This is a very big weekend for the MAC.  It almost feels like the Bracketbuster with so many tight matchups.  There is only one matchup that I don't see us having a real chance to win and no easy wins for us.

Saturday
Akron @ Cleveland State (-7)
Butler @ Ball State (-4)
(-8) Kent State @ Western Carolina
CMU @ Tennessee State (-3)
Loyola (Ill) @ Toledo (-5)
Wright State @ Fiami  (-6.5)
NIU @ Illinois-Chicago (-9.5)
EMU @ Purdue (-25)
Youngstown State @ Buffalo (-10.5)
BGSU @ Valpo (-7.5)
(-5) Ohio @ Portland

Sunday
SIU @ WMU

Going strictly by the lines the MAC should go 7-6 over the weekend.  I couldn't find a line on the Western game yet but I'm assuming they have to be favored at home.  I know Western doesn't have a D-1 win yet but at least they didn't lose to Ohio Dominican like the Salukis did.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard?date=20111210&co...

Not the best start for the MAC this weekend. Toledo? Kent getting a close game? Akron and the little troll losing again to a good CSU!

What was looking like a good day is not turning out that way. Toledo blew it, Akron should've closed it out, and Miami looks positively awful (but can still win).

Gonna need us and Buffalo to win to finish .500, I think.

Kent wasn't impressive, but hey, road win.

CMU gave up something like a 20-0 run out of the half to take themselves out of the game.

BUGS is playing Valpo tight with 2 minutes to go.

Mavunga missed a free throw with 2 seconds left that would have tied the game.

For one, Bill Edwards has said publicly he basically regrets transferring to Miami.

I was at the Akron/CSU game, and I can't figure Akron out. I'm not a basketball expert, so I'm not pretending to understand everything, but this team just seems odd. They have a ton of talent and potential, but they appear to be held back by two things: 1) They rarely play as a team, and 2) Their really talented players rarely seem to play to anywhere close to their full potential. Zeke Marshall shows occasional signs of greatness, but never dominates how it seems so clear that he could. Cvetinovic seems to think (very erroneously) that he can handle the ball like Allen Iverson. I remember thinking that Abreu was a really quick and impressive point guard who seemed to run the offense really well... then I see he had all of three assists to go with three turnovers and seven points. I don't understand that team. I know they've had discipline issues (like always), and they still worry me, but they have to be the biggest disappointment in the MAC so far.

I remember when that happened. It was a complete stall by both coaches.  But it was preshot clock and pre-3pt line so the WMU-SIU point a minute pace would be harder to accomplish.

Looks like Ernie might have figured out his job coaching takes precedence over the dad gig. Or maybe it was just a weird anomaly and will bever happen again.  Two hard things in life....coaching your own kid and letting go to stay outta the way of the guy who is coaching your kid.