2008 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament preview
Bobcats earn first-round bye
By Speakeasy Sports, Feature
March 12, 2008 | noon
March is once again upon us, which means the madness is just around the corner. With the regular season complete, we now turn our attention to the all-important conference tournaments, and the Mid-American Conference Tournament is no exception.
With a different champion during each of the last five years, who knows what is in store for the 2008 version. An automatic birth to the "Big Dance" is on the line, and Speakeasy Sports tells you who's hot, who's not and who might be wearing their dancing shoes come Saturday night.
Editor's note: Teams are in order of seeding. All statistics are through March 9, the completion of the regular season.
Kent State Golden Flashes by Michael Weisman
Coach: Jim Christian (6th season at Kent State)
MAC Record (overall): 13-3 (25-6)
Tournament Seed: 1
Possible second-round opponents: No. 8 Toledo (7-8 MAC) or No. 9 Bowling Green (7-9 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Akron (75-69); vs. Western Michigan (67-58); vs. Ohio (72-62); at Akron (61-58)
Bad Conference Losses: at Toledo (59-56); at Bowling Green (89-83)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Junior guard Al Fisher (14.3 PPG); Assists- Fisher (4.2 APG); Rebounding- Senior forward Haminn Quaintance (7.5 RPG)
Kent State not taking anything for granted
Kent State University enters the 2008 Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on a high note. Kent claimed the outright regular season title through guard Al Fisher’s game-winning three-pointer with less than three seconds remaining at Akron Sunday, after blowing a 13-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
“I just think that’s going to be a preview for the entire MAC Tournament,” Kent State coach Jim Christian said of Sunday’s nail-biter, which his team won 61-58 over the Zips.
The Golden Flashes earned a first-round bye by claiming the No. 1 seed in the tournament and have won eight of their last nine games, including a BracketBuster win over then-No. 23 St. Mary’s (CA). The lone loss came at the hands of Bowling Green State University, who Kent State could see in the quarterfinals.
Bowling Green is the No. 9 seed and battles the No. 8 seed Toledo Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. for the right to meet the Golden Flashes. Although Kent State only has three MAC losses, two came from these two teams, with the other coming against the No. 4 seed and possible semifinal opponent Ohio University.
“All our stuff goes out the window when you play the MAC Tournament, whether they’ve beaten you or you’ve beaten them,” Christian said. “It’s a one-game series from here on out.”
Although Kent State has compiled an impressive resume and a school-best 25 wins, putting them squarely in the conversation for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, Christian doesn’t want to get involved in speculation.
“What we’ve done to this point speaks for ourselves,” he said, “but I’m not making a case for [an at-large bid] until we get knocked out of the MAC Tournament.”
Christian, who won the MAC Tournament with his Golden Flashes in 2006, knows anyone is capable of beating anyone come tournament time.
“It’s win or go home for three nights,” the coach said. “Everybody gets new life when the [MAC] Tournament starts. It’s a new season.”
Western Michigan Broncos by Britton Dove
Coach: Steve Hawkins (5th season at Western Michigan)
MAC Record (overall): 12-4 (19-11)
Tournament Seed: 2
Possible second-round opponents: No. 7 Eastern Michigan (8-8 MAC) or No. 10 Ball State (5-11 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Akron (86-66); vs. Miami (78-75 2OT)
Bad Conference Losses: at Eastern Michigan (81-71); at Central Michigan (72-68)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Sophomore guard David Kool (16.1 PPG); Assists- Junior guard Michael Redell (3.7 APG); Rebounding- Senior center Joe Reitz (7.9 RPG)
We will survive
According to coach Steve Hawkins, the key to winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament is simply surviving, and, with the talent on the Broncos’ roster, they could do just that with a first-round bye as the second seed. Joe Reitz and David Kool were voted the Broncos’ Most Valuable Players on the team this year, averaging 31.1 points per game between the two of them, leading the Broncos to a MAC West championship.
The Broncos will face the winner of No. 7 seed, Eastern Michigan, and tenth-seeded Ball State. Ball State has had a long season, losing the first 11 games of the year and finishing the season just 6-23 overall. As for Eastern Michigan, they finished 8-8 in the MAC, their best finish since the 1999-2000 season (9-9).
“I think everyone in the MAC is a cause for concern,” Hawkins said. “Obviously when you look at your bracket from a frame of reference from your game with the team [you will face from] earlier in the year. If I look at our side, Eastern Michigan beat us at Eastern Michigan. Ball State who we just played [Sunday], they were ahead of us in the last three minutes of the game at our place where we had only lost one game all year long.”
Upsets are not considered upsets in the MAC tournament, according to Hawkins, due to the back-to-back nature of the tournament. It is hard for any team to put together three or four wins in a row, he said.
“When you take into consideration that the No. 12 seed is Buffalo, and they took Kent all the way down to the wire, I think that’s indicative of the tournament that we can see any team on any given night is capable of beating anybody else,” Hawkins said.
Akron Zips by Andrew Reeder
Coach: Keith Dambrot (4th season at Akron)
MAC Record (overall): 11-5 (21-9)
Tournament Seed: 3
Possible second-round opponents: No. 6 Central Michigan (8-8 MAC) or No. 11 Northern Illinois (3-12 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Ohio (55-54); at Ohio (80-77)
Bad Conference Losses: at Central Michigan (65-64); vs. Northern Illinois (88-78)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Senior forward Jeremiah Wood (13.8 PPG); Assists- Senior guard Nick Dials (4.3 APG); Rebounding- Wood (7.8 RPG)
Akron relies on offense to get back to MAC Championship
Coming off their third straight 20-win season, the Akron Zips enter the Mid-American Conference Tournament looking to avenge a last-second loss dealt to them in last year’s championship game by Miami, 53-52.
“We’re not far from being one of the best teams in the league,” coach Keith Dambrot said.
The Zips finished the regular season with the highest scoring margin in the MAC, beating teams by an average of 7.8 points per game, while posting the best three-point field goal percentage in the league, shooting .383 from beyond the arc.
With their first round bye, Akron will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 6 seed Central Michigan and No. 11 seed Northern Illinois.
“If we’re going to win the MAC tournament, we’re going to have to play teams that we’re 0-4 against,” Dambrot said, alluding to the path his team may have to take to get to the MAC championship game if they keep playing the higher seed.
The Zips lost a heartbreaker to Central Michigan (65-64) in Mount Pleasant, Mich., earlier in the season after senior Quade Milum failed to tie the game on his second free throw attempt with only 1:21 remaining. Then, in their first home conference loss, Akron fell to Northern Illinois, 88-78.
Akron also lost to potential semifinal opponent, No. 2 seed Western Michigan (86-66) in Kalamazoo, Mich., to go along with two losses to fellow East Division adversary, top-seeded Kent State.
“We’ve got a tough road to hoe, but I wouldn’t count us out,” Dambrot said.
Ohio Bobcats by Zach Swartz
Coach: Tim O’Shea (7th season at Ohio)
MAC Record (overall): 9-7 (19-11)
Tournament Seed: 4
Possible second-round opponents: No. 12 Buffalo (3-13 MAC) or No. 5 Miami (9-7 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Miami (72-63); vs. Kent State (71-59); vs. Western Michigan (57-54)
Bad Conference Losses: at Bowling Green (52-49); at Toledo (54-52); at Eastern Michigan (63-56)
Team Leaders: Scoring - Senior forward Leon Williams (16.2 PPG); Assists - Junior guard Michael Allen (4.4 APG); Rebounding - Williams (9.6 RPG)
Ohio looks to take advantage after clinching fourth and final bye
It took Ohio coach Tim O'Shea's Bobcats three games to pull out a first-round bye to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, but, after defeating the Buffalo Bulls (3-13, 10-19) 94-80 on Senior Day Sunday afternoon, they finally clinched the coveted No. 4 seed. With that seed, the Bobcats win a first-round pass to face the winner of Wednesday's match-up between those same Bulls and rival Miami RedHawks (9-7, 15-14) on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.
Coach O'Shea was relieved that his team could finally achieve that long-sought-after bye.
“We are just grateful that we were able to get a bye," O'Shea said. "I think that any team with a bye stands a much better chance of winning this thing. In all likelihood, probably about a 90 percent chance that the eventual champion will come out of the bye pool."
Ohio took down Buffalo twice this season by a double-digit margin, by 14 Sunday in Athens and by 11 Jan. 23 at Buffalo. Senior center Leon Williams, a MAC Player of the Year candidate and the winner of the season's final MAC Player of the Week award, and junior forward Jerome Tillman combined for 55 points in Sunday's victory. Williams' fellow senior Bubba Walther chipped in 17 points of his own while going 5-9 from three-point range.
At Buffalo, freshman Tommy Freeman, who was 2-2 from beyond the three-point line in his first start of the season Sunday and who will also start Thursday, had the break-out game of his career, going 2-3 from beyond the arc and putting up 13 points. Four Bobcats had double-digit points in that game, including 21 from junior guard Bert Whittington IV.
Although Williams is the only player on the Bobcat roster to have seen the NCAA Tournament (in 2005), Coach O'Shea will look towards Walther and Tillman along with Williams, all three of whom have had significant playing time in Cleveland, to carry his team through the tournament.
“They have been our big three," O'Shea said. "They know what to expect, and that is certainly going to be an edge for us.”
The Bobcats split the season series with Miami, winning 72-63 Jan. 12 in Athens but suffering their worst loss of the season in Oxford Mar. 1, 73-49. In the teams' first meeting, Williams and Tillman combined for over half of the team's points to give the Bobcats their first conference win of the season. Down in Oxford, Ohio had its first chance to clinch a first-round bye but put up its worst shooting performance of the season, going just 15-61 from the floor (24.6 percent) versus Miami's 56.1 percent.
After losing the following game at Akron, the team's first home loss in over a year, the Bobcats' offense exploded Sunday, putting up 90 points and shooting 62 percent from the field.
O'Shea's Bobcats will look to extend that performance to Thursday night's game, and they will be ready for whoever they end up facing.
“We’ve played both of these teams twice," O'Shea said. "When it gets down to whoever we are going to play Thursday night, the familiarity will kick in. It’s not going to be a difficult preparation because we know these teams so well.”
The No. 4 seed Ohio Bobcats tip off against either No. 5 seed Miami or No. 12 seed Buffalo in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena at 9:30 p.m.,Thursday, Mar. 13, on FSN Ohio.
Miami RedHawks by Zach Swartz
Coach: Charlie Coles (12th season at Miami)
[Note: Coles was replaced Mar. 8 by associate head coach Jermaine Henderson (10th season at Miami) for remainder of year due to illness.]
MAC Record (overall): 9-7 (15-14)
Tournament Seed: 5
1st round opponent: No. 12 Buffalo (3-13 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Central Michigan (68-64); vs. Ohio (73-49)
Bad Conference Losses: at Bowling Green (55-52)
Team Leaders: Scoring - Junior guard/forward Michael Bramos (16.2 PPG); Assists - Senior forward Tim Pollitz (3.1 APG); Rebounding - T. Pollitz (7.0 RPG)
Miami "banks" on defending its role as MAC Tourney champion
Although they will be without long-time coach Charlie Coles for the rest of the year, the No. 5 seed Miami RedHawks are planning to come to Cleveland prepared to defend their role as defending MAC Tournament champions Wednesday night against the No. 12 seed Buffalo Bulls.
It was announced Saturday that Coles, who has missed the RedHawks' last three games against Ohio, Kent State and Bowling Green, would be missing the remainder of the season due to an unspecified illness. Associate head coach Jermaine Henderson, a former Miami player and assistant coach, will be filling in during the tournament.
Despite losing their coach, the RedHawks have not lost their winning spirit, having won two of their last three contests in blowout fashion, beating No. 4 seed Ohio (9-7, 19-11) 73-49 Mar. 1 and No. 9 seed Bowling Green (7-9, 13-16) 75-59 on Sunday's Senior Day.
Miami enters the tournament without a bye for the first time since 2002, but they will still be ready for action.
The RedHawks have taken on Buffalo twice this season, beating the Bulls 64-57 Jan. 20 in Oxford and 64-55 at Buffalo Feb. 16. In the first meeting, guard Kenny Hayes' 20 points and Miami's lone senior Tim Pollitz's 18 led the RedHawks to their first MAC victory of the season. Up at Buffalo, Miami was carried by guard/forward Michael Bramos' four blocked shots and center Tyler Dierkers' career-high 13 rebounds.
Overall, the RedHawks feel they have a very well-balanced team, but the coaching staff believes that none are more important to the team's chance at success than Pollitz and Bramos.
“Mike [Bramos] is one of those unsung guys," Henderson said. "I told Mike that he is one of the best talents that has not been recognized through three years that I’ve ever seen...And what Tim gives you, the effort he gives you and his dedication to the game all while suffering a bum knee in his last couple years, is tremendous...He means a lot, and he represents what we try to do at Miami, and that’s just hard work, to do it the right way, and see where that takes you."
These two players, Henderson believes, will be the team's saving grace come Wednesday, and hopefully the rest of the tournament.
"I don’t know if [Pollitz] has been the best player or has the best numbers," Henderson said, "but...we certainly would be lost without him. When you throw in Michael Bramos and his ability to shoot the ball and play multiple positions, it’s just a great team. That's what you need. If you’re going to win this league, certainly the tournament, you need two or three really good players.”
Both Bramos and Pollitz, along with seven other current RedHawks, were a part of last year's squad that won the MAC Tournament on a last-second bank-in three-pointer from then-senior Doug Penno that sent them to the school's 16th NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I hope we don’t repeat that," Henderson said, laughing. "I’ll tell you what, what a fun time. We’re looking forward to getting up there...if there are about four big shots left for the RedHawks, we’ll try to space them out. I don’t know if that will happen, but we’ll take whatever comes.”
Henderson believes that the absence of Coach Coles will be an extra motivating factor for his RedHawks Wednesday night.
"[Coach Coles] is getting to the point now where he loves tournament time," Henderson said. "He loves coming to Cleveland, he loves the fans there and most importantly he loves being with his team. That he is not able to do that is paining him some. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve been saying it all along, I don’t know if we can win a game or not, but these guys have been responding."
No. 5 seed Miami takes on No. 12 seed Buffalo at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 12, in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
Central Michigan Chippewas by Will Strome
Coach: Ernie Zeigler (2nd season at Central Michigan)
MAC Record (overall): 8-8 (13-16)
Tournament Seed: 6
First-round Opponent: No. 11 Northern Illinois (3-12 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Western Michigan (72-68); vs. Akron (65-64); vs. Eastern Michigan (62-53)
Bad Conference losses: at Ball State (82-71); vs. Toledo (90-83 OT); at Western Michigan (72-52)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Senior guard Giordan Watson (16.4 PPG); Assists- Watson (4.5 APG); Rebounds- Junior forward/center Marcus Van (5.1)
Chippewas looking to get program on track with victory at tournament
Giordan Watson is a name not many college basketball fans know outside of the Mid-American Conference, and, unfortunately, may not find out come the end of the tournament. Already embedded into Central Michigan history, Watson has distinguished himself as third all-time in Chippewa history in steals (145) and sixth in assists (351) and three-point shots made (135).
Awarded First-Team All-MAC recognitions a year ago, this season Watson is first in the MAC in assists per game (4.52) and second in points per game (16.4) and steals (1.9). The rest of the team, however, has only a lone player averaging over eight points per game (Junior guard/forward Nate Minnoy, 8.8).
“Players are defined by how well their team performs and, unfortunately for Giordan, that will not be something he can look back on,” coach Ernie Zeigler said.
Despite earning the third-best scoring average in the MAC (71.2 PPG), the Chippewas struggled to play consistent basketball all season. During the first seven conference games, the team averaged 61.8 PPG compared to their final nine games, where the Chippewas averaged 74.7 PPG down the stretch.
“We are trying to establish that we are not going to accept the losing mentality that is embedded deeply in the roots of this program,” Zeigler said.
The initial step toward doing so, first-round opponent and No. 11 seed Northern Illinois. The Chippewas downed the Huskies handsomely at home (77-63) on Jan. 19 and snuck away with a victory on the road (80-73) on Mar. 1.
Following two consecutive conference wins, including an upset of Western Michigan at home (72-68) the Chippewas look to rebound after an emotional overtime loss at home to Toledo (90-83).
Eastern Michigan Eagles by Michael Weisman
Coach: Charles Ramsey (3rd season at Eastern Michigan)
MAC Record (overall): 8-8 (13-16)
Tournament Seed: 7
First-round Opponent: No. 10 Ball State (5-11 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Western Michigan (81-71); vs. Ohio (63-56)
Bad Conference Losses: at Ball State (64-60); at Buffalo (68-64)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Junior guard Carlos Medlock (14.9 PPG); Assists- Medlock (4.2 APG); Rebounding- Senior guard Travis Lewis (5.5 RPG)
Eastern Michigan hoping to take home success to Cleveland
Eastern Michigan University opens their 2008 Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament with a familiar opponent in the tenth-seeded Ball State Cardinals. Just over a week ago, the Eagles took down these same Cardinals 75-64 at home but dropped an earlier decision to them 64-60 in Muncie, Ind.
Eastern Michigan has had great success at home, going 10-4 overall and 7-1 in the MAC, but has struggled away from Ypsilanti, Mich., going a measly 3-12 overall and 1-7 in conference.
Should the Eagles get by Ball State on a neutral court in Cleveland, they would face an even tougher test in No. 2 seed and West Division champion Western Michigan University, who Eastern Michigan beat at home by 10 but was then thumped at Western Michigan by 18.
The Eagles have used balanced scoring to win games, with four players averaging near double-digits, led by guard Carlos Medlock, who had over 20 points in both match-ups with Ball State. The other scorers are Jarred Axon (10.1 PPG), Justin Dobbins (9.8 PPG) and Jesse Bunkley (9.8 PPG).
Eastern Michigan coach Charles Ramsey was unavailable for comment during Monday’s weekly teleconference.
The Eagles will take on the Cardinals Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the opening game of the MAC Tournament.
Toledo Rockets by Britton Dove
Coach: Stan Joplin (12th season at Toledo)
MAC Record (overall): 7-8 (10-18)
Tournament Seed: 8
First-round Opponent: No. 9 Bowling Green (7-9 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Kent State (59-56); vs. Ohio (54-52)
Bad Conference Losses: at Eastern Michigan (68-44), at Ball State (59-52)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Junior guard Tyrone Kent (17.1 PPG); Assists- Kent (3.1 APG); Rebounding- Senior forward Jerrah Young (6.5 RPG)
A young team with realistic expectations
There are some concerns from Toledo coach Stan Joplin heading into the Mid-American Conference Tournament due to the youth and lack of experience on his team. Toledo won their last two games to close out the year against Eastern Michigan University (72-63) and Central Michigan University (90-83) in overtime without a true point guard and with half of the team being freshmen.
“I think when you don’t have a true point guard in your program and you have a short bench that we have, I think it’s pretty tough,” Joplin said.
“We just try to tell the guys to take good shots and I think that a lot of times our guys just panic because we don’t have a true point guard. We just have to work a little bit harder, and, if Ridley Johnson plays well, Jonathan Amos, Tyrone Kent and Jerrah Young play well at the same time then it takes the pressure off the freshmen and our walk-ons and we may have a chance,” he said.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Bowling Green won 69-58 at home, cutting the all-time series to 82-75 in favor of Toledo.
“We are going to just keep our fingers crossed and just try and play good basketball. That’s about it,” Joplin said.
“Anything can happen as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know what momentum means if you can't win the first game. You could win your last three games and not play well your first game [and you're] out [of the tournament], you go home,” he said.
Bowling Green State Falcons by Andrew Reeder
Coach: Louis Orr (1st season at Bowling Green)
Record (overall): 7-9 (13-16)
Tournament Seed: 9
First-round Opponent: No. 8 Toledo (7-8 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Ohio (52-49); vs. Kent State (89-83)
Bad Conference Losses: at Eastern Michigan (78-68); at Buffalo (96-50)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Junior forward Nate Miller (13.3 PPG); Assists- Freshman guard Joe Jakubowski (3.1 APG); Rebounding- Redshirt-freshman forward Chris Knight (7.3 RPG)
Falcons look for a fresh start in the postseason
For first-year coach Louis Orr and the Bowling Green State Falcons, the Mid-American Conference Tournament is like a breath of badly-needed fresh air.
After taking a bludgeoning at Buffalo (96-50), the Falcons finished the regular season with another loss at Miami (75-59), netting them a road conference record of just 1-7. In those eight games, Bowling Green has allowed their opponents to score an average of 72.3 points per game, but, instead of dwelling on the past, Coach Orr is looking to the future.
“It’s a new season, and you build your own momentum from the MAC Tournament,” Orr said.
The Falcons will battle Toledo in their 2008 MAC Tournament opener, a rematch of the regular season game between the two where Bowling Green outlasted the Rockets 69-58 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Falcons’ Nate Miller recorded a double-double in the victory, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing 11 boards.
“[Toledo is] a team that plays with courage,” said Orr of his team’s West Division rival. “They’re not afraid, they compete.”
With a win, Bowling Green would have to play the No. 1 seed Kent State Golden Flashes, a team they split with during the regular season. However, Orr remains optimistic about his team’s chances at getting to the MAC championship game.
“You’ve got some favorites, but I think it is a tournament that can be wide open,” Orr said. “The team that plays the hardest and plays the best is going to win.”
Ball State Cardinals by Britton Dove
Coach: Billy Taylor (1st season at Ball State)
MAC Record (overall): 5-11 (6-23)
Tournament Seed: 10
First-round Opponent: No. 7 Eastern Michigan (8-8 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Toledo (59-52)
Bad Conference Losses: at Northern Illinois (60-58)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Senior forward Anthony Newell (16.9 PPG); Assists- Freshman guard Melvin Goins (2.3 APG); Rebounding- Newell (8.1 RPG)
The third time may be the charm
Wednesday will be the third meeting between Ball State and Eastern Michigan in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament (the Cardinals lost away 75-64 and won 64-60 at home), but this will be the first time that Ball State plays on a neutral court this year.
According to coach Billy Taylor, the road is much tougher to win on than a neutral site, so he is not that worried about it.
In the last meeting between the two teams, Ball State led in almost every scoring category including points in the paint (24-22), second chance points (14-11) and fast break points (4-2). In the first meeting, Taylor credits the loss to the turnovers forced by Eastern Michigan.
“Going into the MAC Tournament facing Eastern Michigan, a team that we split with, I thought Eastern did a really nice job of forcing us into a lot of turnovers and really scored out of our poor shot selection and turnovers,” Taylor said. “Hopefully we will do a lot better this game and bring a better defensive attitude."
Ball State dropped four of their last five games of the year to end 6-23 on the season, but, as the No. 10 seed in the tournament, they still will not be taken lightly by any coach in the MAC, with many of the coaches mentioning that all a team has to do to win the tourney is “survive.”
Northern Illinois Huskies by Will Strome
Coach: Ricardo Patten (1st season at Northern Illinois)
MAC Record (overall): 3-12 (6-21)
Tournament Seed: 11
First-round Opponent: No. 6 Central Michigan (8-8 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: at Akron (88-78); vs. Toledo (78-62)
Bad Conference Losses: vs. Buffalo (89-81); at Ball State (69-63); at Bowling Green (63-59)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Freshman guard Darion “Jake” Anderson (11.9 PPG); Assists- Anderson (2.7 APG); Rebounds- Senior forward Shaun Logan (5.4 RPG)
Huskies limp into first tournament under Patten
After finishing second all-time in career wins at Colorado University, Ricardo Patten had high hopes of reviving a struggling Northern Illinois program coming off a disappointing 7-23 record from a year ago. Following his first season at the helm, Patten and the Huskies failed to improve upon last season’s troubles and found themselves in the basement of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Of the 12 conference losses the Huskies were dealt this season, two came against their first-round opponent Central Michigan. The Chippewas won the latest meeting on the road on Mar. 1 (80-73) and earlier, on Jan. 19, with a 77-63 victory over the visiting Huskies.
Heading into the third and final bout between the two MAC-West adversaries, Northern Illinois has not put a tally in the win column since their road win against Akron on Feb. 12. Over their most recent 13 game span, only twice have the dreary Huskies outdone their opponents.
“We just have to change our mentality,” Patten said. “It’s all mental and sometimes, unfortunately, teams learn how to lose.”
Patten sure has his work cut out for him in terms of molding the second-worst defense in the MAC (75.1 PPG) into a competitive one for the tournament. From behind the arc, the Huskies are dead last in three-point shooting percentage (.296 percent) along with defending it (.398 percent). Offensively, they average a mediocre 65.5 PPG, but 18.2 turnovers per game has devastated the Northern Illinois attack.
Buffalo Bulls by Will Strome
Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (9th season at Buffalo)
MAC Record (overall): 3-13 (10-19)
Tournament Seed: 12
First-round Opponent: No. 5 Miami (9-7 MAC)
Big Conference Wins: vs. Eastern Michigan (68-64); vs. Bowling Green (96-50)
Bad Conference Losses: vs. Ball State (76-67); at Central Michigan (100-96 2OT); at Bowling Green (83-70)
Team Leaders: Scoring- Junior guard Andy Robinson (13.4 PPG); Assists- Junior guard/forward Greg Gamble and sophomore guard Byron Mulkey (2.52 APG); Rebounds- Sophomore guard/forward Calvin Betts (6.6 RPG)
Bulls’ woes evident throughout entire season
Buffalo has been one of the few teams consistent throughout the Mid-American Conference regular season. When conference play began in early January, the Bulls established themselves as the worst team in the league and finished the season in similar fashion.
The Bulls dropped their first eight conference contests, including back-to-back double-overtime losses to Western Michigan (Jan. 29, 100-90) and Central Michigan (Feb. 2, 100-96). Buffalo halted their winless streak with back-to-back wins over Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan for their only consecutive conference victories of the season. Over their final seven games, the Bulls only conjured up two wins, one of which was against non-conference foe Youngstown State.
Ironically, even with the worst record in the MAC, the Bulls have the highest scoring offense, which posts a 71.7 PPG average. On the other end of the court, defense is the polar opposite. Even though the Bulls rank first in offensive rebounds (14.9 RPG) and second in defensive rebounds (23.34 RPG), they surrender a conference worst 75.2 PPG.
In conference play, Buffalo was held to under 60 points on only four separate occasions. Two of these were against first-round opponent and No. 5 seed Miami. The RedHawks stole both games from the Bulls with a 64-57 win in Oxford on Jan. 20 and again on Feb. 16 (64-55).
In the first meeting between the two, Buffalo shot a pathetic 35 percent from the field and posted a 31-29 halftime lead. The second clash between the two was another pitiful shooting performance by Buffalo. Despite three Bulls scoring over 10 points (Byron Mulkey, 15 points; Andy Robinson, 13; Calvin Betts, 10), the team converted on just 10-of-32 opportunities including 2-7 from behind the arc and 9-13 from the line.
“We’re playing one of the best teams in the conference and we’ve got to go over a lot of very little things,” coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “However, we don’t have many older guys with tournament experience to help out the younger guys.”
With only one senior on the team, Buffalo will rely on their junior guard Andy Robinson for immediate offensive production. Juniors Sean Smiley and Greg Gamble, along with sophomore Calvin Betts, each average over eight points respectively and collectively scored 40 points during their pummeling of Bowling Green (96-50) on Mar. 4. Robinson tacked on another 18 points in only 20 minutes of play.
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