Seven MAC Men's Basketball Teams Hit The Hardwood Today

Updated 11/24/2012

MAC Men's Basketball Daily (11-24-12 Release)

MAC Men's Basketball Daily - Saturday, November 24
James Madison (1-3, 0-0 CAA) at Miami (2-2, 0-0 MAC)
Noon ET • James Madison leads series 1-0
Watch LIVE on the MAC Digital Network
• Miami is coming off an impressive 72-59 win at William & Mary to hand the Tribe their first loss of the season and give the RedHawks their first road win of 2012-13. In the RedHawks’ two wins, Miami has outscored its opponents by a 19.5 ppg margin and compiled a +13.5 turnover margin. Four RedHawks are scoring in double figures in their two wins with junior guard Allen Roberts leading the way at 16.0 ppg.

Richmond (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at Ohio (4-0, 0-0 MAC)

2 p.m. ET • First Meeting

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• Ohio will look to stay unbeaten as it returns to action Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center against Richmond. Ohio enters the game in search of its first 5-0 start since the 1969-70 campaign when it won its first seven games to start the year. The `Cats will also look to pick up their 14th-consecutive win at home dating back to last season. Ohio has five players averaging 10.0 points-or-more per game.

Loyola (3-2, 0-0 Horizon) at Northern Illinois (1-2, 0-0 MAC)

4 p.m. ET • Series tied 16-16

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• Aksel Bolin has scored in double figures in two of NIU’s three games and is averaging 9.7 points per contest. Bolin also leads the team in rebounding at 5.7 per game. Freshmen have played 64.5 percent of the minutes this season for NIU; sophomores have added another 19.2 percent of the minutes. NIU leads the MAC in rebounding defense at 27.3 boards per game; the Huskies are second in rebounding margin at +9.3 boards per contest.

Idaho State (0-4, 0-0 Big Sky) vs. Central Michigan (2-2, 0-0 MAC)

Utah Thanksgiving Tournament (Salt Lake City, Utah)

6:30 p.m. ET • First Meeting

• Central Michigan started both halves hot but it was a 12:16 dry spell in the first half that was too much to overcome in a 67-51 loss to the hosts in the Utah Thanksgiving Tournament last night. CMU suffered a 17-of-57 outing from the floor, 8-of-31 from long range and 9-of-15 from the line in the loss. Derrick Richardson led the Chippewas in scoring with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes off the bench.

Madonna (5-1, 0-0 NAIA) at Eastern Michigan (4-1, 0-0 MAC)

6:30 p.m. ET • Eastern Michigan leads series 1-0

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• Eastern Michigan will play host to the Madonna University Crusdaderes. The Eagles enter the contest on a three-game winning streak, which ties the longest of Head Coach Rob Murphy’s career. The Green and White are 4-1 on the season. Derek Thompson, was named the 2012 “Ice Man” Classic Tournament MVP. Thompson averaged 15 points per game, while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Mansfield (1-0, 0-0 Division II) at Buffalo (1-5, 0-0 MAC)

7 p.m. ET • Mansfield leads series 4-3

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• Buffalo will return home to host Mansfield on Saturday night. The Bulls are looking to snap their current three-game losing skid. Buffalo is coming off a 71-64 loss at Canisius on Tuesday night. The Bulls were led by Javon McCrea who had a season-high 22 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in the game.Buffalo has outrebounded each of its first six opponents of the season, including a 39-25 advantage over Canisius. Will Regan has averaged 12 points over the last three games, including a career-high 15 point at Canisius.

Kent State (3-2, 0-0 MAC) at Nebraska (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

9 p.m. ET • Nebraska leads series 2-0

Watch Live on the Big Ten Network

• Kent State wraps up the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic on Saturday night as the team heads to Nebraska for its first road game of the year. In a last second victory over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night, Kent State senior Randal Holt hit a game winning fall away jumper from 15-ft. The jumper was just two of Holt’s 13 points on the night.Senior forward Chris Evans is coming off his first double-double of the season as he led Kent State with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Evans leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg), steals (2.6 spg) and blocks (1.2 bpg) this season.