It's the last day of February, but March Madness has already begun.
There is only a week until the men's Mid-American Conference basketball tournament in Cleveland, Ohio begins. But by the way things are shaping up in the conference, the battle for the top two seeds and that all-important bye into the semifinals of the tournament will hit a crescendo at Northeast Ohio tomorrow night.
The Bulls (17-9, 10-4 MAC) have woken up a bit from their recent three-game slumber, by beating a tough Miami (Ohio) (9-18, 5-9 MAC) team, 84-74 last Saturday at Alumni Arena. However, the road gets tougher, as they have to face a hungry, and angry, Akron (20-9, 12-2 MAC) team on Wednesday.
The Zips seemed to be a lock for the first seed in the MAC tournament. But that all changed on Sunday when they were run out of the gym by Ohio (23-6, 10-4 MAC) by 24 points. With the Bulls in town, a team that gave them their only other conference loss – a 82-70 beating in Buffalo – the Zips are looking to even the score.
When these two teams play, the spotlight is always on the battle in the paint. Both teams have some the best big men in the conference.
On the Zips side, although the 7-foot big man Zeke Marshall is the team's main attraction, the real focus will be on fellow forward Nikola Cvetinovic. The 6-foot-8 Serbian has been trouble for the Bulls, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight boards in their last game.
"We gotta keep him off the glass, keep him away from the basket area, and understand his tendencies," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
The Bulls will counter with senior forward Mitchell Watt, who has been deadly for the last few weeks. He has averaged 18.8 points over the last five games, including a 28-point explosion against Miami. Continuing that hot scoring could be key for the Bulls, especially on the road.
"The biggest thing for [Watt] in terms of scoring is the movement of the basketball, the movement of his teammates and himself," Witherspoon said. "When he's moving and he's playing with energy, the other things just kind of take care of themselves."
With Watt, sophomore forward Javon McCrea, and senior guard Zach Filzen providing consistent production on the on the scoreboard, it may be up to a fourth scorer to keep up with the plethora of talent on the Akron side.
"If we play our offense with rhythm I think there are a lot of chances for people to score points," Witherspoon said. "We have a number of good passers on our team, and [sophomore guard] Jarod Oldham is one of the better passers on our team. So I think there are a lot of opportunities for guys to score."
Another key matchup will be the battle at the point guard position, between two of the best young guards in the MAC. As the season has gone on, Oldham has gained confidence and has done a good job controlling the Buffalo offense. He leads the conference in assists per game with 6.1.
Opposing him is Akron sophomore Alex Abreu: a sly, cocky point guard who isn't afraid to get into the paint and pick his spots. He plays tremendous defense, rattling opposing points by applying pressure with his pickpocket skills, and he has reputation for scoring timely baskets.
"Abreu is having a very good season," Witherspoon said. "I think that the key to stopping him in this game is to keep him out of the lane."
With all the movements at the top of the MAC, and a four-game difference between the top seed and the sixth, these last few games are key to seeding. The difference between playing four games starting with a second round game at a campus site, and having to play only two games en route to an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is huge.
"That's life in the MAC," Witherspoon said. "If you're gonna be in a fight, it's good to fight at the top of the conference. There are a lot of opportunities here and you have to be at your best to win these games."
Buffalo still has an opportunity for the top seed, but could also fall as far as fifth depending on the final two games.
The battle to the top of the MAC continues in Akron, at the James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday. Tipoff for the game is slated for 7 p.m.
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