Who's Hot
Ball State
The Cardinals are flying high after their 10th-straight win at home last Saturday, a 72-59 victory over Buffalo. They not only lead the MAC West Division, but they are also leading the entire MAC with a 10-1 record. This year's Ball State squad is the first to have an overall record of 18-4 in its school's history.
Balanced offence has been the key for the Cardinals this year. In the last six games the Cardinals have had five different leading scorers. They have last year's MAC Player of the Year, Tamara Bowie, who is leading the team in scoring, and last year's MAC Freshman of the Year, Johna Goff.
Kent State
KSU walloped Akron last Saturday 82-54 to extend their victory streak to six games. Any other team in the conference loses three senior starters (i.e. Buffalo) and next season is a rebuilding year, but not in Coach Bob Lindsay's program. KSU has simply reloaded and fired to the top of the MAC East Division, and is headed for their fifth-straight MAC East title.
The Golden Flashes have five games remaining, including three home games and an away meeting with lowly Akron - not a bad way to end the season.
Jessica Kochendorfer
Buffalo's sophomore forward posted a career best 27 points in Saturday's loss to Ball State. She also earned her sixth double double of the season in that game.
Kochendorfer has led the Bulls in scoring in each of their last three games and in assists the past two games.
A little more balance in the offense and a lot less turnovers could turn the Bulls around in time for the playoffs.
Tracy Roller
Ball State's first-year head coach has the team firing on all cylinders. She has the Cardinals on pace for their first MAC West title and possibly their first MAC regular season title.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to be working with five returning starters, which includes the likes of WNBA-hopefuls Bowie and Goff.
Who's Not
Buffalo
A four-game losing skid has dropped the Bulls to 4-8. Just two weeks ago the Bulls stood at .500 in the conference. The last two games were the worst for UB - they were outscored by a combined 43 points.
Buffalo started this streak with a nail-biting loss to MAC East No. 1 Kent State. The Bulls lost by the narrowest of margins, one point, proving that even the teams on the top of the conference are not out of reach.
UB has four games remaining: Marshall, Ohio, Kent State and Miami, Ohio. The bad news is that the Buffalo lost earlier in the season to both Kent State - which was a home contest - and Miami. The good news is that the Thundering Herd of Marshall has gone cold in losing six of their last seven, and Ohio has had only three wins in their last nine games.
Akron
If the Zips thought that there were nowhere to go but up after finishing last in the MAC West last year, they were sadly mistaken. Akron has zipped down to last place in the conference - again - and failing to win a game in MAC play this season. They stand at 0-12 with four games left.
The Zips have been beaten by an average of 24 points in their MAC games this year.
Featured Games This Week
Ball State at Kent State, Tonight
The two top dogs face off at Kent State. This should be a battle. Ball State's balanced attack could pose serious problems for KSU - they cannot simply focus on one or two players, but rather they need to play solid team defense. KSU will also have to make a concerted effort to balance their offensive attack from the inside out.
Marshall at Buffalo, Tonight
Buffalo gets a great opportunity to get back on track when the Thundering Herd comes into Alumni Arena for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Buffalo has dropped their last two home games. However, they lost by a combined total of only five points in those two games.
The Bulls will receive some much-needed depth as forward Kim Kilpela and guard Erin Lawrenson will both return from injury. Kilpela will not start but will come off the bench after being absent from the lineup with a right ankle injury. Lawrenson returns from an inflamed disc in her back, and will "play a little," according to Head Coach Cheryl Dozier.
They Said It
"We've been a pretty consistent defensive team and we've been a pretty consistent free-throw shooting team . fundamentally we do a pretty good job on the defensive end of the court, and I think that's where you have to do it first before you do it anywhere else." - Kent State Head Coach Bob Lindsay, commenting on his programs success over the past 5 years.
"We have gotten back to some basic fundamentals of ball catching and passing . the biggest thing going into the tournament is to get players healthy," UB Head Coach Cheryl Dozier on what her team has worked on in practice and what they need to do to be successful in the MAC tournament.
