Three Mid-American Conference teams are among the nation’s top 100 in RPI ratings, and two will play each other as part of Tuesday night’s MAC card.
Akron, currently ranked ninth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, holds down the No. 65 RPI spot. It will take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s road contest against Ohio. The Bobcats are 95th in the RPI rankings and are in the midst of a three-game homestand at the Convo, where they are 10-1 over 2015-16.
Central Michigan (95) is the third MAC member of the Top 100 RPI list and will be challenged at home against a Kent State team that had its five-game winning streak broken at Ohio Saturday. Both Central Michigan and Kent State are tied for the top spot in their respective divisions.
For a schedule and more on each team, click Read More . . .
Akron, currently ranked ninth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, holds down the No. 65 RPI spot. It will take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s road contest against Ohio. The Bobcats are 95th in the RPI rankings and are in the midst of a three-game homestand at the Convo, where they are 10-1 over 2015-16.
Central Michigan (95) is the third MAC member of the Top 100 RPI list and will be challenged at home against a Kent State team that had its five-game winning streak broken at Ohio Saturday. Both Central Michigan and Kent State are tied for the top spot in their respective divisions.
For a schedule and more on each team, click Read More . . .
Tuesday, February 2nd
Akron at Ohio, 7:00 p.m. (TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3)
Ball State at Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Kent State at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m. (ASN/ESPN3)
Western Michigan at Toledo, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Miami at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Buffalo at Northern Illinois, 9:00 p.m. (ASN/ESPN3)
Friday, February 5th
Central Michigan at Akron, 8:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, February 6th
Northern Illinois at Ohio, 2:00 p.m. (Live Stream Online)
Western Michigan at Ball State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Bowling Green at Miami, 3:30 p.m.
Toledo at Kent State, 7:00 p.m. (Live Stream Online)
TEAM NOTES
Akron Zips (17-4, 6-2 MAC)
Akron (17-4, 6-2 MAC) extended its winning streak to four games and added a win to an unblemished 10-0 mark at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips recorded its 500th consecutive game with at least one 3-point basket and are three wins shy of posting an 11-straight season with 20 wins. Akron leads the nation in 3-point percentage defense (27.1) while ranking 4th in 3-point field goals per game (11.2) and 5th in 3-point field goals made (235).
Ball State (13-8, 4-4 MAC)
Ball State has featured a balanced offensive attack throughout the season but even more so in conference play. Through eight MAC games, five Cardinals are averaging between nine and 12 points per game, led by Ryan Weber at 11.9 ppg. Ball State has remained dialed in from 3-point range, shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc in conference play. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 234-144 from the 3-point line in MAC games.
Bowling Green (13-8, 4-4 MAC)
BGSU split last week’s two MAC West road contests at Western Michigan and at Central Michigan, and will return home this week to host Ball State on Tuesday night, Feb. 2. The Falcons are 11-1 on the season when out-rebounding their opponents this season and 13-4 overall on the year when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor as a team.
Buffalo (12-9, 5-3 MAC)
The Bulls have won four of their last five games following their 73-68 win at Toledo on Saturday. It was just UB’s third ever win at Savage Arena. The Bulls opened the game by hitting eight of their first 12 three-pointers. UB will head to Northern Illinois on Tuesday night, concluding a stretch of six of their first nine conference games on the road.
Central Michigan (12-9, 5-3 MAC)
All five of Central Michigan’s Mid-American Conference wins have come by double digits (+12, +11, +23, +17, +12).
Eastern Michigan (10-11, 2-6 MAC)
Currently, EMU has 217 steals on the season. That is just 89 shy of the all-time Eastern Michigan single season record. At their current pace (10.3 spg), which would also mark a single season record, the Eagles could surpass the single season steals mark in regular season play. With 10 games until the MAC Tournament, the Green and White are on pace to accumulate 320 steals.
Akron at Ohio, 7:00 p.m. (TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3)
Ball State at Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Kent State at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m. (ASN/ESPN3)
Western Michigan at Toledo, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Miami at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Buffalo at Northern Illinois, 9:00 p.m. (ASN/ESPN3)
Friday, February 5th
Central Michigan at Akron, 8:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, February 6th
Northern Illinois at Ohio, 2:00 p.m. (Live Stream Online)
Western Michigan at Ball State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Bowling Green at Miami, 3:30 p.m.
Toledo at Kent State, 7:00 p.m. (Live Stream Online)
TEAM NOTES
Akron Zips (17-4, 6-2 MAC)
Akron (17-4, 6-2 MAC) extended its winning streak to four games and added a win to an unblemished 10-0 mark at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips recorded its 500th consecutive game with at least one 3-point basket and are three wins shy of posting an 11-straight season with 20 wins. Akron leads the nation in 3-point percentage defense (27.1) while ranking 4th in 3-point field goals per game (11.2) and 5th in 3-point field goals made (235).
Ball State (13-8, 4-4 MAC)
Ball State has featured a balanced offensive attack throughout the season but even more so in conference play. Through eight MAC games, five Cardinals are averaging between nine and 12 points per game, led by Ryan Weber at 11.9 ppg. Ball State has remained dialed in from 3-point range, shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc in conference play. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 234-144 from the 3-point line in MAC games.
Bowling Green (13-8, 4-4 MAC)
BGSU split last week’s two MAC West road contests at Western Michigan and at Central Michigan, and will return home this week to host Ball State on Tuesday night, Feb. 2. The Falcons are 11-1 on the season when out-rebounding their opponents this season and 13-4 overall on the year when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor as a team.
Buffalo (12-9, 5-3 MAC)
The Bulls have won four of their last five games following their 73-68 win at Toledo on Saturday. It was just UB’s third ever win at Savage Arena. The Bulls opened the game by hitting eight of their first 12 three-pointers. UB will head to Northern Illinois on Tuesday night, concluding a stretch of six of their first nine conference games on the road.
Central Michigan (12-9, 5-3 MAC)
All five of Central Michigan’s Mid-American Conference wins have come by double digits (+12, +11, +23, +17, +12).
Eastern Michigan (10-11, 2-6 MAC)
Currently, EMU has 217 steals on the season. That is just 89 shy of the all-time Eastern Michigan single season record. At their current pace (10.3 spg), which would also mark a single season record, the Eagles could surpass the single season steals mark in regular season play. With 10 games until the MAC Tournament, the Green and White are on pace to accumulate 320 steals.
Kent State (15-6, 6-2 MAC)
After a road game against Central Michigan to wrapup the first half of conference play, Kent State will play 4 of its next 5 games at home.
Miami (7-14, 1-7 MAC)
Without their leading scorer and point guard due to injury and losing their back-up point guard late in the first half after taking a hard charge, the RedHawks dug deep and used a gritty, total team effort to collect their first win in Mid-American Conference play and snap a 10-game skid with a 72-59 win against Northern Illinois on Saturday. Senior guard Geovonie McKnight led a quartet of RedHawks to score in double figures with 18 points. Sophomore guard Ali Barnes tallied a career-high 11 points, knocking down three triples in the first three minutes of the second half, while sophomore forward Rod Mill added 11 points and sophomore guard Dion Wade chipped in 10 points. Wade was equally spectacular on defense with five blocked shots, which tied for fifth on Miami’s single-game list, four steals and a team-best five rebounds.
Northern Illinois (16-5, 5-3 MAC)
NIU is 13-0 at home this season and has won 15-straight home games dating back to last year, setting a school-record. The current streak began with a 73-55 win over eventual MAC regular season champion Central Michigan last season on Feb. 28, 2015. NIU’s 16-5 start is the best 21-game start to a season since 1990-91 when the Huskies were 19-2 after 21 games.
Ohio (13-7, 4-4 MAC)
Jaaron Simmons matched the school-record 17 assists set by guard D.J. Cooper on Jan. 5, 2013. Simmons and Cooper share the conference record for assists in a game with Eddie Schilling of Miami (Feb. 4, 1987 vs. Kent State) and Todd Dietrich of Western Michigan (Jan. 10, 1979 vs. Eastern Michigan). Ohio is 10-1 (.909) in games played at the Convocation Center in 2015-16. The Bobcats are in the midst of a three-game homestand.
Toledo (12-9, 3-5 MAC)
Toledo looks to snap its longest losing streak in three years when it concludes a three-game homestand on Tuesday vs. MAC West Division foe Western Michigan. The last time UT dropped three straight decisions was Jan. 16-23, 2013 with the last time it fell in back-to-back home games coming Feb. 27-March 2, 2013.
Western Michigan (9-12, 3-5 MAC)
After playing six of its first eight MAC games at home during the month of January, Western Michigan has six of its next eight games in February on the road. The Broncos head to Toledo on Tuesday and are at Ball State next Saturday. WMU’s next home game is against Miami on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Thomas Wilder scored a career-high 35 points in WMU’s 94-86 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday and recorded his first career double-double adding 10 rebounds.
After a road game against Central Michigan to wrapup the first half of conference play, Kent State will play 4 of its next 5 games at home.
Miami (7-14, 1-7 MAC)
Without their leading scorer and point guard due to injury and losing their back-up point guard late in the first half after taking a hard charge, the RedHawks dug deep and used a gritty, total team effort to collect their first win in Mid-American Conference play and snap a 10-game skid with a 72-59 win against Northern Illinois on Saturday. Senior guard Geovonie McKnight led a quartet of RedHawks to score in double figures with 18 points. Sophomore guard Ali Barnes tallied a career-high 11 points, knocking down three triples in the first three minutes of the second half, while sophomore forward Rod Mill added 11 points and sophomore guard Dion Wade chipped in 10 points. Wade was equally spectacular on defense with five blocked shots, which tied for fifth on Miami’s single-game list, four steals and a team-best five rebounds.
Northern Illinois (16-5, 5-3 MAC)
NIU is 13-0 at home this season and has won 15-straight home games dating back to last year, setting a school-record. The current streak began with a 73-55 win over eventual MAC regular season champion Central Michigan last season on Feb. 28, 2015. NIU’s 16-5 start is the best 21-game start to a season since 1990-91 when the Huskies were 19-2 after 21 games.
Ohio (13-7, 4-4 MAC)
Jaaron Simmons matched the school-record 17 assists set by guard D.J. Cooper on Jan. 5, 2013. Simmons and Cooper share the conference record for assists in a game with Eddie Schilling of Miami (Feb. 4, 1987 vs. Kent State) and Todd Dietrich of Western Michigan (Jan. 10, 1979 vs. Eastern Michigan). Ohio is 10-1 (.909) in games played at the Convocation Center in 2015-16. The Bobcats are in the midst of a three-game homestand.
Toledo (12-9, 3-5 MAC)
Toledo looks to snap its longest losing streak in three years when it concludes a three-game homestand on Tuesday vs. MAC West Division foe Western Michigan. The last time UT dropped three straight decisions was Jan. 16-23, 2013 with the last time it fell in back-to-back home games coming Feb. 27-March 2, 2013.
Western Michigan (9-12, 3-5 MAC)
After playing six of its first eight MAC games at home during the month of January, Western Michigan has six of its next eight games in February on the road. The Broncos head to Toledo on Tuesday and are at Ball State next Saturday. WMU’s next home game is against Miami on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Thomas Wilder scored a career-high 35 points in WMU’s 94-86 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday and recorded his first career double-double adding 10 rebounds.
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