BIG PICTURE
• The Mid-American Conference is ranked 10th overall in the latest RPI (courtesy of RPIRatings.com). The highest the MAC has ever finished as a conference in the RPI rankings is 12th (2007-08, 2013-14 & 2014-15)
• Northern Illinois (79th), Kent State (80th) & Akron (92nd) are currently ranked within the Top 100 of the RPI.
• Kent State tied a school record with 9 blocked shots Tuesday night at Ball State, with senior Khaliq Spicer setting a school-record with 7 rejections.
• MAC Men’s Basketball teams have protected home court, boasting a record of 74-9 (.892) vs. non-conference opponents this season.
• Akron is currently ranked 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, while NIU sits at No. 21. Kent State comes in at at No. 22 this week.
(CLICK READ MORE FOR INDIVIDUAL TEAM NOTES . . . )
• The Mid-American Conference is ranked 10th overall in the latest RPI (courtesy of RPIRatings.com). The highest the MAC has ever finished as a conference in the RPI rankings is 12th (2007-08, 2013-14 & 2014-15)
• Northern Illinois (79th), Kent State (80th) & Akron (92nd) are currently ranked within the Top 100 of the RPI.
• Kent State tied a school record with 9 blocked shots Tuesday night at Ball State, with senior Khaliq Spicer setting a school-record with 7 rejections.
• MAC Men’s Basketball teams have protected home court, boasting a record of 74-9 (.892) vs. non-conference opponents this season.
• Akron is currently ranked 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, while NIU sits at No. 21. Kent State comes in at at No. 22 this week.
(CLICK READ MORE FOR INDIVIDUAL TEAM NOTES . . . )
TEAM NOTES
Akron Zips (15-4, 4-2 MAC)
The Akron Zips improved to 9-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena, snapping a two game losing streak and picking up a pair of MAC wins over Eastern Michigan (92-88) and Miami (75-46). Freshman guard Josh Williams poured in a team- and career-high 15 points against Miami. He shot a career-best 71.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc, draining 5-of-7 3-point field goals. Four Zips are averaging double figures in scoring led by junior center Isaiah Johnson’s 12.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Antino Jackson follows with 11.3 while senior Reggie McAdams and sophomore Noah Robotham add 10.8 and 10.3, respectively. The Zips lead the nation in 3-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to 25.6 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Ball State (13-6, 4-2 MAC)
Ball State made 12 more 3-pointers in Saturday’s double-overtime win at Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals have now recorded double-figure 3’s in four of their six MAC contests and are averaging 10.3 per game. Sophomore guard Francis Kiapway made seven of the team’s 12 treys at EMU, coming within one of Dennis Trammell’s school record of eight. Kiapway set the school record with 16 3-point attempts in the game.
Bowling Green (12-7, 3-3 MAC)
BGSU will look to remain unbeaten on the road in MAC play on Tuesday night, as the Falcons are 2-0 on the road in league play this season with wins at Ohio and at Eastern Michigan. Western Michigan is 2-2 at home in MAC play, but 7-3 at home in University Arena on the season overall.
Buffalo (10-9, 3-3 MAC)
The Bulls had their two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at Western Michigan, 91-71, while Ball State is coming off an 88-87 win in double overtime at Eastern Michigan. Ball State has won three of its last four games and six of eight. Junior Willie Conner is averaging 16.0 points per game over the last seven contests, failing to score in double figures just once. He had 22 points at Kent State and 17 points on Saturday against WMU.
Central Michigan (10-9, 3-3 MAC)
Junior guard Braylon Rayson needs just 13 points to become the 31st player in CMU program history to reach 1,000 career points. When Rayson reaches the milestone, Central Michigan will be one of just three Division I programs to feature three active 1,000 point scorers (Rayson, Chris Fowler, John Simons) on its roster, joining Wichita State and George Washington.
Eastern Michigan (10-9, 2-4 MAC)
Since beginning Mid-American Conference play, the EMU offense has been at the top of the conference in multiple categories conference games, including points per game (82.8) and field goal percentage (47.1 percent). In addition, the Eagles are connecting on 78.1 percent of their free throws which leads the conference. A large part of the Green and White’s offensive success in the MAC games has a lot to do with the Eagles’ scoring duo of Raven Lee and James Thompson IV. Eastern is the only MAC school with a pair of student-athletes in the top-10 in scoring in conference games.
Kent State (14-5, 5-1 MAC)
Kent State tied a school record with 9 blocked shots Tuesday night at Ball State, with senior Khaliq Spicer setting a school-record with 7 rejections.
Miami (6-13, 0-6 MAC)
Miami’s version of GE, senior guards Geovonie McKnight, known as G, and Eric Washington, known as E, have been electric in 2016. Since the start of the new year, McKnight has shot 50.5 percent from the floor, while averaging 15.7 ppg and a team-leading 4.9 rpg. Washington leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg since the start of the new year. He is shooting 42.9 percent from the floor, 44.1 percent from 3-point range and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line. Washington has hit 15 of the RedHawks’ 33 treys over the last seven games.
Northern Illinois (16-3, 5-1 MAC)
Travon Baker tied the NIU career steals record with his second steal against Toledo (Jan. 22). Baker’s 163rd steal ties him with Ronald Minter (1993-97) for the NIU record. The senior for Detroit also currently ranks ninth on the Huskie career assist list with 305.
Ohio (11-7, 2-4 MAC)
Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) enters the week ranked fifth in the NCAA with 7.3 assists per game. He has tallied at least five assists in a game 16 times this season.
Toledo (12-7, 3-3 MAC)
Sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley ranks third on the team with 11.6 ppg and second with 5.4 rpg and 3.5 apg. He also is sixth in the MAC with a 43.9 3PTFG% and seventh with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio. In league play, Mosley is second with a 54.5 3PTFG% and tied for 11th with 2.0 treys per game. Mosley tied his career high with 19 points in back-to-back contests vs. Akron (1/15) and at Bowling Green (1/19) and has a 57.7 FG% (15-of-26) and 75.0 3PTFG% (6-of-8) in his last three games.
Western Michigan (8-11, 2-4 MAC)
Western Michigan is averaged just 6.5 turnovers a game this past week, committing only seven at Ohio and six against Buffalo.
Akron Zips (15-4, 4-2 MAC)
The Akron Zips improved to 9-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena, snapping a two game losing streak and picking up a pair of MAC wins over Eastern Michigan (92-88) and Miami (75-46). Freshman guard Josh Williams poured in a team- and career-high 15 points against Miami. He shot a career-best 71.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc, draining 5-of-7 3-point field goals. Four Zips are averaging double figures in scoring led by junior center Isaiah Johnson’s 12.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Antino Jackson follows with 11.3 while senior Reggie McAdams and sophomore Noah Robotham add 10.8 and 10.3, respectively. The Zips lead the nation in 3-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to 25.6 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Ball State (13-6, 4-2 MAC)
Ball State made 12 more 3-pointers in Saturday’s double-overtime win at Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals have now recorded double-figure 3’s in four of their six MAC contests and are averaging 10.3 per game. Sophomore guard Francis Kiapway made seven of the team’s 12 treys at EMU, coming within one of Dennis Trammell’s school record of eight. Kiapway set the school record with 16 3-point attempts in the game.
Bowling Green (12-7, 3-3 MAC)
BGSU will look to remain unbeaten on the road in MAC play on Tuesday night, as the Falcons are 2-0 on the road in league play this season with wins at Ohio and at Eastern Michigan. Western Michigan is 2-2 at home in MAC play, but 7-3 at home in University Arena on the season overall.
Buffalo (10-9, 3-3 MAC)
The Bulls had their two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at Western Michigan, 91-71, while Ball State is coming off an 88-87 win in double overtime at Eastern Michigan. Ball State has won three of its last four games and six of eight. Junior Willie Conner is averaging 16.0 points per game over the last seven contests, failing to score in double figures just once. He had 22 points at Kent State and 17 points on Saturday against WMU.
Central Michigan (10-9, 3-3 MAC)
Junior guard Braylon Rayson needs just 13 points to become the 31st player in CMU program history to reach 1,000 career points. When Rayson reaches the milestone, Central Michigan will be one of just three Division I programs to feature three active 1,000 point scorers (Rayson, Chris Fowler, John Simons) on its roster, joining Wichita State and George Washington.
Eastern Michigan (10-9, 2-4 MAC)
Since beginning Mid-American Conference play, the EMU offense has been at the top of the conference in multiple categories conference games, including points per game (82.8) and field goal percentage (47.1 percent). In addition, the Eagles are connecting on 78.1 percent of their free throws which leads the conference. A large part of the Green and White’s offensive success in the MAC games has a lot to do with the Eagles’ scoring duo of Raven Lee and James Thompson IV. Eastern is the only MAC school with a pair of student-athletes in the top-10 in scoring in conference games.
Kent State (14-5, 5-1 MAC)
Kent State tied a school record with 9 blocked shots Tuesday night at Ball State, with senior Khaliq Spicer setting a school-record with 7 rejections.
Miami (6-13, 0-6 MAC)
Miami’s version of GE, senior guards Geovonie McKnight, known as G, and Eric Washington, known as E, have been electric in 2016. Since the start of the new year, McKnight has shot 50.5 percent from the floor, while averaging 15.7 ppg and a team-leading 4.9 rpg. Washington leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg since the start of the new year. He is shooting 42.9 percent from the floor, 44.1 percent from 3-point range and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line. Washington has hit 15 of the RedHawks’ 33 treys over the last seven games.
Northern Illinois (16-3, 5-1 MAC)
Travon Baker tied the NIU career steals record with his second steal against Toledo (Jan. 22). Baker’s 163rd steal ties him with Ronald Minter (1993-97) for the NIU record. The senior for Detroit also currently ranks ninth on the Huskie career assist list with 305.
Ohio (11-7, 2-4 MAC)
Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) enters the week ranked fifth in the NCAA with 7.3 assists per game. He has tallied at least five assists in a game 16 times this season.
Toledo (12-7, 3-3 MAC)
Sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley ranks third on the team with 11.6 ppg and second with 5.4 rpg and 3.5 apg. He also is sixth in the MAC with a 43.9 3PTFG% and seventh with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio. In league play, Mosley is second with a 54.5 3PTFG% and tied for 11th with 2.0 treys per game. Mosley tied his career high with 19 points in back-to-back contests vs. Akron (1/15) and at Bowling Green (1/19) and has a 57.7 FG% (15-of-26) and 75.0 3PTFG% (6-of-8) in his last three games.
Western Michigan (8-11, 2-4 MAC)
Western Michigan is averaged just 6.5 turnovers a game this past week, committing only seven at Ohio and six against Buffalo.
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