• The Bobcats are currently one game behind Buffalo for the No. 2 seed, which also serves as a bye to the MAC Tournament semifinals. Ohio is tied with Kent State and currently holds the tie-breaker against the Golden Flashes. Bowling Green and MAC West Division champion Eastern Michigan are each one game behind the ‘Cats. Ohio has reached the 20-win mark for the 13th time in program history and second time under current Head Coach John Groce.D.J. Cooper is now two assists shy of breaking the Ohio all-time mark which has stood since 1990 (Dennis Whitaker, 651). The junior already owns Ohio’s top two single-season marks (263 in 10-11, 218 in 2009-10)...In addition to averaging league-leading 16.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg in a league-most 37.3 minutes per game, Julian Mavunga is also helping to get his teammates shots, averaging 4.3 assists per game in MAC play, which ranks eighth among league leaders.One of the hottest hands as of late for the RedHawks has been sophomore forward Jon Harris. He has gone 21-of-32 from 3-point range in the RedHawks’ last seven games, as sizzling 65.6 percent accuracy from long range.
Eastern Michigan (14-16, 9-6 MAC) at Toledo (15-15, 6-9 MAC)
2 p.m. • Toledo leads series 39-22
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• Eastern Michigan captured its first West Division title on Wednesday evening with a 54-53 road win over Western Michigan. Senior G Darrell Lampley leads the Eagles with 13.3 ppg. The Eagles are the MAC’s top defensive squad, allowing only 58.2 points per game but rank last in scoring with 53.4 ppg. The MAC has held divisional play since the 1997-98 season and in those 15 years the best finish ever for the Eagles prior to this year as a tie for second in the West in both 2007-08 and 2009-10. Eastern’s best MAC finish since divisional play started was a 13-5 record in 1997-98. This year’s nine wins ties the 1999-00 team for second-most wins... Toledo features a balanced scoring attack with five players scoring 9.0 ppg or higher. Sophomore G Rian Pearson leads the way with a 16.1 scoring mark that ranks second in the league. Joining Pearson in double figures are junior G Curtis Dennis (12.6 ppg), freshman G Julius Brown (12.2 ppg) and junior G Dominique Buckley (10.1 ppg) with sophomore F Matt Smith (9.0 ppg) just under the double-digit barrier.
Northern Illinois (4-24, 3-12 MAC) at Ball State (14-14, 5-10 MAC)
2 p.m. • Ball State leads series 46-32
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• Earlier this year, the Cardinals posted a 75-65 victory over the Huskies in DeKalb. The Cardinals own a 9-5 record at home this season, including a 19-point victory over Central Michigan Wednesday night. Ball State averages 63.4 points per game this season while holding opponents to 60.8 points per game. Senior forward Jarrod Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and on the glass at 8.9 rebounds per game...The Huskies are coming off a 65-61 victory over Toledo Wednesday. Abdel Nader leads the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game and is second on the glass at 4.1 rebounds per game ... Nader leads the team with 31 three-pointers on the year.
Bowling Green (16-13, 9-6 MAC) at Buffalo (18-9, 11-4 MAC)
6 p.m. • Bowling Green leads series 16-8
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• Buffalo will host Bowling Green in the final regular season game of the year on Saturday looking to secure a top two seed in the upcoming Mid-AmericaConference Tournament. Buffalo is coming off a 74-70 win at Akron on Wednesday night. A win by Buffalo would secure the Bulls a bye to the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament as a top two seed. Mitchell Watt averages 15.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocked shots per game, while Javon McCrea is at 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds....Bowling Green is coming off a 56-51 win over Miami on Wednesday night. The Falcons are led by A’uston Calhoun who is averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. BGSU has exceeded its overall win total from each of the past two seasons. The nine conference wins are the most since the 2008-09 team won the MAC regular season with 11 wins.