Bracket Buster Leaves the MAC Busted at 0-4
Four MAC teams were looking to make names for themselves on a stage intended to help Mid-Major teams do just that while under the curious eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
For Marshall, Kent State, Bowling Green and Ball State's sakes, winning the games were hopefully not on the list of criteria that the Committee was looking for in the teams. But that is probably just wishful thinking.
The inaugural Bracket Buster took place on Saturday and despite hard fought games from each MAC school, they combined to go 0-4 on the day, as victory was not on any of their menus. The following is a recap of the games in which MAC teams participated.
Kent State vs. Hawaii
Golden Flash powerhouse Antonio Gates chipped in an awesome performance with 30 points and seven rebounds, but it was not enough. His Kent State squad fell to the Rainbow Warriors 79-78.
Carl English scored 22 for his Hawaii team, who held off a late surge from KSU who nailed three 3-pointers in the final 17 seconds to cut the lead to one.
Ball State vs. Western Kentucky
Trailing by only one point as they head into the second half, Ball State was unaware of the storm that they were about to endure. The Hilltoppers kicked off the second half with a 13-1 run that pretty much erased any chance of victory for the Cardinals who would fall 84-79.
Chris Williams led the Ball State charge with 33 points, while teammate Robert Owens scored a career high 23. It was all for naught, however, as Western Kentucky improved to 12-0 at home.
Marshall vs. Illinois State
Despite trailing for most of the game, and at one point losing by 16, the Herd was able to rally and get themselves within one point of the Redbirds with 6:31 remaining in the game. Marvin Black carried Marshall on his back with a 12-point, 18-rebound performance, but in the end his Herd fell 57-53.
Greg Alexander put on a show for Illinois State, scoring 21 points on eight of 12 shooting, with four of those field goals coming from 3-point land.
Bowling Green vs. University of Illinois-Chicago
A two-headed attack from Aaron Carr and Jonathan Schneiderman, who both scored 19 points, carried the Flames to an 83-72 win over the Falcons of Bowling Green.
John Reimold led BGSU with 22 points, but the teams 20 turnovers were too much to overcome. The Flames scored 19 points off of the errors of the Falcons.
