a boatload of money someday. He also is not very PC, which makes for a better interview.
• Ohio University has the best looking dance in the MAC.
• Miami’s coach Charlie Coles is not with the team. He had a heart procedure performed in a local hospital and there is no word as to when he might return. Assistant coach Jermaine Henderson is coaching the team for the remainder of the season.

Mid-American Preview

Mid-American Conference 2007-08 Preview

by Phil Kasiecki

The Mid-American Conference remains one of the most notable mid-major conferences in America. Year in and year out, the conference is marked by tough competition all the way through and high-quality basketball, with several teams standing out. In an era where conference success is often judged by the number of teams in the NCAA Tournament and in overall postseason play, this quality tends to get lost in the discussion.

The MAC is an interesting departure from the rest of college basketball in that it looks like it is a frontcourt-dominated conference. College basketball is about guards to a large degree, but a number of the best players in the MAC play up front. Four of the five preseason All-MAC selections here are frontcourt players, and a number of others who would make a second team if we did one play up front. That’s one reason why a couple of teams are surely hoping that new recruits in the frontcourt are able to contribute right away.

Both divisions offer something. The East Division looks to be deeper, as defending champion Miami (Ohio) looks to be the favorite and Akron may not be far behind, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Kent State or Ohio emerged as the division winner and Bowling Green should knock off a contender or two along the way. The West Division, meanwhile, has arguably the two best teams in Western Michigan and Central Michigan, although Toledo isn’t too far behind despite several key personnel losses.

Three schools have new head coaches this season, although one was the most noteworthy in the off-season. The new coaches that grabbed the least attention are new Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr, who was previously the head coach at Seton Hall, and new Northern Illinois head coach Ricardo Patton, who was the head coach at Colorado until last season. Although they didn’t get most of the publicity, they are noteworthy in that they were previously head coaches at BCS conference schools. The most noteworthy change came from the resignation of Ronny Thompson at Ball State after one season and multiple NCAA rules violations. He is succeeded by former Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor.

Preseason Awards
Player of the Year: Giordan Watson, Central Michigan
Top Newcomer: Nate Minnoy, Central Michigan
Top Freshman: Dwight McCombs, Miami (Ohio)
Defensive Player of the Year: Kashif Payne, Toledo
Coach on the Hot Seat: Tim O’Shea, Ohio
Best NBA Prospect: Giordan Watson, Central Michigan

All-MAC Team
Tim Pollitz, Sr. F, Miami (Ohio)
Joe Reitz, Sr. C, Western Michigan
Giordan Watson, Sr. G, Central Michigan
Leon Williams, Sr. F, Ohio
Jeremiah Wood, Sr. F, Akron

East Division

Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (18-15, 10-6 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Alex Moosmann (4.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Jr. G-F Michael Bramos (11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 bpg, 1.4 spg)
Sr. F Tim Pollitz (16.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.7 apg)
Jr. F Tyler Dierkers (2.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Fr. F Dwight McCombs
Schedule Highlights: The RedHawks will certainly be challenged in a non-conference slate that includes four home games. They open at home with Xavier, then later host Dayton and Indiana State. After the opener, they head west to play in the Anaheim Classic against South Alabama, then either USC or San Diego. Other challenging road games include Louisville, Wright State, Illinois, Kansas and Cincinnati, along with a BracketBusters game. MAC play starts with tough road games at Akron and Ohio.
Outlook: The RedHawks came alive in the MAC Tournament last year behind Pollitz, and he’s back to lead them once again. The inside-outside combination he forms with Bramos will be an excellent one, and Moosmann showed plenty of promise as a floor leader last season. Moosmann will have a little help behind him with Carl Richburg now healthy and newcomers like junior college transfer Kenny Hayes and freshman Rodney Haddix. The best of a talented freshman group is McCombs, who should start immediately and should give them some defense and rebounding, which is primarily what they will need from him right now. Dierkers, sophomore Adam Fletcher and freshman Nick Winbush will also see time in the frontcourt. The RedHawks won with their defense last season, and expect that to be their path to success this season as well. McCombs and the more mature frontcourt should also improve on the team’s negative rebounding margin, which will aid the defense.

Akron Zips (26-7, 13-3 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Cedric Middleton (11.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg)
Sr. G Nick Dials (10.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.5 spg)
Sr. F Jeremiah Wood (10.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.7 apg)
Sr. F Quade Milum (6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Jr. F Nate Linhart (5.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg)
Schedule Highlights: Eight home games are on tap in non-conference play, including two three-game stretches and an appearance in the BracketBusters. After opening in the Top of the World Classic, the Zips come home for three straight, including Temple and Wyoming. Their road games are all noteworthy, as they play at Winthrop, Ohio Valley contender Austin Peay and Dayton. In MAC play, they have a chance to get off to a good start with three of their first four at home. Prior to the BracketBusters game, they will play four of five on the road. In terms of West Division opponents, they make out just okay: they get Western Michigan and Central Michigan on the road and Toledo at home.
Outlook: The Zips had a legitimate gripe after being left out of the NIT despite 26 wins last season. Although they lost key players Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis, they return a team with seven seniors and two juniors that should be in contention once again. Middleton and Dials are good offensive threats, although both will need to show some floor leadership as well with Joyce’s departure. Freshmen Steve McNees and Ronnie Steward will get a chance at the job as well. Wood will lead the way inside, with Milum the most likely candidate to join him and Linhart in a front line that doesn’t have great size but will be effective. Sophomore Chris McKnight should also figure into the mix. The Zips led the MAC in scoring and field goal percentage last season, as well as field goal percentage defense, all of which they can certainly duplicate this season. With Joyce’s departure, turning it over less than anyone else will be tougher to repeat, but it will be essential.

Kent State Golden Flashes (21-11, 12-4 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Jordan Mincy (3.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 3.6 apg)
So. G Chris Singletary (6.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Jr. F Rashad Woods (junior college transfer)
Sr. F Mike Scott (9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Sr. F Haminn Quaintance (8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 bpg, 1.7 spg)
Schedule Highlights: The Golden Flashes did quite well here, getting eight non-conference home games, including hosting two games as part of the Chicago Invitational. The home dates include MEAC contender Hampton, Saint Louis, Colonial favorite George Mason and Southland contender Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Notable road games are in Chicago against Xavier and either Indiana or Illinois State in the Chicago Invitational, at North Carolina, and a BracketBusters game. In MAC play, mid-January will pose a test as they take on Miami (Ohio) and Ohio on the road, then come home for Akron and Western Michigan.
Outlook: If you look solely at numbers, one might wonder how the Golden Flashes project to be a contender in the division or to win close to or over 20 games again. They have five starters back, though none averaged double figures in scoring, but they’ll also get a good talent boost from newcomers. Although they lose Omni Smith and Armon Gates, the two combined to start 29 games, so they return plenty of experience. Mincy and Singletary will anchor the backcourt, with Mincy posting a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio last season. He’ll be backed up by junior college transfer Al Fisher, who started his college career at Siena and can put up points as well. Rodriquez Sherman returns, but Woods, who started his college career at DePaul, figures to move him out of the starting lineup. Scott and Quaintance form a nice frontcourt, with Scott doing things other than scoring to help a team win and Quaintance being capable of impacting a game in several ways. Junior college transfer Gabe Garcia and sophomore Brandon Parks give this team more size inside. The Golden Flashes don’t do any one thing exceedingly well, but they didn’t have a glaring weakness last season, either. Should they repeat that, look for them to contend in the East once again.

Ohio Bobcats (19-13, 9-7 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Michael Allen (junior college transfer)
Sr. G Bubba Walther (12.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 spg)
Jr. F Justin Orr (transfer from Murray State)
Jr. F Jerome Tillman (14.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Sr. F Leon Williams (14.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.0 spg)
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference schedule has its share of tough games, with five coming at home including a BracketBusters game. They open the season with two tough ones at home against WAC favorite New Mexico State and Ivy League contender Cornell. Then they go on the road to play at Patriot League favorite Holy Cross and Temple, then later head to Maryland and Kansas right before the Rainbow Classic, where they open with St. John’s. They finish up at Bucknell. They got a break in the MAC schedule in terms of who they play from the West, as they get Western Michigan and Central Michigan at home only. Early on, they have a tough three-game stretch with Miami (Ohio) and Kent State at home sandwiched around a game at Akron.
Outlook: The Bobcats have plenty of talent and enough veterans to take home the title, making them a good dark horse pick. The starting lineup looks excellent, with Tillman and Williams forming the top frontcourt duo in the conference as both do solid work inside and out. Add Orr to them and you get a frontcourt unit that should be second to none, especially since there is some depth with sophomore Kenneth van Kempen and freshmen DeVaughn Washington, Maurice Pearson and Zack Nagtzaam. The question mark on the perimeter isn’t off the ball, where Walther and junior Andrew Vroman hold down the fort. Instead, it’s at the point, where a couple of unexpected departures make Allen the likely starter, although Bert Whittington has a chance as well and could see some minutes off the ball since he can shoot from long range. The Bobcats should approach the 20-win mark again at the very least, and if the point guard spot can be resolved, this team could find its way to the top of the division before the season is out.

Bowling Green Falcons (13-18, 3-13 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Ryan Sims (2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Sr. G Ryne Hamblet (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 spg)
Jr. F Nate Miller (14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 spg)
Jr. F Dusan Radivojevic (3.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Jr. F Erik Marschall (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
Schedule Highlights: Five home games are on tap in non-conference play, highlighted by Temple, Illinois State and Duquesne. The Falcons open against Western Carolina and Belmont in the Peggy Cronin Classic in Cincinnati, then take on Cincinnati there in a separate game. Other notable road games include Summit League contender Oakland and a BracketBusters road game. In MAC play, four of the first six games are at home.
Outlook: The cupboard isn’t bare for new head coach Louis Orr, but Hamblet is the only senior and they might be a year away from contention in this strong division. With Miller and Hamblet, there aren’t any concerns on the wing, with Hamblet being a big intangible player who will have to help with ball-handling duties. Sims is the incumbent, but he’s inexperienced and will get a trial by fire if he starts there. Inside, there are fewer questions but still some to be answered beyond Marschall and Radivojevic. One area there that isn’t a concern is a lack of size, as sophomores Otis Polk and Marc Larson each stand 6’9″ and freshman Cameron Madlock is 6’8″. The Falcons tied for the worst rebounding margin in the conference last season.

Buffalo Bulls (12-19, 4-12 MAC)
Projected Starters:
So. G Byron Mulkey (9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.1 apg in 11 games)
Jr. G Andy Robinson (10.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 spg)
Jr. G-F Greg Gamble (6.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg)
So. F Max Boudreau (2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
Jr. F-C Vadim Fedotov (3.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Bulls will be in two in-season tournaments in non-conference play, opening at Connecticut in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic and later heading to El Paso for the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament, where they will play Wyoming in the opener. South Florida and Tulane are the highlights of five home games, which include a BracketBusters game in February. Pittsburgh is the most notable road opponent. In MAC play, three of the first four games are on the road, with the only home game in that stretch being Akron. Later, they have four straight at home prior to the BracketBusters game.
Outlook: With just one senior on the roster, the Bulls look to be a year away from being contenders again. They have some talent on the perimeter, with Mulkey emerging late last season and now looking like their floor leader of the future. Robinson and Gamble are good scorers, with Gamble capable of joining his teammate in double-digit scoring. The frontcourt, a strength last season when they had the best rebounding margin in the MAC, has been hit hard by graduation. The Bulls have plenty of size and no shortage of bodies, but they haven’t played well and that’s the biggest question mark for this team. Fedotov is their best holdover there and didn’t do much last season, while the so-so play of Boudreau and Kambi Laleye might have been freshmen adjusting to college. If the holdovers don’t get better, junior college transfer Brian Addison and freshman Jawaan Alston, both of whom stand 6’8″, may grab their minutes. The Bulls struggled to score last season in making just 41 percent of their shots, but the bigger issues are on defense as opponents shot over 46 percent from the field against them.

West Division

Western Michigan Broncos (16-16, 9-7 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Michael Redell (8.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.4 apg)
Jr. G Shawntes Gary (10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg)
So. G David Kool (11.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.2 spg)
Sr. G-F Derek Fracalossi (5.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Sr. C Joe Reitz (13.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The non-conference slate opens up with Pacific, Pepperdine and host Oregon at the World Vision Invitational. Four home games are on tap, including Southern Conference favorite Davidson, Northwestern and Southern Illinois. A couple of notable road games include San Diego State and likely Summit League favorite IUPUI, and they also have a road game in BracketBusters. In February, they have a tough three-game stretch with Akron, Ohio and Miami (Ohio), but only Ohio is on the road.
Outlook: The Broncos have a terrific perimeter unit and excellent class balance that make them the team to beat coming into the season. They also boast good experience with a starting lineup of upperclassmen and a sophomore who started last season in Kool, who should be the go-to scorer on the perimeter while Redell runs the show and Gary plays the complementary role. Juniors Andre Ricks and Derek Drews provide depth, and the lone newcomer, junior college transfer Juston Hairston, should also figure into the mix backing up Fracalossi. Reitz had his appendix removed during the summer but should be ready for the season, while senior Andrew Hershberger could grab the starting job alongside Reitz. Sophomores Jon Workman and Donald Lawson showed some potential last season, with Workman missing half of last season due to an ankle injury. It goes without saying that health is a major question mark for this team, but the pieces are in place to take the division and be the best team in the conference. It would also help if they can cut down on turnovers, particularly the guards as Gary had more turnovers than assists and Kool had just one more assist than turnovers.

Central Michigan Chippewas (13-18, 7-9 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Giordan Watson (18.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.6 spg)
So. G Jordan Bitzer (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 spg)
Jr. G Nate Minnoy (junior college transfer)
So. F Marko Spica (7.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
Jr. F Chris Kellerman (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: A challenging non-conference slate begins with the College Basketball Experience at Missouri, where the Chippewas could play Fordham after playing the Tigers. They’re on the road for two more, at Niagara and Minnesota, before coming home for the first of just three non-conference home games, the most notable of which is against Big West contender Cal State Fullerton. Other road dates of note are at Northeast contender Robert Morris and Michigan. In MAC play, the Chippewas play consecutive home games only once, at the end of the regular season. Their toughest stretch looks to be at the end of January, when a home date with Akron is sandwiched between games at Western Michigan and Ohio.
Outlook: The Chippewas appear to have the best talent in the conference, so the main question is how long it will take for the players to gel and in some cases adjust to new roles. Minnoy and freshmen Chase Simon and Jeremy Allen make the perimeter even more dangerous, as Watson is one of the conference’s best players and Bitzer showed some promise as a freshman. Simon and Allen could push Bitzer out of the starting lineup. The frontcourt players won’t score a ton, but they should develop enough to balance out the guards and keep defenses from keying on them too much. Both Spica and Kellerman are good at what they do and need to get better, with Brandon Ford being the primary backup inside if he’s healthy. The Chippewas need to improve their shooting, as they made less than 42 percent of their shots last season, and cutting down on their 17.5 turnovers per game from last season will also go a long way towards success. But scoring doesn’t figure to be a major issue, meaning the bigger issue is defensively, where opponents shot 46 percent from the field last season.

Toledo Rockets (19-13, 14-2 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Kashif Payne (7.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.1 spg)
Jr. G Jonathan Amos (6.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.8 spg)
Jr. G Ridley Johnson (4.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
Sr. F Jerrah Young (2.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Fr. F Mohammed Lo
Schedule Highlights: The Rockets have a very tough non-conference schedule that features five home games, none of which will be easy. They open up with Missouri State and Vanderbilt at home, then hit the road for six straight games and none will be easy: Old Dominion, Dayton, Rhode Island, an improved UNC-Wilmington team, Pittsburgh and Houston. Later, they host Drexel, head to UMass and host Summit League contender Oakland, and will also host a BracketBusters game. In MAC play, three of the first five are on the road, but three straight games plus the BracketBusters game are at home in February and early March.
Outlook: The Rockets lose their three top scorers from last season, so they may take a step back this season. But they won’t be an easy out with the veterans on the team, starting with their leader in Payne, one of the top floor leaders in the conference and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Amos and Johnson have been regulars, but Johnson came in with a reputation as a shooter and struggled from behind the arc last season. Junior Tyrone Kent could start on the wing and will at least be one of if not the first player off the bench. Freshmen Paul Becklens and Corey Bingham should help, although Becklens’ minutes might be limited since he’s a point guard and going with him and Payne together hurts them since Becklens isn’t a big scoring threat. In the frontcourt, there is talent, but not much of it is proven. Young can defend, but will need to give them more offense, and Lo should start right away and classmate Justin Anyijong is very long and could get some minutes, although he needs to get stronger. With the scoring they lost from the departed players, the Rockets will need to improve on defense if they are to remain a contender, as allowing opponents to shoot over 48 percent from the field again won’t be enough.

Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-19, 6-10 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Jarred Axon (6.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Jr. G Carlos Medlock (13.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.9 spg)
Sr. G Travis Lewis (2.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg)
Sr. F Jesse Bunkley (11.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.6 apg)
So. F Justin Dobbins (5.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: Six home games are on tap in a challenging non-conference slate, including a BracketBusters game and one against Missouri Valley contender Illinois State. The Eagles will also play in the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islander Classic against Atlantic 10 contender Rhode Island and either the host (a strong Southland contender) or Georgia Southern. Other notable road games include Summit League contender Oakland, MAAC contender Manhattan, Notre Dame and Temple. MAC play isn’t kind right away with the first two coming against Central Michigan (road) and Western Michigan (home), then two more road games right after them.
Outlook: If there is a sleeper team in this division, it is the Eagles, who have a senior-laden team and some good new talent coming in to support them. A healthy Medlock should spearhead the offense and get everyone else going, including seniors Axon and Lewis, the latter of whom they could use more scoring from. Junior Zane Gay and freshman Soloman Farris are among the main reserves. Bunkley leads the way in the frontcourt, and could play on the wing at times for a bigger lineup. Dobbins played well once he was healthy last season and should start inside, with seniors James Matthews and Nenad Banjamin also in the mix. Junior college transfer Wendale Farrow and freshman Marvin Skipper should push the seniors, as could sophomore Kyle Dodd after he played limited minutes last season. The Eagles have several areas for improvement, but taking better care of the basketball would be a good start since they turned it over almost 18 times per game last season, a figured exceeded by just two MAC teams.

Northern Illinois Huskies (7-23, 4-12 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Sr. G Ryan Paradise (10.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
So. G Cody Yelder (9.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Sr. G Zach Pancratz (8.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 apg)
Sr. F Shaun Logan (7.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Sr. F Egan Grafel (1.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: Patton’s first non-conference slate will have some challenges and includes five home games, one of which is a BracketBusters game. They open the season in Iowa at the BTI Tip-Off Tourney, where they take on host Northern Iowa, UMass and Big West contender Cal Poly. They then stay on the road for a tough matchup with Southern Illinois, then later travel to Notre Dame and Wisconsin-Green Bay. The most notable home games are against Southland contender Lamar and Air Force. After opening up MAC play at Western Michigan, they have six of eight at home, including three straight at the end of that stretch.
Outlook: New head coach Ricardo Patton doesn’t inherit a bare cupboard, as there is a good deal of experience among the holdovers as the roster has six seniors. The one underclassman who projects to start, Yelder, had a solid freshman season and should continue to grow this year alongside Paradise and Pancratz. There isn’t as much depth there as in the frontcourt, where Logan should start and Grafel may be the incumbent but will be pushed by classmate Ben Rand and sophomore Bristan Kelly, along with newcomers from the junior college ranks in Najul Ervin and Sean Smith. With the scoring they lost, the Huskies will need to improve on their defense to win games this season, as no MAC team allowed more points and opponents shot nearly 46 percent from the field against them last season.

Ball State Cardinals (9-22, 5-11 MAC)
Projected Starters:
Jr. G Laron Frazier (junior college transfer)
Sr. G Peyton Stovall (8.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg)
Fr. G Rashaun McLemore (redshirt)
Jr. F Anthony Newell (11.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg)
Sr. C Micah Rollin (6.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
Schedule Highlights: The Cardinals start the season with four of their seven non-conference home games, highlighted by Butler and Georgetown. Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara and Missouri Valley contender Illinois State are part of a three-game home stretch to close out December. Notable road games in non-conference play are at Saint Joseph’s and Purdue, and they will be on the road in the BracketBusters. The MAC slate has three straight home games after opening at Miami (Ohio), but that may be deceptive since Central Michigan and Western Michigan are the first two games.
Outlook: What went on off the court made most of the news in Muncie this off-season, as Ronny Thompson and his staff violated NCAA rules once again and Thompson eventually resigned in July. New head coach Billy Taylor has some work to do, and it won’t be easy initially as several recruits who formed what was once considered the best class in the conference won’t be there now. Stovall is a good building block, while Rollin and Newell will make sure the frontcourt doesn’t have many concerns. From there, newcomers are at every position and there won’t be much depth, and this team will be down in numbers all year. Meanwhile, the NCAA investigation will affect recruiting, so Taylor will need a few years to get the program going again.

Conference Outlook

Western Michigan and Central Michigan appear to be the two best teams and should battle it out in the West Division. But Miami (Ohio) shouldn’t be too far behind them, and there isn’t too much separating the next three teams from the RedHawks in the East, so this promises to be another season of highly competitive basketball in the MAC. In the meantime, teams like Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green don’t project to contend, but don’t be surprised if they knock off a contender or two along the way and play spoiler late in the season.

MAC Championship Recap

Mid-American Conference Championship Recap

by Bill Kintner

CLEVELAND – As the game ended, Miami coach Charlie Coles jumped into the air as his RedHawks had just won on a last-second shot to beat Akron 53-52.

As the team, cheerleaders and fans ran onto the court to celebrate the win, the referees gathered around the monitor to check the last shot.

As the time dragged on it became apparent that the officials found something that was not kosher so maybe the RedHawks did not win.

A no-longer celebrating Coles started asking whoever might listen, “Did we win?”

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot wandered over by the monitors and embraced Coles as they watched the officials try to figure out what happened.

The miracle play that caused this Texas-sized stink went as follows: Miami’s Doug Penno faked to his right and went left, then released a shot with Akron’s Nick Dials’ hand in his face as he said a quick prayer. The ball banked off the backboard and into the basket as time ran out for a three-pointer to erase a two-point deficit and win the game.

“I said a prayer while it was up in the air and God answered that prayer. I don’t think I will ever forget that shot. I just put it up and had faith,” explained a drained Penno.

For almost 10 minutes the officials reviewed the monitor using a stop watch, as MAC Commissioner Rick Chryst joined the huddle.

On one end of the court were the Miami (18-14) players hugging each other, and on the other end of the court were the Akron players standing around anxiously hoping for one more shot to win this game.

Dambrot argued that the clock didn’t start on time giving Miami and Penno some extra time to get the shot off.

“I never got a good explanation. I hope they got it right, I’ll be man enough to admit it if they are right,” said Dambrot. “But if they are wrong, it is inexcusable.”

Finally the officials issued a bizarre ruling that the basket was good, .6 seconds should be put on the clock, and Akron would get the ball under the Miami basket.

When Akron (26-7) tried to inbound the ball to Nick Goddard, it went out of bounds and the officials declared the game over. The RedHawk players and fans again celebrated the win.

For the second straight night Miami’s Tim Pollitz had a big night as he scored 19 points to lead his team. He was named tournament MVP. Penno and Bramos both put in 11 points.

Jeremiah Wood led the Zips with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Romeo Travis added 14 points to the effort.

Penno’s shot was made possible when Akron’s Cedrick Middleton missed a foul shot that Bramos came up with and passed it to Penno.

Akron led 28-21 at the half, and in fact the Zips led for most of the game.

With this heart-breaking loss, Akron’s fine season will almost certainly continue in the NIT, although that didn’t stop both Coles and Dambrot from doing a little lobbying for a Zip NCAA at-larger birth.

“How can you win 26 games and not be hearing things for an at-large? Something’s got to be wrong with the system,” pleaded Coles. “My heart goes out to Akron. They have been a phenomenal team a year long.”

MAC Happenings

• The MAC Tournament draws real well, yet the conference averages just 2,921 game. I can’t figure how they get people to go to Cleveland to watch a tournament while most schools can’t get people to come to campus to watch games. Last night for the semi-finals there were 13,000 people in the house and tonight there were 10,045.
• The Miami Sports Network has the largest staff of any team in the MAC. They have four guys in Cleveland at the MAC Tournament. There is Steve Baker (play-by-play), Joe Barry (color), Tim Bray (lead-ins/stats) and Tommy Luegers (production engineer). When they have their matching red shirts they look like a bowling team. The quality of the production is second to none.
• Miami leads the all-time series between the schools by a 22-14 margin after Saturday’s win.
• Charlie Coles is 23-15 all-time in the MAC Tournament.
• Miami is the only team in Division I to hold every opponent under 70 points this season.
• Akron’s 26 wins this year ties the most in school history.

Tournament MVP
Tim Pollitz (Miami)

All-Tournament Team
Romeo Travis (Akron)
Jeremiah Wood (Akron)
Giordan Watson (CMU)
Tim Pollitz (Miami)
Michael Bramos (Miami)