Eastern Michigan

MAC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:17:57 -0500

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Conference Rank: 13th

10 year average: 13th

All-MAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Al Fisher	Kent State	Sr
G	Michael Bramos	Miami	Sr
G/F	David Kool	Western Mich.	Jr
F	Anthony Newell	Ball State	Sr
F	Jerome Tillman	Ohio	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Michael Bramos Al Fisher		Points: Anthony Newell (Ball) 16.9 Tyrone Kent (Toledo) 16.9 Rebounds: Anthony Newell 8.0 Assists: Michael Allen (Ohio) 4.0

MAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

41	Kent State	MAC	1	NCAA
73	Miami (OH)	MAC	2	NIT
97	Western Michigan	MAC	3
122	Central Michigan	MAC	4
129	Ohio	MAC	5
173	Akron	MAC	6
178	Toledo	MAC	7
196	Bowling Green	MAC	8
238	Eastern Michigan	MAC	9
256	Ball State	MAC	10
291	Buffalo	MAC	11
298	Northern Illinois	MAC	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MAC?

Other MAC Content

Head Coach Q&A's

Charlie Coles: Miami

Conference Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: MAC

State of 08: Ohio

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the MAC?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:02:56 -0400

State of '08: Michigan

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:07:42 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN STATE - Since Tom Izzo took over in 1995, Michigan State has never finished below .500 in Big East play, and has made the postseason for thirteen straight seasons. This year's squad has the look of Izzo's seventh team that advances to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond.

MICHIGAN - Its amazing how little success Michigan has had in the last decade under Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker. One of the country's top programs from the 80's into the 90's hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament in 10 years, a streak which will certainly continue in 2009. John Beilein's rebuilding project will take some time.

WESTERN MICHIGAN - The best of Michigan's directional MAC programs, WMU has finished above .500 in conference play for the last seven seasons. This seven-year run includes four 20-win seasons, three postseason trips, and wins over quality programs such as Davidson & SIU last year, and Virginia Tech and San Diego State the previous season. We project the Broncos to make another run at the postseason in 08-09.

OAKLAND - Longtime coach Greg Kampe continues to do a great job at Oakland. He oversaw the move up from DII to D1 a decade ago, a transition that was surprisingly smooth. The Grizzlies made their first NCAA Tourney in 2005.. and were just a few baskets away from a return trip in 2007. OU will once again be a serious Summit League contender in 2009.

DETROIT - For much of the 90's, and up to as recently as 2005, Detroit was a consistent Horizon League power under long-time coach Perry Watson. But in part due to health problems, Watson has now been replaced by Ray McCallum, who hopes to return the Titans to that high level of play. It will take some time though as Detroit is coming off one of the worst season's in the programs history (just 6-23 against D1 opponents).

6. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Outside of an amazing 2003 season, CMU hasn't had much to cheer about over the last twenty seasons. But third year coach Ernie Ziegler has brought an air of respectability to the program, as the past two seasons have seen improved play. 2009 could be the Chippewas best season since 2003's freak 2nd round NCAA Tourney run.

7. EASTERN MICHIGAN - The Eagles were one of the MAC's better teams in the 90's, but the last decade has been dismal. EMU hasn't finished above 200th in the RPI since 2000, and CHN projects another such season in 08-09.

Last: Maryland - Next: Mississippi

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

MAC Tournament: Day One

Bill Kintner — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:44:52 -0400

Game 1

The No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan beat No. 10 Ball State 59-55 to put the Cardinals out of their misery and moved into the semifinals against No. 2 Western Michigan at noon. Justin Dobbins led the Eagles with 21 points, including a put-back that gave them a 45-44 lead and led to an 8-0 run to pull away from Ball State.

Fav quote:

“We expected them to play well. They had nothing to lose. They are a much better team than that record indicates.”
- Eastern Michigan coach Charles Ramsey

Game 2

It was a three game sweep as No. 6 Central Michigan whipped No. 11 Northern Illinois 83-71. Senior guard Giordan Watson led the Chippewas with 20 points. Central Michigan led by as much as 22 in the second half before a late comeback to make the score respectable. CMU plays Akron at 2:30 pm.

Fav quote:

“I know we have good shooters. When you have good shooters, they make shots.”
- CMU player Giordan Watson

Game 3

The No. 8 seed Toledo beat arch-rival No. 9 Bowling Green 52-48 to avenge a regular-season loss to the Falcons. The Rockets shot a meager 33.3 percent from the field and 5.9 percent (1-17) from 3-point land. Jonathan Amos led the Rockets with 15 points. Toledo plays Kent State at 7 p.m.

Fav quote:

“We bogged down on offensively. We had open shots , we just couldn’t convert. At one point they had nine offensive rebounds and I was pretty disappointed with that.”
- Toledo coach Stan Joplin

Game 4

No. 5 Miami, took a lead with three minutes thanks to the shooting of Kenny Hayes and the RedHawks made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to hold off No. 12 Buffalo 69-68. Michael Bramos led Miami with 23 points. The RedHawks were out-rebounded 38-22 and had just four offensive rebounds. Miami plays Ohio at 9:30 p.m.

Fav quote:

“We were getting frustrated because they were playing a lot harder than us. We had to come in the second half and match their intensity.”
- Tim Politz, Miami player

MAC Recap: 11-18

Ryan Molnar — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:55:38 -0500

The MAC had four teams in action yesterday and last night with all but one team winning. Kent State picked up a good win at home over Detroit. Marquette handed it to Eastern Michigan. Toledo took care of Middle Tennessee State in overtime, and Buffalo came away with an impressive win over Miami (FL). Kent State had a balanced attack lead them to a 61-48 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy at the MAC Center yesterday afternoon. Kent State held Detroit to just 38 percent shooting and withstood a hot start from behind the 3-point line from the Titans. Detroit hit its first three triples, but then proceeded to only shoot three-of-16 the rest of the game. Freshmen guard Rodriguez Sherman led Kent State with 14 points in his first colleigate start. Due to many suspensions of players he was thrust into the lineup and did not commit one turnover in 31 minutes of play. Senior Armon Gates scored 12 points and brought down a career high 8 rebounds. He is known more for his 3 point shooting ability but in this game he was only able to make two three pointers. Kent State returns to action on Tuesday when they host Temple University. Eastern Michigan fell hard to #17 Marquette University 95-62. The Eagles were led by freshmen Devon Dumes who was the only player on Eastern in double figures as he scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field while hitting 4-of-7 from behind the arc. EMU stayed with Marquette for much of the first half but could not withstand Marquette’s hot shooting from the field along with its stingy defense. The Golden Eagles connected on 48% of it’s three point attempts while Eastern hit just 38% of theirs. Marquette had five players in double figures and were led by sophomore guard Dominic James who had 17 points. EMU will take on Detroit on Wednesday, November 29th. Toledo got their first win of the year last night but it wasn’t easy. Playing against Middle Tennessee State in the Virgin Islands as part of the Paradise Jam Tournament, Toledo fell down by as much as 18 points at the half but battled back to win it 75-69 in overtime. Senior guard Justin Ingram came up big for the Rockets scoring a career-high 32 points. He also hit the three that forced overtime. Senior forward Keonta Howell came up with 21 points and 6 rebounds and overcame a 20 point deficit with a 22-2 surge late in the second half. Ingram hit the game-tying three with only 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Middle Tennessee State rode their 72.7 percent shooting to a 18 point halftime lead. Toledo will play VCU on Monday afternoon in their last game at the Paradise Jam Tournament. The Buffalo Bulls win over the Miami Hurricanes was the school’s first win over a school from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bulls defeated the Hurricanes 60-57 in the America’s Youth Classic in Evansville, Indiana last night. Yassin Idbihi hit the game-winning jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining to carry the Bulls to their third win of the season. The senior forward led Buffalo with 22 points and a career high 14 rebounds. Buffalo only shot 36.5 percent but played solid defense and came up big on the boards. Buffalo was able to out-rebound Miami 43-35, including 16 offensive boards. Buffalo will take on Evansville in the final game of the tournament today. Today’s games feature Ball State hosting Prairie View A&M, Bowling Green hosting Furman, Akron hosting Tiffin, Ohio hosting Yale, Buffalo on the road at Evansville, and Central Michigan hosting UMKC. Here are my predictions: Ball State, Akron, Ohio, and Central Michigan all win, while Bowling Green and Buffalo both lose. Yesterday: 1-3. Overall: 6-4.

MAC Recap: 11-17

Ryan Molnar — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 11:30:39 -0500

The MAC had three teams in action and while they went 2-1 none of the two teams that won had very impressive wins. Toledo was in action against Iowa in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Tournament, Miami won big over Florida A&M, and Buffalo won a close one at home over Cleveland State. On to the recaps: Toledo fought hard against Iowa but came up short 78-65 in the opening round of the Paradise Jam Tournament. The seniors held the Rocket’s in this game though. Senior guard Justin Ingram paced the Rockets with 22 points, 4 steals and 4 rebounds and was a point shy of his career scoring high. Senior forward Keonta Howell chipped in 16 points and six rebounds and senior forward Florentino Valencia scored 12 points and came down with a team high 8 rebounds. Freshmen forward Tyler Smith scored a game high 28 points for the Hawkeyes. The Rockets were able to shut down Iowa’s leading scorer, Adam Haluska, limiting him to only 10 points. However, that opened the door for Smith’s big night. Iowa also destroyed Toledo on the boards with a 51-30 rebounding edge. Toledo will face Middle Tennessee State tonight as the Blue Raiders dropped their game last night against 10th ranked Alabama. Miami dominated their game against Florida A&M coming away with a 52-33 win. Junior forward Tim Pollitz scored 16 points and came down with 11 rebounds. The 33 points were the fewest opponents points since Miami gave up 32 points to Wright State back in 1947. The RedHawks also only gave up 11 points in the first half, which tied a school record. Miami returns to action by playing at home again on Tuesday and hosting the University of Illinois-Chicago. The other MAC team in action last night was the Buffalo Bulls and they picked up a good 77-73 win over Cleveland State. It was the opening game of the America’s Youth Classic in Evansville, Indiana last night. For the second straight game, senior Parnell Smith posted a career high in scoring, this time with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. It wasn’t an easy win for the Bulls as they fell behind early and were trailing 35-28 at the half. However, they quickly responded to open the second half as they outscored the Vikings 36-14 in the first 12 minutes. The Bulls ran the lead all the way up to 13 points before Cleveland State battled back to make it a close game at the end. Following two missed free throws by Buffalo, the Vikings had a shot at the win. However, Vadim Fedotov drew a charge with six seconds remaining for the Bulls and Eric Monroe drilled a pair of free throws to give the victory to Buffalo. Buffalo takes on Miami (FL) tonight in the second round of the America’s Youth Classic. Tonight’s game matches Kent State hosting Detroit, Eastern Michigan on the road at Marquette, Toledo playing Middle Tennessee State in the Virgin Islands, and Buffalo playing Miami (FL) in Evansville, Indiana. I’m predicting that Toledo will be the only team that will win out of the MAC tonight. Last night’s record: 3-0. Overall record: 5-1.