MAC Madness Continues With Semifinal Contests Tonight

• Kent State is geared up for a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal against Akron at  7 pm on Friday.  The Golden Flashes are making their 15th overall semifinal appearance and 11th in the last 15 years.  The game will serve as a rematch of an epic 66-65 overtime game won by the Zips in the MAC Championship game a year ago.  This is the fourth meeting in the MAC Tournament between the two schools in the last six years. Led by a 23-point, 9-rebound performance from senior forward Justin Greene, Kent State earned a 76-72 win over  Western Michigan in the quarterfinals on Thursday night... Akron will play in its seventh-straight Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal contest tonight, its first as the No. 1 overall seed. Akron is 16-5 in the MAC Tournament under head coach Keith Dambrot, including a 5-1 record in the semifinal round. Akron has eight players averaging 6.0 or more points per game, including Zeke Marshall (10.3), Nikola Cvetinovic (10.0), Alex Abreu (9.3), Nick Harney (8.6), Brian Walsh (8.3), Quincy Diggs (8.1), Demetrius Treadwell (7.6) and Chauncey Gilliam (6.3).

No. 3 Ohio (25-7, 11-5 MAC) vs. No. 2 Buffalo (19-9, 12-4 MAC)

• Buffalo’s 12 conference wins are the most since joining the MAC. The Bulls are also their highest seed ever in the MAC Tournament. The Bulls are 2-0 in the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament - advancing to the championship game in 2005 and 2009. Buffalo is 13-4 this season when Mitchell Watt and Javon McCrea combine to score 30 or more points. Buffalo’s next win would be the 20th of the season for the Bulls - giving them their fourth ever 20-win season - all under current head coach Reggie Witherspoon...Ohio opened the second half with an 11-0 run and avenged an earlier defeat to Toledo with a 65-57 win in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Bobcats matched the all-time wins total for a single season with their 25th of the season and also knocked the Rockets out of the MAC Tournament for the second year in a row. D.J. Cooper finished with 18 points, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds to lead No. 3 Ohio (25-7) into Friday night’s semifinal match-up against No. 2 seed Buffalo. Reggie Keely added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench while Offutt also added 13 points.