EMU loves shooting the three, but they have one of the poorest percentages at it (30.4), while the Huskies rebound extremely well. This game could spell the end for the Eagles if Colorado transfer Xavier Silas has a breakout game for NIU. And, sure, I have no problem seeing that happen. Northern Illinois 62, Eastern Michigan 57
#10 Bowling Green (6-10, 14-15) at #7 Western Michigan (16-14, 8-8)
Winner plays #2 Akron (22-9, 12-4)
When these two teams last tangled on February 6 in Kalamazoo, the Falcons blew an 11-point lead with seven minutes left and Western took the lead with four seconds remaining. (This is why David Kool is not welcome in my house.) Considering the Falcons' biggest win was on the road at Kent State, they have the potential for a road upset, but losing their last four MAC games portends them to bow out gracefully sooner rather than later. Western Michigan 67, Bowling Green 62
#9 Ohio (17-14, 7-9) at #8 Ball State (15-14, 8-8)
Winner plays #1 Kent State (23-8, 13-3)
Finally, the "evenly matched up" game, if you will. Their regular season meeting was extremely fun, as Ball State notched the winning bucket with three seconds left in overtime. But the Cardinals have lost their final three games (including one that led to Toledo's first MAC win) and Ohio has won three of their last four. Ohio junior forward Tommy Freeman (ironically from Muncie, Indiana) has sunk 14 of his last 23 3-point attempts to help propel him near the top of the nation in 3-point percentage (46.6%). If he gets hot, this one gets out of hand quickly. Ohio 69, Ball State 60
The quarterfinals begin at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday. Semifinals are Friday and the MAC Championship will be at Saturday at 6 p.m., watchable on ESPN2. The losers may watch.
Article comments
1 - Matt Presto
Nice predictions
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Insanely fun games with Ohio-Ball State and BG-WMU. (I will not miss Otis Polk's paddlehands.) Thank you, Eastern Michigan, for ruining my perfect prediction rating.