Four MAC Men's Basketball Games on Today's Slate

• BGSU begins crossover play Wednesday as the Falcons host Central Michigan at 7 p.m. The two teams have identical 2-3 MAC records and are part of a three-way tie (along with Kent State) for seventh place in the league. A’uston Calhoun scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting against Buffalo Saturday. It was the 11th 20-point game of his career. Bowling Green has shot 50 percent or better in a game seven times this year, including three of the last five contests. The Falcons are 4-3 when reaching that percentage...The Chippewas opened conference play with wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan but enter Wednesday’s game on a three-game losing streak. Central Michigan is led by heralded sophomore Trey Zeigler, who is averaging 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. The Chippewas employ a three-guard lineup and all three guards are averaging double-figures with Derek Jackson at 11.7 points and Austin McBroom at 10.7 points. 

• Kent State has shined in the first half of games during MAC play shooting over 53 percent and averaging 39.2 points.  The production is due in large part to the play of senior forward Justin Greene and junior guard Randal Holt.  Greene (16.6) & Holt (15.2) are the top scoring duo in the conference during league play ranking 1st and 3rd respectively. Including the MAC Tournament, Kent State has won 24 straight games against MAC West opponents.  The last loss was a 56-51 defeat at Toledo on Feb. 2, 2008...Northern Illinois has lost two straight following a 74-66 win over Central Michigan on Jan. 14.  The Huskies are led by former Michigan State assistant and first year Head Coach Mark Montgomery.  Abdel Nader is averaging a team best 10.9 ppg while Tim Toler is scoring 10.8 ppg.  

• After a pair of tough losses, Miami tries to get back on the winning track at home. Toledo picked up its first MAC win last Wednesday against Northern Illinois but is coming off a tight three-point loss at Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Both teams seek their second MAC win of the season. In addition to averaging a MAC-leading 17.8 ppg and 9.6 rpg in a league-leading 38.0 minutes per game, Miami’s Julian Mavunga is also helping to get his teammates shots. With a great deal off defensive attention being paid to the 6-foot-8 forward, Mavunga is averaging 3.8 assist per game in MAC play, which ranks 10th among league leaders...The Rockets enter Wednesday’s game ranked fourth in the MAC in scoring offense (72.0 ppg), FG% (45.4) and three-point FG% (34.7). Sophomore G Rian Pearson is one of four Rockets scoring in double figures. He ranks second in the MAC with 2.8 offensive rpg, third with 7.8 rpg, fifth with 15.7 ppg, sixth with 1.7 spg and ninth with a 49.0 FG%.

Western Michigan (9-10, 3-2 MAC) at Ohio (15-4, 3-2 MAC)

• Ohio hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday night in the third of four Mid-American Conference home games for the Bobcats. The crossover contest between teams from the East and West divisions will tip-off at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.Ohio has three players averaging in double figures with junior guard D.J. Cooper leading the way at 14.2 points per game. Junior guard Walter Offutt and junior forward Ivo Baltic are both averaging 11.6  points per contest. The Bobcats are one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to guarding the perimeter, ranking 17th in the nation (28.7%)...The Broncos are 30-34 against teams from the MAC East under current head coach Steve Hawkins and are currently out-rebounding MAC opponents by an average of 8.6 rebounds per game. WMU is averaging more offensive (12.4) and defensive rebounds (26.2) in conference matches than any other team.Matt Stainbrook has scored in double-digits in eight straight outings, the longest stretch for any Bronco this season and ranks first in the MAC and 19th in Division I with a .583 shooting percentage.