MAC Sports Blog by VanDelay Sports

Tillman and Polk prepare for the opening tip as #1 Bowling Green takes on #9 Ohio.

Final - 74-61 final.

3:18 - 62-45 BG. I’m done until the end of this.

5:08 - 59-45 BG leads. Like I said earlier Ohio is cooked. BG’s going to be a tough out in this tournament. Not only does Nate Miller look like he’s out to prove a point about POTY, but they’re getting production spread around across the rest of their roster. They’ll be a tough out in this tournament.

7:49 - 52-41 BG lead. Everytime OU shows some signs of life it’s half-hearted… Like Jerome Tillman gets an and-one opportunity but bricks the FT. Nate Miller still putting on a show with 22 points. BG shooting 57% vs OU’s 37%… there’s your difference.

11:07 - Name that tune… Surfin’ Bird by the Trashmen!!! Where’s Peter Griffin when you need him!?!?! (48-35 BG)

11:30 - Just as OU starts to show signs of life they lose Scott Thomas and he converts a 3 point play when Tommy Freeman tries to recover to him too late. 48-35 BG.

13:23 - 45-32 BG. OU still missing tons of makeable shots.

15:47 - Still 45-30. OU looks cooked.

16:39 - 45-30 Marschall with two E-A-S-Y looks from about a foot away. Gross calls a quick TO. This one is slipping away.

17:26 - 41-30 BG. It’s still the Nate Miller show, he has 20 points so far.

Halftime - Dobbs gets a beautiful floater that goes halfway down before popping back out and BG gets back down court with 10 seconds left and laces an NBA three to go up 35-27 at the half. That really took the air out of the Bobcats who had just cut it to 5. If Ohio wants to compete in this they’ve gotta hit some shots in the second half, they’re shooting percentage so far has been horid.

1:33 - Pretty finishes by Washington and Coleman OU down 32-24.

3:53 - OU shooting 6-21, BG shooting 11-19. There’s your 10 point difference.

3:53 - Wait, it’s the 110, I hear them! Oh… it’s canned music. That’s right, they’re playing canned OU Pep Band music (Stand Up and Cheer). What a joke.

4:04 - BG goes up 28-18 and OU takes a timeout. Bowling Green looks like the better team right now. They’re getting to the hoop, getting open shots and forcing the Bobcats into bad decisions and contested shots.

7:45 - BG up 14-10. The only scoring since the last update was a 3-pointer by, you guessed it, Nate Miller. He has 12 of BG’s 14. OU really has to put that guy in shackles, no reason for him to be getting this many open looks. Also, I pointed out earlier today that Nate Miller’s POTY snub could be trouble for OU. So far it looks like he came out with something to prove. OU is just 3-15 shooting… that’s not gonna do it.

11:37 - BG up 11-10. OU still having trouble converting inside 5 feet, and Nate Miller is absolutely killing the Bobcats with most of BG’s points. OU has to stop Miller if they hope to stay with the Falcons this time out (BG won both games against Ohio so far this season.)

15:41 - 6-4 BG lead. Ohio having trouble converting from inside 3 feet early.

Pregame - Bowling Green’s band is gonna need a long set list for this one. As discussed earlier the Ohio band didn’t make the trip. We’re about a minute away from tip off.

On Thursday, the men’s portion of the MAC Tournament will resume after an exciting opening round on Tueday. Here’s a look at the 2009 MAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchups.

#2 Ball State vs #7 Central Michigan - Ball State and CMU are separated only by a tiebreaker as both went 7-9 in MAC play this season. As a result, a CMU win here would not be considered an upset in my book. Ball State finished the regular season 13-16 overall and #269 in the RPI with CMU finishing 12-18 and #291 in the RPI. The two teams split the season series with the home team winning both games.

#3 Buffalo vs #6 Kent State - This is a matchup of experience vs inexperience as the #6 seed Golden Flashes have been there are done that. But Buffalo’s win over Miami in the final game of the season gave the Bulls the #3 seed and the 1st round bye. Kent is coming off a unimpressive win over #11 Northern Illinois and is 19-13 with a 10-6 MAC record and #132 ranking in the RPI. Buffalo went 19-10, 11-5 in the MAC and is #96 in the RPI as UB will look to keep Kent State from having their 11th straight 20-win season. The two teams split the season series with the home team winning both games.

#1 Bowling Green vs #9 Ohio - On Sunday these two teams closed the regular season with BG dominance. BG jumped out to an early 17-3 lead and cruised to a 34-point victory, and the Falcons are one of two teams to beat the Bobcats in Athens this season. Ohio comes in 15-16 on the season and went 7-9 in MAC play ranking #176 in the RPI while BG is 18-12 and went 11-5 in the MAC and is #164 in the RPI.

#4 Miami vs #5 Akron - Miami (17-12, 10-6) comes in as the MAC’s top ranked team in the RPI almost all season, currently at #75. The RedHawks loss to Buffalo on Sunday was the difference in the #1 seed and the #4 seed, but I still have Miami as my favorite to win the 2009 MAC Tournament. 5th-seeded Akron comes off a OT thriller as they defeated #12 Toledo last night despite 62 fouls and 88 free throws in the game. Akron became the first MAC team with 20 wins at 20-12, 10-6 MAC and ranks #120 in the RPI. The two teams split the season series with the home team winning both games.