OVEN MITT & JoePa's 3/10 College Hoops

[joepa66]

OVEN MITT YTD: 29 - 31 - 1
3/10: 0 - 1

Good on 28 of his last 50 picks.....he's been struggling of late!



JOEPA'S UPDATED YTD: 143 - 128 - 9
UNITS: -2.00
3/10: 0 - 5

Crash and burn baby....throw all the records, etc. out the window at tournament time......:puke:

[joepa66]

Akron Wins Overtime Thriller Over Toledo, 93-92


CLEVELAND, Ohio – Off the inbounds pass from Anthony “Humpty” Hitchens, Brett McKnight tipped in the game-winner as Akron defeated Toledo, 93-92 (OT) in the final first round game of the Mid-American Conference men’s basketball tournament.

Toledo’s Clayton Sterling scored his team’s final four points, a fall-down running lay-up with 5.7 seconds to go giving the Rockets a 92-91 advantage. But that would not be enough, as Akron (20-12) secured its fourth straight 20-win season and a berth in Thursday’s quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Miami.

Brett McClanahan’s triple with 1:14 remaining cut the Toledo lead to three at 74-71, and after two free throws by the Rockets’ Anthony Byrd, the Zips scored two baskets off offensive rebounds on the same possession. Chris McKnight followed a Nate Linhart (16 points) missed triple with a lay-up, and after his missed free throw, Linhart followed suit.

Two more free throws by Byrd made the score 78-75, but then Hitchens buried his first three-pointer of the game from the right baseline with 1.3 seconds on the clock to send the game into the extra session.

UA scored the first five points after the intermission to tie its largest lead at 43-36, but Toledo would respond with a 26-7 run, keyed by a Jonathan Amos 3-point play with 15:32 remaining that gave the Rockets their first lead since the 1:20 mark of the first half.

UT would hold the Zips without a field goal over a stretch of 14:20, until Nate Linhart made just the third UA basket of the second 20 minutes with 4:47 to go.

Six players reached double figures for Akron, led by the first career double-doubles for both Chris McKnight and Nate Linhart. Chris McKnight scored career highs with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Linhart’s 11 rebounds were a team season high and personal career high. The Zips set a school record with 37 3-point attempts, and the 12 makes were one off the season best.

Akron, second in the MAC in field goal defense, allowed the Rockets to shoot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the floor. But UT did not fare well from beyond the arc, able to connect on just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) triples against the league’s top 3-point percentage defense.

Akron, the league’s top free throw shooting team, came up big from the charity stripe in the first period, making each of its first 10 shots from the line. However, crucial stretch of five consecutive misses in the second half opened the door for the Rockets, but would not prove costly, as the Zips rebounded to connect on 25-of-40 (62.5 percent) for the game.

No. 12 Toledo (7-25) was led by Amos, whose 24 point and nine rebounds came on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free throw line. Tyrone Kent, Byrd and Justin Anyijong joined him in double figures as the Rockets made 36-of-48 (75 percent) free throws.

A 3-point play by Amos with 2:52 left before halftime knotted the game at 30 all, highlighting a 13-8 Toledo run into the locker room. A flurry of long-range jumpers would rain down during the first 20 minutes, as both teams combined for eight triples. Akron’s Darryl Roberts led the way in that department, connecting on two of his three 3-pointers in the span of a minute.

[joepa66]

Kent State Edges Northern Illinois, 64-61

Cleveland, Ohio – In a match-up of the league’s top two scoring teams, Kent State defeated Northern Illinois, 64-61, in first round action of the Mid-American Conference men’s basketball tournament Tuesday afternoon.

Al Fisher led No. 6 Kent State (19-13) with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting, 20 of those coming in the first half. He was nearly perfect from 3-point range during the first twenty minutes (3-of-4), ending the game 3-of-7 from behind the arc. It was the 30th time the 2008 MAC Player of the Year led his school in scoring and his eighth 20-point game of the season.

The two school’s first matchup in tournament history came down to the final possession, as the Huskies had one last chance to send the game into overtime following a traveling call on Fisher with 18.1 seconds to go. But Jake Anderson missed a pair of 3-pointers for the game’s final score.

Just out of the locker room, Kent took a three-point lead, 44-41, on a Jordan Mincy triple at the 16:04 mark of the second half. But Anderson answered with two 3-pointers over a three-minute span to cap a string of seven unanswered points by the Huskies. That run would increase to 15-4 as the Golden Flashes would score just one field goal over nearly 10 minutes.

With the score 56-48, a Mike McKee triple—his third of the game—broke that dr ought with 6:18 remaining in regulation and spurred Kent to 10-2 run. A tip-in and turnaround hook by Brandon Parks on subsequent possessions tied things up and the Golden Flashes would end the game on a 16-5 spurt.

No. 11 Northern Illinois (10-20) was led by All-MAC Second Team selection Jake Anderson’s 19 points, while Mike DiNunno added 13 in the loss, as both players reached double figures before halftime. Redshirt freshman Michael Fakuade set career highs with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Trailing 35-29 with 3:05 left before intermission, the Golden Flashes embarked on an 8-2 run, fueled by two McKee 3-pointers and Fisher’s eighth field goal of the half to tie the game after the first 20 minutes.

[joepa66]

Ohio Takes Down Western Michigan To Advance To Quarters

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ohio upended Western Michigan, 62-55, in first round action of the Mid-American Conference men’s basketball tournament Tuesday evening at Quicken Loans Arena.

Ohio (15-16) came into the game as the league’s second best field goal shooting team, but shot just 34.1 percent (9-of-26) in the first half. The Bobcats improved in the second stanza, connecting on 9-of-22 (40.1 percent) shots from the floor.

A 50-43 advantage with just six minutes remaining looked to be enough for the Bobcats, but a subsequent 12-4 run over the next four-plus minutes gave the Broncos their first lead since 6:41 of the first half. However, Ohio would score the final eight points of the game to advance to the second round.

Jerome Tillman led four Ohio players in double figures with 14 points. Steven Coleman, DeVaughn Washington and Michael Allen each chipped in 12 apiece. Coleman and Washington led the Bobcats reserves as Ohio outscored the Broncos bench, 24-16. Justin Orr led all rebounders with eight.

Ohio came out of the break inspired, scoring the first six points of the second half, a run that started just before halftime. Overall, the Bobcats scored eight consecutive points from the 1:32 mark of the first half to secure their largest lead of the game.

Western Michigan (10-21), winners of the West Division for the second straight season, were led by David Kool’s 10 points. The MAC’s leading scorer also added six rebounds. The Broncos came into the game second in the MAC in free throws, but made just 8-of-15 (53.6 percent) for the game.

The game started out evenly contested, both teams struggling to find their mark from the field. Tillman and Kool, the league’s top two scorers, were held to just three and four points, respectively, during the first 20 minutes of action.

Demetrius Ward buried a 3-pointer to give the Broncos an early six-point advantage, 13-7, with 12:04 left in the first half. But a triple by Tillman (his only basket of the half) nearly four minutes later gave the Bobcats their first lead since 2-1, capping a string of seven unanswered points.

Tommy Freeman’s 3-pointer with five minutes left before intermission broke a 16-all tie, as Ohio would use a 16-5 run to lead by five with 2:52 left in the half. A Martelle McClemore triple brought Western back to within two points, but a pair of free throws by Coleman put the Bobcats up four heading into the locker room.

Ohio advances to take on top-seeded Bowling Green in a quarterfinal match-up on Thursday. The game will be broadcast regionally by FS Ohio, with tip time slated for 7 p.m. EST.

[joepa66]

Central Michigan Advances To Quarterfinals With Win Over EMU

Cleveland, Ohio – Central Michigan defeated Eastern Michigan, 62-49, to kick off the Mid-American Conference men’s basketball tournament Tuesday afternoon. No. 7 Central Michigan (12-18) won its third straight game, led by Marcus Van’s game-high 17 points. The MAC’s leading rebounder also added four rebounds, while Robbie Harman joined him in double figures with 13 points, coming on 5-of-10 shooting.

No. 10 Eastern Michigan (8-24), which came into the contest ranked sixth in scoring defense (allowing 63.8 points per game) held Harman, Central Michigan’s second-leading scorer, without a basket during the first twenty minutes.

His first basket came 2:04 into the second half, and after a Brandon Bowdry cut the Eagles deficit to 32-29, Harman would score the next 11 Chippewa points, including four consecutive jumpers at one point. That 11-4 run midway through the second half gave the Chippewas their first double-digit lead, 43-33.

The Chippewas used outstanding shooting and domination on the boards to advance to the second round for the second straight season. After a solid 11-of-24 (45.6 percent) performance in the first half, CMU improved in the second stanza, connecting on 56.8 percent (13-of-23) from the field.

Central Michigan out-rebounded the Eagles, 30-22, with nineteen of those rebounds coming before halftime (14 defensive). The Chippewas finished the regular season with a rebound margin of -1.2, but CMU outrebounded EMU in all three games this season.

The Eagles took advantage of solid free-throw shooting 14-of-19 (73.7 percent). EMU shot just 31.6 percent (6-of-19) in the first half, but improved to 45.5 percent after the break. Heading into postseason play as the league’s hottest team, the loss snapped the Eagles four-game winning streak.

Brandon Bowdry, named second-team All-Mid-American Conference, led the way for Eastern Michigan with 13 points and a game-high six rebounds. Antonio Green joined him in double figures with 11, adding five boards of his own. L.J. Frazier, the team’s top 3-point shooter (ranking eighth in the MAC) was held without a triple.

The first half saw three ties and six lead changes. Jordan Bitzer scored five of Central Michigan’s first seven points to get his team off and running from the outset. Trailing 10-9 after a second consecutive jumper by Eagles wingman Wendale Farrow, Van would score the next six Chippewa points during a 9-1 run, capped off by an Adrian Hunter 3-pointer with 8:47 left before intermission.

With the score 18-11, EMU rattled off six unanswered points to draw within one point, but a breakaway dunk by CMU’s Antonio Weary gave the No. 7 seed a five-point lead at intermission, the Chippewas ending the half on a modest 8-4 run.

Central Michigan advances to take on second-seeded Ball State in a quarterfinal match-up at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday. The game will be broadcast regionally by Fox Sports Net Ohio, with tip time slated for noon EST.