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MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

1/2/2025

TEAM: Akron Zips
2023-24 RECORD: 24-10, 13-5 MAC

HEAD COACH: John Groce
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 2nd of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
(all rankings are MAC)
>> Akron put together another fine season last year, capping it off with a one-point MAC tournament championship game win over rival Kent State. That gave UA an NCAA tourney berth, and the Zips fell to No. 3 Creighton (77-60).
>> This is John Groce's seventh season at Zips head coach. Akron owns am 85-39 mark over the last four seasons. In Mid-American Conference play, the Zips are 81-48 under Groce and 52-22 over the last three years, owning the best winning percentage (.743) in the league.
>> Last year's run was spearheaded by . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

1/2/2025

TEAM: Kent State Golden Flashes
2023-24 RECORD: 17-17, 8-10 MAC

HEAD COACH: Rob Senderoff
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 3rd of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
(all rankings are MAC)
>> The Flashes may have posted a very modest 17-17 record and were under .500 in MAC play last year, but they came within a basket of winning another MAC tournament championship and the NCAA berth that goes with that crown.
Less than a week after losing at regular season champion Toledo, KSU upset the No. 1-seeded Rockets in tourney play. After taking out Bowling Green the next night, the Flashes fell to rival Akron 62-61 in championship action.
Kent State won at least 20 games in four of the previous five years and totaled just 23 games in the 2020-21 campaign. Overall, the Flashes have posted eight seasons with 20-plus wins in 13 seasons under Rob Senderoff.
As a top-three pick in this year's preseason poll, fellow coaches . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

1/2/2025

TEAM:Toledo Rockets
2023-24 RECORD: 20-12, 14-4 MAC

HEAD COACH: Tod Kowalcyzk
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 4th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
(all rankings are MAC)
The Rockets have had just one losing season since Tod Kowalcyzk took over in 2010-2011. Toledo went 4-28 that season, but have won at least 15 games in each of the remaining 13 campaigns. In fact, UT has posted at least 20 wins in eight of those seasons, including the last four.
The Rockets also finished first (MAC) in each of those campaigns and made three straight NIT appearances, beginning in 2020-21.
Finishing first has . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

1/2/2025

TEAM: Bowling Green Falcons
2023-24 RECORD: 20-14, 10-8 MAC

HEAD COACH: Todd Simon
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 5th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
(all rankings are MAC)
>> The Falcons flourished in 2023-24 under new head coach Todd Simon, jumping from an 11-20 (5-13 MAC) record to 20-14 (10-8 MAC) last year. Bowling Green won eight straight games -- seven in non-conference play -- and finished the year with an appearance in the CIT tournament.
>> Four of the top five scorers from last year have departed. Guard Marcus Hill, who led BGSU with an average of 20.5 ppg in 2023-24, is now with North Carolina State, where . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

1/1/2025

TEAM: Ball State Cardinals
2023-24 RECORD: 15-15, 7-11 MAC

HEAD COACH: Michael Lewis
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 7th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
>> The Cardinals soared in Michael Lewis' first year at the helm, finishing 20-12. It was BSU's first 20-win season in six year.
Last year, however, Ball State dipped to 15-16 overall and 7-11 in Mid-American Conference play.
>> A key cog in last year's team was 6-9 forward Basheer Jihad, who averaged 18.6 ppg for the Cardinals. He is now at Arizona State, where is has averaged 13.3 ppg.
>> While Jihad is gone, former Cardinal standout Payton Sparks has . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

12/31/2024

TEAM: Central Michigan Eagles
2023-24 RECORD: 18-14, 12-6 MAC

HEAD COACH: Tony Barbee
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 8th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:

>> After going 10-21 (5-13 MAC) in 2022-23, the Chippewas jumped to 18-14 (12-6) last year. Four players from that squad averaged double figures, with Anthony Prichard leading the way (12.8 ppg). The senior guard is back, but the other three are gone.
>> Central Michigan finished non-conference play this year with a 6-6 mark. Among the losses was a 70-62 setback at No. 15 Marquette. Another close loss came at Minnessota (68-65). However, CMU absorbed harsher setbacks against Valparaiso (93-77), Mississippi State (83-59) and Arizona (94-41) during a three game losing streak in mid-December.
Among the wins . . .

MAC BASKETBALL

12/30/2024

BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD: Monday, 12-30-24

Click on school/score for details
No. 18 Michigan State 80, Western Michigan 62
Princeton 76, Akron 75
Central Michigan 85, Cleary University 39
Ohio 103, Muskingum 52
Northern Illinois 117, East-West university 50
Miami 141, Defiance 58

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

12/29/2024

TEAM: Eastern Michigan Eagles
2023-24 RECORD: 13-18, 6-12 MAC

HEAD COACH: Stan Heath
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 9th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
>> The Eagles are looking for their first winning season since 2017-18 (22-13). They were 16-16 in 2019-20 but were under .500 in each of the following years.
Former EMU player Stan Heath took over in 2021 and guided the Eagles to 13 wins last year.
>> Guard Tyson Acuff led EMU last year, scoring 21.7 ppg. while averaging 37.9 minutes per contest. He's now at Rutgers, averaging 2.8 ppg and 11.4 minutes in his senior season.
>> The Eagles finished non-conference play with a 6-6 record. That included a three game win streak in late November. Three straight losses followed, but . . .

MAC BASKETBALL

12/29/2024

Click school/score for details . . .

DAVIDSON 86, EASTERN MICHIGAN 64.

MIAMI FOOTBALL

12/29/2024

Senior-led RedHawks finish in win column

Game MVP Davis ignites second half scoring surge

By MIKE SMITH
TUSCON, AZ -- Senior running back Kevin Davis led a second-half RedHawks breakaway as Miami scored 34 points after intermission to defeat Colorado State 43-17 Saturday in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium.

A crowd of just over 40,000 watched the two offenses sputter over the first two quarters. Neither team scored a touchdown and MU took a 9-6 lead to the locker room thanks to three field goals (34, 26, and 24) by Dom Dzioban. Those followed Jordan Noye's 21-yard field goal to cap CSU's 13-play, 72-yard opening drive.

It would be the . . . CONTINUE

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

12/28/2024

TEAM: Western Michigan Broncos
2023-24 RECORD: 12-20, 9-9 MAC

HEAD COACH: Dwayne Stephens
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 10th of 12 teams

OVERVIEW:
>> The Broncos have not had a winning season since going 17-15 back in 2017-18. They went 9-9 in MAC play that year, but couldn't post more than six conference wins since then -- until last year. Western Michigan was 9-9 in 2023-24 league play.
>> This is the third season as WMU head coach for Dwayne Stephens. During his second season in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan improved its overall win total by four and its conference win total by five over the prior campaign. The Broncos . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

12/28/2024

TEAM: Northern Illinois Huskies
2023-24 RECORD: 11-20, 5-13 MAC

HEAD COACH: Rashon Burno
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 11TH OF 12 TEAMS

OVERVIEW:
>> The Huskies last winning season was 2019-20, when they finished 18-13 overall and 11-7 in MAC play.
>> This is the fourth season under former Arizona State associate head coach Rashon Bruno. In 2023-24, Burno guided NIU to its best start since 2015-16 as the Huskies opened 5-1 with victories over Sun Belt regular season champion Appalachian State and NIU’s first win over DePaul since 2005. The Huskies . . .

MAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

12/27/2024

TEAM: Buffalo Bulls
2023-24 RECORDS: 4-27 overall; 2-16 MAC

HEAD COACH: George Halcovage III
PRESEASON MAC COACHES POLL: 12th/Last

OVERVIEW:
>> The Bulls struggled mightily in George Halcovage's first year as head coach, and the preseason coaches poll envisions more challenges in the coming year.
>> For what its worth, UB has already . . .

MAC FOOTBALL

12/27/2024

Bazelak, Fannin shine, but Falcons fall short

(BGSU Athletics)
MOBILE, AL - Connor Bazelak throwing for over 350 yards and three touchdowns while Harold Fannin Jr. broke multiple records in the game. In the end, Arkansas State pulled out a 38-31 final over the Falcons with BGSU concluding the season at 7-6.

. . . CONTINUE

MAC FOOTBALL

12/26/2024

Rockets persevere to top Pitt in six overtimes

Bowl MVP Junior Vandeross III scores game-winner

(Courtesy UT Athletics)
DETROIT - Junior Vandeross III scored the winning touchdown in the sixth overtime to give Toledo a thrilling 48-46 victory over Pittsburgh in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday. Vandeross was named the game's Most Valuable Player after finishing the contest with a career-high 12 receptions and a career-best 194 receiving yards.

The contest was the longest bowl game in NCAA history, topping the five-overtime contest between South Florida and San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl two days ago.

"This senior class wanted to . . . CONTINUE

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