Ohio

MAC Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:33:31 -0500

Akron is the favorite after winning 23 games last year, but just about everyone in the dominant East Division has a chance to make some noise.

Conference Rank: 17th

10 year average: 13th

MAC Conference Page

All-MAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Rodney Pierce	Buffalo	Sr
G	Darion Anderson	Northern Illinois	Jr
G/F	David Kool	Western Mich.	Jr
F	Brandon Bowdry	Eastern Mich.	Jr
F	Jarrod Jones	Ball State	So

Player of the Year - Rodney Pierce
CHN Award Winners		Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Darion Anderson Rodney Pierce		Best Scorer: David Kool Best Rebounder: Brandon Bowdry Best Passer: Joe Jakubowski

MAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

68	Akron	MAC	1	NCAA
82	Buffalo	MAC	2	NIT
104	Kent State	MAC	3	CBI/CIT
128	Bowling Green	MAC	4
184	Ohio	MAC	5
199	Miami (OH)	MAC	6
232	Central Michigan	MAC	7
266	Ball State	MAC	8
289	Northern Illinois	MAC	9
311	Eastern Michigan	MAC	10
318	Western Michigan	MAC	11
341	Toledo	MAC	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MAC?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

MAC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:54:12 -0400

CLEVELAND - Akron was predicted to finish first in the Mid-American Conference East Division in a poll of the league's media, the conference office announced on Oct 28.

Central Michigan was predicted to win the West Division, amassing 113 points and 10 first-place votes. Northern Illinois was picked to finish second with 102 points, while Eastern Michigan was forecast to finish third with 94 points. Ball State, Western Michigan and Toledo were picked to finish fourth, fifth and sixth in the West Division, respectively.

Five schools earned votes to win the MAC Tournament with Akron being the favorite with 19 votes. Buffalo received two votes, while Northern Illinois, Kent State and Bowling Green each received one.

MAC East Division Preseason Media Poll

1.       Akron – 190 points (19)

2.       Kent State – 108 points (3)

3.       Buffalo – 97 points (1)

4.       Miami – 78 points

5.       Bowling Green – 54 points (1)

6.       Ohio – 32 points

MAC West Division Preseason Media Poll

1.       Central Michigan – 113 points (10)

2.       Northern Illinois – 102 points (4)

3.       Eastern Michigan – 94 points (3)

4.       Ball State – 87 points (3)

5.       Western Michigan – 79 points (4)

6.       Toledo – 29 points

(1st place votes in parentheses)

Tournament Winner: Akron (19), Buffalo (2), Northern Illinois (1), Kent State (1), Bowling Green (1)

East Division All-MAC Preseason Team

Kenny Hayes, G, Miami

Brett McKnight, F, Akron

Rodney Pierce, G, Buffalo

Chris Singletary, G, Kent State

Anthony “Humpty” Hitches, G, Akron

West Division All-MAC Preseason Team

David Kool, G, Western Michigan

Jarrod Jones, F/C, Ball State

Brandon Bowdry, F, Eastern Michigan

Darion “Jake” Anderson, G, Northern Illinois

Carlos Medlock, G, Eastern Michigan

MAC Football Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:49:55 -0400

Can the Bulls repeat as champions?

By Raphielle Johnson

2008 saw the completion to one of the biggest turnarounds in recent college football history, with Turner Gill leading the Buffalo Bulls from the dregs of college football to the top of the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls knocked off Ball State in the conference championship game, earning a trip to the International Bowl. They may have lost that game and starting quarterback Drew Willy (graduation), but most importantly they did not lose Coach Gill.

Despite a few interview opportunities he’ll be right back on the sidelines, hoping that players such as WR Naaman Roosevelt and RB Brandon Thermilus (James Starks will likely miss the entire season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder) can lead the Bulls to another title. Zack Maynard takes over for Willy under center, and while he’s got many options to go to with the football he’ll also have to deal with three new starters on the offensive line. Defensively, look for the Bulls to be one of the conference’s stronger units with nine starters returning. The key for Buffalo: avoiding a “hangover” following a season of success the likes of which hadn’t been seen at UB for a very long time.

Their biggest challenger in the East could very well be Temple, another program looking to drag itself up from the bottom of college football. Al Golden’s team went 5-7 in his first year in Philadelphia, but they did win four league games. Adam DiMichele has graduated, but the Owls do have quarterbacks with starting experience in Vaughn Charlton and Chester Stewart. Outside of quarterback the Owls are a solid football team featuring a number of young yet talented options on both sided of the football. Far more competitive than people expected them to be last season, Temple has the talent to challenge the Bulls and possibly win the conference.

Ohio, Akron and Bowling Green could slot in behind those two in any given order, but good luck figuring out which of the three would have the best chance to shove their way into the top two. Ohio will always run the ball and play sound football under Frank Solich, but the growth of the passing game will determine whether or not the Bobcats can win the division. JD Brookhart’s Akron Zips return nine starters on offense with QB Chris Jacquemain leading the way. But in order for Akron to put together their first winning season since 2005 a defense that finished tenth in the MAC in total defense must improve.

Bowling Green welcomes a new head coach in Dave Clawson, who was extremely successful at Richmond before taking over as offensive coordinator at Tennessee in 2008. He will have some dependable options on offense in QB Tyler Sheehan and WR Freddie Barnes to work with, but there will be some work to do defensively. A unit that ranked second in the conference in total defense returns just three starters and have to replace all-conference DE Diyral Briggs.

Kent State is another team to keep an eye on, with the Golden Flashes returning fifteen starters, led by the diminutive yet productive RB Eugene Jarvis. Jarvis rushed for just over eight hundred yards in 2008, missing three games due to injury. His health becomes even more important due to the graduation of QB Julian Edelman. Four starters are back on the offensive line, and the defense returns starters at all three levels. The wildcard in regards to their contention for a division crown will be the play of sophomore QB Giorgio Morgan; if he can play mistake-free football the Golden Flashes have a chance to earn their first winning season since 2001.

Miami of Ohio also has a new head coach in Mike Haywood, and he’ll have quite the rebuilding job to do in Oxford. The Redhawks have a proud football history but they’ve finished 2-10 in two of the last three seasons. Senior Daniel Raudabaugh returns to lead the offense, and that unit ranked ahead of only Temple in total offense. The Redhawks weren’t much better defensively, ranking ninth in the conference in total defense. Just five starters return to that unit, led by three returnees in the secondary.

In the West, it’ll most likely be a two-horse race between Central Michigan and Western Michigan. The Chippewas return the conference’s best quarterback in Dan LeFevour, and head coach Butch Jones also has receivers Kito Poblah, Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown back in the fold. But the Chips have just one starter back on the offensive line, and the fact that they have ten starters back on defense is undermined by the fact that CMU was dead last in the conference in total defense last season. If the defense can round into shape they’ve got a chance to get through a tough early-season schedule and get back to the top of the MAC.

As for the Broncos, they’ve got some holes to fill defensively but the offense is in good hands thanks to the return of all five starters on the offensive line and QB Tim Hiller. Hiller threw for 286.5 yards per game in 2008, tops in the conference by thirty yards per game. Brandon West will be back for one more run as well, hoping to improve upon numbers that ranked him sixth in the conference in rushing yards a season ago. The Broncos were fourth in the MAC in total offense but just eighth in total defense. That number has to improve if they’re to win the conference this season.

Northern Illinois was the worst offensive team in the conference yet still reached a bowl game in the first season under Jerry Kill due to a defense that finished tops in the conference by nearly fifty yards per game. Defensive end Larry English is now in the NFL and just four starters return on defense, but things may be looking up for the offense. QB Chandler Harnish started ten games as a freshman and is one of seven starters back on that side of the football. If the NIU offense can make some strides they’ll be in the running for third place in the West.

Toledo, Ball State and Eastern Michigan all welcome new head coaches in 2009, with the Rockets having the best chance of finishing in the top half the of the division. New head coach Tim Beckman takes over a team that returns sixteen starters, including QB Aaron Opelt and running backs Morgan Williams and DaJuane Collins. Growing pains could be more plentiful for Ball State’s Stan Parrish and Eastern Michigan’s Ron English. The Cardinals have just four starters back on an offense that led the MAC in total offense a season ago. The load will become heavier for RB MiQuale Lewis with the loss of QB Nate Davis and four starters on the offensive line.

As for EMU the program has won four games in a season three times this decade. That’s the high-water mark for the perennial MAC doormat, something the former defensive coordinator at Louisville hopes to change. Seventeen starters return to Ypsilanti, including nine to an offense that ranked third in the MAC last season. But no matter how many yards Andy Schmitt threw for the Eagles struggled to win games due to a porous defense. Schmitt did lead the Eagles to an upset win over the Chippewas in the season finale, throwing for 516 yards and five touchdowns in the 56-52 stunner. In the final two games of the season Schmitt attempted 76 (Temple) and 80 (CMU) passes; if he has to do that this year the Eagles will more than likely fail to surpass their three-win total of 2008.

As for who wins the MAC title look for Central Michigan’s defense to show signs of improvement, winning the conference provided LeFevour stay healthy. If not, the door opens for either Buffalo or Western Michigan to grab the title. But rest assured it will be another season of wild games and surprising results in the Mid-American Conference.

Storyline: Offense vs. defense. The Bulls are pretty solid on both sides of the football, but the other major contenders need to make improvements on either the offensive (Temple) or defensive (CMU, WMU) side of the football.

Players of the Year: QB Tim Hiller (Western Michigan) and LB Nick Bellore (Central Michigan)

How they’ll finish

East 1. Buffalo West 1. Central Michigan

2. Temple 2. Western Michigan

3. Ohio 3. Northern Illinois

4. Akron 4. Toledo

5. Kent State 5. Ball State

6. Bowling Green 6. Eastern Michigan

7. Miami (Ohio)

Next: MAC East and West ultimate schedules

MAC Tournament: Pairings & Schedule

Press Release — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:27:41 -0400

2009 FirstEnergy MAC Men's Basketball Tournament

Tuesday, March 10 - First Round
No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 10 Eastern Michigan, Noon
No. 6 Kent State vs. No. 11 Northern Illinois, 2 p.m.*
No. 8 Western Michigan vs. No. 9 Ohio, 4 p.m.*
No. 5 Akron vs. No. 12 Toledo, 6 p.m.*

Thursday, March 12 - Quarters
No. 2 Ball State vs. No. 7/No. 10 Winner, Noon (FS Ohio)
No. 3 Buffalo vs. No. 6/No.11 Winner, 2:30 p.m.* (FS Ohio)
No. 1 Bowling Green vs. No. 8/No. 9 Winner, 7 p.m. (FS Ohio)
No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5/No. 12 Winner, 9:30 p.m.* (FS Ohio)

Friday, March 13 - Semis
No. 2/7/10 vs. No. 3/6/11 Winner,7:30 p.m. (FS Ohio)
No. 1/8/9 vs. No. 4/5/12 Winner, 9:30 p.m.(FS Ohio)

Saturday, March 14
Championship Game (ESPN2), 8 p.m. EST

*or 30 minutes following previous game

MAC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:17:34 -0500

Conference Rank: 13th

10 year average: 13th

MAC Conference Page

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

College Football: Houston @ Marshall Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:05:19 -0400

Two games on the schedule for tonight, with both being conference affairs that the road team could definitely use to stay in their respective divisional races. Houston, despite a slow start to the season, may be the only thing standing between Tulsa and a cakewalk to the Conference USA title game. And in the wide-open MAC East, Buffalo could cement themselves as one of the favorites while dealing Ohio a devastating blow with a win in Athens. At the least, it'll give people a commercial break diversion from opening night in the NBA.

Buffalo @ Ohio 7:30 PM EST on ESPNU

Two teams that are in the middle of the pack when it comes to total offense face off in Athens. Buffalo (3-4, 1-2 MAC) ranks slightly ahead of the Bobcats (2-6, 1-3) in total offense (7th to Ohio's 8th), but when looking at the quarterbacks it's hard to figure out how Ohio has the league's fifth-ranked pass offense. Buffalo's Drew Willy ranks third in the conference in passing and has fourteen touchdown passes to just four interceptions on the year. Boo Jackson runs the show for Frank Solich's Bobcats and is the league's seventh-ranked passer. But with nine touchdowns and eight picks on the year, Jackson has had issues valuing the football at times.

In fact that could be said for Ohio as a whole, given their ranking of twelfth in the MAC in turnover margin. Along with that is the fact that the Bobcats are dead last in the league in penalties, giving up some sixty-seven yards per game. This shouldn't be as ugly as Ohio's last national television appearance (a hard-to-watch close loss at Temple), but the Bulls should win this game. But given the state of the MAC East (each team has at least two conference losses), it wouldn't be a surprise if Coach Solich beat fellow Husker Turner Gill.

Houston @ Marshall 8PM EST on ESPN2

Quick: which team leads Conference USA in pass offense? You're probably thinking Tulsa, and while they do lead the league in scoring and total offense the answer is actually Kevin Sumlin's Houston Cougars (4-3, 3-0 Conference USA). Led by QB Case Keenum, the Cougars average an impressive 403 yards/game through the air, and that's been a key reason for their current four-game win streak. Another key for Houston of late has been turnovers. In losses to Oklahoma State, Air Force and Colorado State the Cougars were rather generous with the football. That's changed and as a result the offense has been all the more effective.

As for the Thundering Herd (3-4, 2-1), they still entertain thoughts of winning the West Division despite a disappointing loss at UAB last week. And it helps that they get both Houston and Tulsa at home. But if a mediocre defense (7th in total defense, 11th in sacks) can't step up and an offense led by WR Darius Passmore and RB Darius Marshall doesn't stay on the field longer than they have this year (time of possession: 27:10; ranks 11th in C-USA) this one could get ugly. Marshall hangs in there for a bit but the Cougars make it four straight losses for Mark Snyder's Herd.

- Tyrone Willingham out at Washington.

Not really big news here, for Willingham was 11-32 in four years in Seattle. Injuries and a lack of depth did in Willingham, who will finish out the season while AD Scott Woodward begins his search for a new head coach. It's been said that former USC assistant and Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin is interested in the position. There were also rumors earlier in the season that the Huskies could talk to Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel, who is an alum and coached there under Don James.

- Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton out for the regular season.

Due to a wrist injury suffered in the Wildcats' loss at Indiana on Saturday, star running back Tyrell Sutton will miss the remainder of the regular season. Sutton will have surgery today, and his injury became bigger when it was announced that QB C.J. Bacher is questionable for their game at Minnesota due to a leg injury.

- Wisconsin TE Travis Beckum also done for the year.

A tough year for Beckum, who just couldn't stay healthy after a hamstring injury cost him time early, has come to an end thanks to a broken fibula suffered in the Badgers' win over Illinois. Surgery was a success for Beckum, who was a favorite to win the Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end before the season began.

- The bye week couldn't come at a better time for Virginia Tech.

It's bad enough that the Hokie offense has been scuffling all year long. But to add ankle injuries to both Tyrod Taylor ans Sean Glennon is to add injury to insult. Cory Holt, who was listed on the depth chart as a wide receiver, finished the 30-20 loss at Florida State. Both Taylor and Glennon are questionable right now for their game next Thursday against Maryland.

Holt went 3-6 for 28 yards and a touchdown in the game, but the Seminole defense (especially the line) had their way with Tech all afternoon. But instead of simply focusing on fixing the offense, head coach Frank Beamer and offensive coordinator Brian Stinespring have to worry about the health of their quarterbacks.

College Football: Ohio @ Temple Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:27:22 -0400

Ohio @ Temple 8PM EST on ESPN2

Another Tuesday night college football game, this one involving two MAC East teams in desperate need of a win. The interesting thing about the East Division is that both Ohio (2-5, 1-2) and Temple (2-5, 1-3) remain in the division race since first-place Akron has two losses in conference play. Bobcats QB Boo Jackson had his best performance of the season in their last contest, a 26-19 win over Kent State. However, Jackson and the Ohio offense will have its hands full with a Temple defense led by LB Amara Kamara that ranks fifth in the MAC in total defense.

On the other side of the ball, it's a gametime decision as to who will start under center for the Owls. Senior Adam DiMichele missed the loss at Central Michigan due to a shoulder injury suffered in their loss to Penn State, opening a spot for redshirt freshman Chester Stewart. Stewart was 15-32 in the 24-14 loss with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. But whoever takes the snaps will need some help from freshmen running backs Kee-ayre Griffin and Joe Jones if Temple is to win this game.

Al Golden's Owls are dead last in the MAC in all three major offensive yardage categories (total, rush and pass), and will need to accomplish something if they are to win this game. But because of this deficiency, look for Frank Solich's team to win this one on the road and deal the Owls' MAC East hopes a devastating blow.

- Kentucky RB Derek Locke lost for the season.

Locke, who tore knee ligaments in the Wildcats' 21-20 win over Arkansas last week, is out for the remainder of the season. Kentucky, who visits Florida on Saturday, is now without two of its key offensive weapons (WR Dicky Lyons Jr. was lost for the year a week prior) as they enter the most challenging portion of their schedule.

- #14/15 TCU named FWAA/Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.

Thanks to their 32-7 blowout of then-#9/8 BYU on Thursday, the Horned Frogs were named National Team of the Week by the FWAA and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Also nominated for the weekly honor was Texas (a 56-31 win over then-#11/12 Missouri) and Maryland (26-0 home shutout of then-#21/19 Wake Forest).

- TCU DE Jerry Hughes named FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

The junior from Sugar Land, TX was given the honor due to his outstanding play in the Horned Frogs' 32-7 win over BYU last Thursday. Hughes racked up five tackles (four sacks) on the night, falling one-half sack short of the school record. His four sacks, however, did tie the Mountain West's single-game record. For receiving this honor Hughes has been added to the Nagurski Award watch list. Hughes is the first defensive lineman to be named National Defensive Player of the Week this season.

State of '08: Ohio

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:33:03 -0400

HTML clipboard

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.

OHIO

OHIO STATE - While Xavier has had more consistent success since 2001, its hard to match Ohio State's 2007 campaign: Reaching the National Title game while finishing 1st in the RPI. OSU has also won 20 games in 8 of 10 seasons and reached 6 Big Dances.

XAVIER - Sean Miller has picked up where Thad Matta left off, and Matta followed the success of Skip Prosser, who continued the foundation set by Pete Gillen. Since 1986, there's been a continual run of impressive postseason success at Xavier, including 2 Elite Eight trips in the past 5 years.

KENT STATE - Pretty much whatever success you see at Kent State can still be attributed to the job Gary Waters did in the late 90's, turning a dormant program into a winner. In the last decade, the Golden Flashes have made 5 NCAA Tournaments and 4 NITs, and have won at least 20 games in each of those seasons. In 2009, Kent State is once again the projected MAC champ.

CINCINNATI - This is obviously a storied program, but the post-Huggins era has gotten off to a slow start. There hasn't been a tourney trip in the past three seasons, nor a finish above .500 in conference play. 2009 should be better, but the Big Dance will most likely have to wait another season.

DAYTON - After a hot start, Dayton stumbled to an 8-8 finish in A10 play, their third season in a row without a winning league record. From 2000-2005, Dayton won at least 9 league games every season, and made 3 NCAA Tournaments and 2 NITs.

6. MIAMI - The RedHawks have never been bad in Charlie Coles lengthy career. In fact, just one time in 11 seasons has his team failed to go at least .500 in the MAC. His last five teams have finished in the RPI Top 100, and this year's squad looks postseason-worthy once again.

7. AKRON - Keith Dambrot's four year tenure has been highly impressive. The Zips have been finished in the RPI Top 75 the past four seasons, consistently challenged for MAC titles, and advanced to two NITs. The team does lose a lot of talent this year, so it might be Dambrot's most challenging season.

8. OHIO - Ohio is a solid program that has never gone more than couple seasons here or there without contending for the MAC title. The Bobcats have won at least 18 games the past four seasons (including the '05 Big Dance), though the off-season departure of 8-year coach Tim O'Shea was puzzling.

9. WRIGHT STATE - We might be in thee midst of Wright State's best run in program history. Brad Brownell led the Raiders to the '07 Tournament in his first season, and followed that up with another 20+ win season last year. This year, WSU should once again contend for the Horizon League title.

10. TOLEDO - The Rockets haven't made the NCAA's since 1980, but it hasn't been all bad in the meantime. In 2001 & 2007, the Rockets won MAC regular season titles, but couldn't get over the conference tournament hump. Last year was disappointing, and new coach Gene Cross will need to elevate the program's overall talent-level.

11. CLEVELAND STATE - Twenty years after last making the postseason, the Vikings made the NIT in Gary Waters' second season. The Vikings won 10 league games and 20 overall games for the first time since 1993, and there's a legitimate shot they could earn their first Tourney trip since 1986.

12. BOWLING GREEN - Falcons basketball peaked in the 60's. The start of Dan Dakich's tenure, from about 99 to 02, looked promising.. but things went down hill. The last three years have featured sub-200 RPI teams, though the 2009 squad looks promising.

13. YOUNGSTOWN STATE - The Penguins basketball teams have never been able to match the football teams accomplishments. There are occasional hopeful seasons, but 2001 was the last time YSU really did any damage.

Last: North Carolina - Next: Oklahoma

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

2008-09 Ohio Bobcats Preview: #129

Joel Welser — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:44:12 -0400

Ohio Bobcats

Overall Rank: #129

Conference Rank: #5 MAC

2007-08: 20-13, 9-7, 3^rd East

2007-08 postseason: CBI

No matter what the reasons, it is not good when your coach leaves in late June to go to Bryant University. Former coach Tim O’Shea’s time at Ohio was limited and likely to end after this season anyway, so in the long run it is not a bad thing. In fact, since the Bobcats made a great hire in former Ohio State assistant John Groce, Ohio’s expectations are rising right away.

Who’s Out:

Yet, there will need to be a little rebuilding this year. Three of the top four scorers are gone, including forward Leon Williams who averaged 16.4 points and 9.8 rebounds during his senior campaign. Bubba Walther added 12.3 points and 3.7 assists per contest and fellow guard Bert Whittington was the other long range threat besides Walther. Guard Allen Hester earned a handful of starts and occasionally played an important role off the bench. Walk-on guard Andrew Vroman only saw action in six games his final year with the Bobcats.

Who’s In:

Besides the loss of Williams, it is not as bad as it looks. Walther’s production is replaceable and Whittington fits squarely in the ‘addition by subtraction’ category. Stacy Waters will carry some of the burden on the perimeter. The shooting guard can consistently knock down the three-pointer and that is what Ohio needs the most this year. In a backcourt that returns very few experienced players, Waters could be starting from day one and point guard Frankie Dobbs and shooting guard Steven Coleman will be given the opportunity to see quality minutes. Mike Harris was Iona’s second leading scorer as a freshman two years ago before transferring to Athens. Harris’ ability to hit the long ball, and his experience, will make him a valuable asset, either in the starting lineup or off the bench. Big men Maurice Pearson and Zach Nagtzaam both redshirted last year. The frontcourt certainly has a lack of depth, so the more minutes those two can eat up as freshmen, the better.

Who to Watch:

Jerome Tillman ranked second on the team last year in points, rebounds and blocks. The 6-6 power forward had a great year next to Williams, who ranked first in all those categories, but what will happen now that Williams is gone? Will Tillman emerge as a big threat under the basket or will he struggle as the opposing defense keys in on him? The problem is there is nobody ready to take over the center spot. Kenneth van Kempen has some experience, but he will not do anything close to what Williams did over his four year career. The small forward spot returns Justin Orr. Orr is a decent slasher and can occasionally hit the outside shot. Tillman and Orr will have to carry the team for a while and if they cannot find a center to clog the lane, the frontcourt will struggle.

Final Projection:

The backcourt does have some players returning. Point guard Michael Allen had a decent year after spending a couple seasons at Cloud Community College and Daytona Beach Community College. He is not much of a scorer, but Allen did dish out four assists per contest. As long as he can keep the turnovers down, the backcourt will have a steadying force leading the way. Tommy Freeman will likely find more playing time this year after averaging under ten minutes per game as a freshman. At 6-5, Freeman has the size to give the team a much needed rebounder on the wing.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Michael Allen, Senior, Guard, 4.8 points per game

Mike Harris, Sophomore, Guard, DNP last season

Justin Orr, Senior, Forward, 6.8 points per game

Jerome Tillman, Senior, Forward, 13.3 points per game

Kenneth van Kempen, Junior, Center, 2.3 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Live From the MAC Tournament: Quaterfinals

Bill Kintner — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:24:53 -0400

CLEVELAND – With four quarterfinals games today I am just going to get the highlights of the games and try to give fans a flavor for what is going.

Game One: WMU vs EMU

Led by David Kool’s 24 points No. 2 seed Western Michigan (20-11) beat No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan (14-17). In a game that Eastern Michigan never led, they did make it interesting when at the 10:34 mark they tied the game at 34-34 when Jarrad Axon made two foul shots, but that was a fleeting moment of joy as the Broncos closed it out to end Eastern Michigan’s season.
Fav quote:

“We weren’t talking well on defense and they are a great shooting team. With this being their first game of the tournament, we knew they were going to be pumped up and ready to go and we did not match their intensity and that hurt us in the long run.”
EMU guard Travis Lewis.

-This is WSM’s first trip to the semifinals since 2005.

-The crowd for this game was rather meager considering that Michigan leads the country in unemployment. With all that free time you would think more of them would be here watching two Michigan teams play.

-WMU leads the all-time series with EMU 49-44.

-Western Michigan plays Akron at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Two: Akron vs CMU

Akron the No. 3 seed stayed true to form and whipped up on the No. 6 seed Central Michigan 81-60. This game was close for the first 23 minutes before the Zips opened up a double digit lead at the 16:42 mark. Akron’s Jeremiah Wood led all scorers with 17 points. Akron (22-9) shot 56 percent (28-50) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-17) from beyond the 3-point line. Central Michigan (14-17) shot just 34.5 percent (20-58).

Fav quote:

“Today it was, ‘I just want to play basketball.’ Whatever I could do I wanted to do. We are in the part of the season where every game can be your last and I just wanted to leave everything out there.”

You thought the quote was going to be Akron coach Keith Dambrot and nine times out of 10 it usually is, just not today.

-Akron leads the all-time series with CMU 23-13.

-Akron plays Western Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Game Three: Kent State vs Toledo

No. 1 seed Kent State pounded No. 8 seed Toledo into submission 77-54. The first half was relatively close with Toledo (11-19) getting their biggest lead at three at 7-4 at the 16:42 mark. At halftime Kent State (26-6) led 39-29. In the second Kent just enlarged their lead as they were led by Mike Scott’s 23 points.

Fav Quote:

“On the court we do not think we should get any fouls. The officials made a few calls we did not necessarily agree with and the calls gave us a disadvantage and took away from us being aggressive.”
Toledo forward Jerrah Young.

-Kent State had a nice crowd at the game and they made a lot of noise.

-Toledo leads the all-time series with Kent 78-41.

-Kent State plays Miami at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Game Four: Miami vs Ohio

A typical Miami/Ohio game that No. 5 seed Miami pulled out over No.4 seed Ohio 74-61. The game was a lot tighter than the score indicates. Miami (17-14) was led by Michael Bramos’ 23 points and after getting pounded on the boards by 19 in their last game, the RedHawks out-rebounded the Bobcats 42-31. With 2:10 left it was still a close game with Miami clinging to a four point lead at 63-59. Ohio would score just one more basketball in the game.

Fav quote:

“I think we won with our guards and we got solid contributions from everybody on the boards. Last night we got out-rebounded by 19 so to come back to night and go plus 11 was a big thing.”
Miami forward Tyler Dierkers

-Ohio leads the all-time series with Miami 93-88.

-Miami plays Kent State Friday at 9:30 p.m.

MAC Notes:

-Miami has a four man broadcast team which is by far the biggest in the MAC. Steve Baker delivers the pbp, Joe Berry adds the color, Tim Bray gives sideline updates and Tommy Leugers engineers the whole mess. Some MAC schools simply have one guy that does all four jobs.

-And yes, Tim Bray actually does something besides carry Steve Baker’s luggage. At 1:30 p.m. today he was in the media room hard at work doing research for tonight’s game Miami/Ohio University game. Tommy Leugers calls him “Tidbit Tim” for all the great research he does that provides his reports. I would put that broadcast team up against any from the BCS programs.

-They are playing the woman’s tourney here at the same time as the regular tourney so it makes for a lot of downtime especially on Friday and Saturday for the fans and writers.

-Akron coach Keith Dambrot is one of the best quotes in college coaching and I like using him when I can. After I finished interviewing him he looked at my rather large stature and told me to come up to Akron to take a look at his program and he would take me to one of the best restaurants ever. That may just cost him a boatload of money someday. He also is not very PC which makes for a better interview.

-Ohio University has the best looking dance in the MAC.

-Miami’s coach Charlie Coles is not with the team. He had a heart procedure performed in a local hospital and there is no word as to when he might return. Assistant coach Jermaine Henderson is coaching the team for the remainder of the season.