MAC Basketball Tournament - #2 Western Michigan vs #3 Akron
VanDelay Sports is sitting on press row for the MAC Basketball Tournament this week, and we’re running live diaries during the games. We’ll be updating this at most of the media time outs. Hopefully this will be somewhat entertaining and informative for those who care.
ESPN is calling Kent State a lock for the NCAA Tournament. I’ve gotta agree they’ve got a great profile and they looked awesome against the Toledo Rockets last night.
Pregame - Western and Akron both looked really impressive last night. This one should be a close hard fought game, though both teams will have trouble matching what we saw this afternoon in the women’s semifinals. The lady Ohio Bobcats beat the heavily favored Bowling Green Falcons in double overtime. Great, great game as both teams traded shots throughout the end of regulation and both overtimes. The Bobcats will face the RedHawks tomorrow at 1pm to decide the MAC Championship.
15:53 - Akron with some nice early ball movement jumps out to a quick 10-4 lead. They’re doubling Reitz down low on defense and he looks a tiny bit frustrated early.
11:45 - Akron leads 14-11. Western put together a little run at the end of this portion to close in on the Zips. The refs are going pretty easy on the whistles so far. Only 3 total foul calls. I like it.
9:58 - Reitz can’t convert at the line to make it a 3-pt play… Not to be outdone Middleton laces a conventional 3 as a foul is called under the hoop. Akron gets the bucket and the ball.
7:33 - Remember what I said about the refs swallowing their whistles? Nevermind. Suddenly we’ve got 10 fouls combined, and Zips fans are getting restless as 6 of them are on Akron. Akron still leads 21-15.
6:12 - Western with a lot of trouble getting into a groove on offense, 25-15 Zips.
4:56 - Reitz knocks another one down while getting fouled, and hits the FT. Western’s gotta get him more touches. 25-18 Zips.
1:38 - 35-24 Western takes a TO after Middleton nails a long 3 to put the Zips up 11.
Halftime - Not as close as I thought it would be so far. Akron has looked really good and they’re up 37-24. Akron has certainly been using a spread out attack, Chris McKnight and Middleton have been the players of the first half for them. Middleton is 4-4 with 11 points McKnight is 6-8 for 12. Points in the paint are even at 16. Akron is outrebounding the Broncos 16-8, leading to an 8-2 edge in second chance points. Though if you’re looking for the difference in this one check out 3-pt shooting. Akron is 5-9, Western is 0-4. Oddly enough Akron hasn’t attempted a shot at the line while Western is 8-10. That discrepancy hasn’t seemed to matter yet.
15:57 - 44-32 Akron still leads, though it’s not for lack of effort on Western’s part. The next 4 minutes should tell the story here. Western should either start closing the gap, or Akron is going to widen it.
11:56 - Or I guess there’s the third option, both teams trade buckets and it remains an Akron 12 point lead… So, maybe this will be the 4 minutes that tell the story. One way or another Western needs to start making a move here soon.
7:52 - Reitz is starting to heat up, but Akron just keeps knocking in buckets. They’re up 54-40. It’s starting to look like the Zips could just be too much for WMU to handle tonight.
5:58 - Akron shot 57% in the 1st half and they’re doing the same in the 2nd half as they’re still up 13. Tough to beat a team shooting that well.
4:59 - Why’s Akron shooting so well? Check out the assists column. Akron holds a 14-4 edge. They’re leading 61-46.
3:59 - This one’s just about over with Western down 62-49. They’ve been hanging around but have been incapable of making a run. It’s gonna take some kind of run now with only 4 minutes remaining to make up 13 points.
2:21 - Shawntes Gary with a 3-pt play and Akron takes a TO after some trouble trying to inbound the ball. 11-point Akron lead.
1:12 - Western still within striking distance, but again they can’t get close enough. Akron leads 67-59, heading to the line.
Final - 73-62 Akron wins this one comfortably. They’ll advance to the finals against the winner of tonight’s Kent State/Miami game.
Tags: Akron, broncos, mac, MAC Basketball, MAC Basketball Tournament, mac tournament, Western Michigan, WMU, Zips
March 14th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
[…] Original post here […]
March 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Ohio State lost today! Woo hoo!
March 14th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Despite a strong double-digit lead throughout the 2nd half, these Akron fans continue to scream at the refs like they’re down 20. Give me a break.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
That loss could end their NCAA hopes. What do you think, mac?
March 14th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Ohio State not making the NCAA? I think I like anything that goes against Ohio State and their fans.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
It’s official. You are now slower than ESPN.com