Sidelines

Idbihi wins conference honor

Senior forward Yassin Idbihi was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week on Monday. The senior forward averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds to help the Bulls to a 2-0 record this past week. The athletic department also honored the senior naming him as Athlete of the Week.

Idbihi scored 12 points and tied a career-high with 14 rebounds against Temple this past Monday night. He achieved a double-double by halftime with 10 points and 10 rebounds at the break. Against Niagara on Saturday, he had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Idbihi also recorded his 12th career double-double and his second in a row for the Bulls. He also had two assists and two steals against the Purple Eagles.

Idbihi leads the Bulls in scoring and rebounding on the season, averaging 13.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the MAC in rebounding. This is the third time that Idbihi, a native of Morocco, has won the award.

Brown named female Athlete of the Week

For the first time in here career, freshmen forward Kourtney Brown of the women's basketball team was named Athlete of the Week. The forward set a career-high in points and rebounds in the Bulls two games this past week. Brown posted a career best with 12 points and nine rebounds against Cleveland State. She then duplicated her 12-point performance in Buffalo's win over Niagara. She also added six rebounds and three steals against the Purple Eagles.

MAC bowl schedule announced

The Mid-American Conference will have four teams in bowl games over the holiday season. The MAC teams invited are Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl, Ohio in the GMAC Bowl, Western Michigan in the International Bowl, and Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl.

The MAC, whose 10-5 bowl record since 1999 is the winningest of all Division I-A conferences, has sent nine different teams to bowl games in the last three years. The four bowl appearances ranks as the second most in conference history behind the five teams that went to bowls in 2004.

Central Michigan the MAC's 2006 Champion will play in the Motor City Bowl on Tuesday, December 26 against Middle Tennessee State. The 10th annual game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Detroit's Ford Field and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Ohio the MAC's East Division Champion, will head to Mobile, Ala., to play in the GMAC Bowl on Sunday, January 7 against Southern Mississippi. The game will take place at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 8 p.m. on ESPN and will mark the Bobcats' first bowl appearance since the 1968 Tangerine Bowl.

Western Michigan will face Cincinnati in the inaugural International Bowl, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 6 at 12 Noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and will be held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre. It will mark the first time a bowl game has been played outside of U.S. since the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba.

Northern Illinois has accepted a bid to play in the Poinsettia Bowl and will face off against TCU of the Mountain West Conference and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.