Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Boudreau scored 18 points off the bench to lead the fifth-seeded Buffalo Bulls to a 72-54 victory over the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Calvin Betts netted 13 points for Buffalo (18-11), which moves on to battle fourth-seeded Miami-Ohio in the quarterfinals. The Bulls also got 12 points from Sean Smiley.

Justin Anyijong tallied 14 points in defeat for Toledo (4-28), which closed out its season with losses in 21 of the last 22 outings. The Rockets also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Jake Barnett, as well as 12 points from Malcolm Griffin.

Buffalo shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-22 at intermission.

The Bulls registered more field goals in the second half (15) than the first stanza (14), enabling them to cruise to victory.

Buffalo earned a 39-26 rebounding advantage in the clash and finished with 19 assists against only eight turnovers.

Final Score: Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73

Kalamazoo, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Kool racked up 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to lift the seventh-seeded Western Michigan Broncos over the 10th-seeded Bowling Green Falcons by a 75-73 final in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Flenard Whitfield added 19 points off the bench for Western Michigan (17-14), which will battle second-seeded Central Michigan in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Broncos also got 12 points from Martelle McLemore.

Scott Thomas scored 23 points in defeat for Bowling Green (14-16). Marc Larson posted 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons, who received 11 points and seven assists from Joe Jakubowski.

Bowling Green led 39-38 at halftime after shooting a stellar 17-of-25 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Still, Western Michigan was able to prevail because it earned a 10-4 edge in points from the foul line in the second half.

The Broncos finished the tilt with 17 assists against only six turnovers, impressive by any standards.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 65, Northern Illinois 59

Ypsilanti, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Bowdry posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the sixth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles to a 65-59 victory over the 11th-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

Justin Dobbins tallied 13 points for Eastern Michigan (17-14), which will attempt to upset the third-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round. Carlos Medlock added 11 points for the Eagles, who got 10 points from Jay Higgins.

Xavier Silas poured in 20 points in the narrow defeat for Northern Illinois (10-20), which received 15 points and 11 rebounds from Sean Kowal.

Northern Illinois led by a 22-8 margin early on, but the Huskies slowed down an owned less impressive 29-23 lead at halftime

Over the final 20 minutes, the Eagles connected on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts and held the Huskies to 30.8 percent shooting.

Northern Illinois finished the game with 18 turnovers, overshadowing a 39-27 rebounding advantage.

Final Score: Ohio University 85, Ball State 77 (OT)

Muncie, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats to a hard-fought 85-77 overtime victory over the eighth-seeded Ball State Cardinals in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

DeVaughn Washington and Tommy Freeman both scored 15 points for Ohio (18-14), which moves on to the quarterfinal round to do battle with the top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes. D.J. Cooper contributed 12 points. nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats.

Randy Davis scored 21 points in the heart-breaking loss for Ball State (15-15). Jauwan Scaife tallied 17 points, Terrence Watson added 14 points and Jarrod Jones pitched in 12 points.

Neither team was able to build a double-digit lead in the first half, and Ball State owned a narrow 36-33 edge at intermission.

Bassett hit a layup for Ohio with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 69-69. Bassett was fouled on the play and could have given the Bobcats the lead with a free throw, but his attempt missed its mark. Neither team was able to score again down the stretch, and an extra session was needed to decide the outcome.

Ball State scored the first two points of overtime, but Ohio closed the game on a 16-6 run.

A 27-11 advantage in points from the foul line was key to the victory for the Bobcats.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds

Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it. Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.