MAC Men's Basketball Daily -- Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Dayton (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at Miami (2-4, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m. • Dayton leads series 66-60
• Miami tries to continue the momentum it built with last Saturday's 82-58 win over Evansville when the RedHawks host local-rival Dayton tonight. Although the RedHawks are just six games into the 2009-10 season, they posted some pretty high marks against Evansville on Nov. 28. Miami recorded its most points in a game this season (82) and also posted its best field-goal percentage of the season (.534). Recording his third double-double in four games with a career-high 18 points to lead all players and a game-high 10 rebounds in an 82-58 win against Evansville, sophomore forward/center Julian Mavunga was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week...Dayton returned home on Saturday and rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Towson 74-69. The Flyers are led by the dynamic forward tandem of Chris Wright and Chris Johnson. Wright leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.4 ppg, while Johnson is close on his heels at 15.2 ppg.
No. 20/23 Butler (4-2, 0-0 Horizon) at Ball State (2-2, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m. • Butler leads series 63-37
• The Cardinals host instate rival and nationally ranked Butler Wednesday night at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals suffered their second straight loss Saturday afternoon as they dropped a 60-58 contest to visiting UC Davis. Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife turned in his fourth straight strong performance as he led the Cardinals with 14 points in 34 minutes of action. Scaife, a Muncie native, has scored in double figures in all four games this season and is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game...Butler posted a 1-2 record at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend ... The Bulldogs lost to No. 16 Minnesota and No. 19 Clemson while defeating UCLA. Butler is averaging 69.2 points per game while allowing 65.8 points per game. Guard Shelvin Mack leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game as he has connected on a team-high 13 three-pointers.
Rochester College (6-6, 0-0 Non DI) at Toledo (0-6, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m. • First Meeting
• Toledo looks to take advantage of some home cooking when it begins a four-game homestand against Rochester College. The Rockets will be playing their first home contest since opening the season with a 72-62 setback to Eastern Illinois on Nov. 14. UT has faced a rigorous schedule to open its 2009-10 campaign with its first six opponents possessing a cumulative 23-14 (.622) win-loss mark.Stephen Albrecht is leading the team with 14.0 ppg, while Jake Barnett possesses a team-high 48.0 three-point FG% to go along with 13.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg...Rochester College opened the season with six straight wins but has dropped six in a row. Three of those defeats came against NCAA Division I foes Kent State (63-44), Oakland (97-63) and UW-Green Bay (77-51). Junior G Michael Graham and senior G Adrian Schaffer II lead the Warriors offensively with 14.9 and 14.7 points per game, respectively.
Bradley (4-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at Northern Illinois (1-4, 0-0 MAC)
8 p.m. • Bradley leads series 7-1
• Northern Illinois is coming off last Saturday's 52-45 loss against host Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center. Freshman guard Tony Nixon scored a team-high nine points, leading a balanced scoring effort for NIU - 11 players scratched the scoring column. Through five games, the Huskies are being led offensively by juniors Darion "Jake" Anderson (11.8 ppg) and Sean Kowal (10.6 ppg). Anderson, a 6-foot-2 guard, also ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding, at 9.6 caroms per game. Both Kowal and Anderson have posted one double-double this season...Bradley, under the leadership of seventh-year head coach Jim Les, owns a 4-2 record through six games, capped off by the Braves' 72-68 upset victory over No. 20 Illinois in the final round of the 2009 HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational. Three Bradley players are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Taylor Brown's 17.0 points and team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game.
