Under the Radar Game of the Day: Kent State at Akron, 7:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2
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Today is the final day of regular season action in the Mid-American Conference and features the second of two matchups this season between what may be the conference’s top two rivals, Kent State and Akron. This rivalry is the battle for the Wagon Wheel and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the first time these two teams met on the hardwood. In 144 contests between the schools, Kent State has only a very narrow 73-71 all-time lead. For the Akron Zips tonight, a home win would be a feather in their caps against their top rivals as they prepare for next week’s conference tournament. Akron has already clinched the #1 seed with a 12-5 conference record and 23-7 overall mark. The Zips are led by Antino Jackson and Isaiah Johnson. Jackson scored 14 points and Johnson led the teams with 24 in an earlier 85-76 loss at Kent.
Kent State enters play tonight with a record of 19-11 overall and 10-5 in conference. The Golden Flashes are in a four way tie for the second best record in the conference with Ohio University, Ball State and Central Michigan, plus Buffalo is only a game behind at 9-8. Only three of these teams can earn byes into the quarterfinals and avoid having to host a first round game on Monday night, so a win today by Kent State would be huge for their seeding in the MAC tournament. Kent State is led by junior Jimmy Hall. Hall is a double-double threat every time he takes the court and is coming off of a 22 point, 9 rebound game last time out against Bowling Green. If Akron is unable to contain him, Kent State certainly has the tools to pull off the road upset and earn themselves one of the top four seeds next week.
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE
-YALE AT CORNELL (Ivy). Yale currently holds a half-game lead over Princeton in the Ivy League as of today. Columbia is a tougher game to win, but the Bulldogs cannot afford to be caught looking ahead tonight. A win and a Princeton loss would clinch at least a share of the Ivy League crown tonight.
-PRINCETON AT HARVARD (Ivy). Harvard still can play spoiler here, but this should be the toughest road game of Princeton’s annual Harvard-Dartmouth roadie here.
-BROWN AT COLUMBIA (Ivy, Survival Board). The light is still on in Columbia’s house, but anything less than a win tonight and a Yale loss would eliminate the Lions from a share of the Ivy League title and the vaunted 3-Game Playoff. Princeton needs to lose 2 out of their last 3 for Columbia to remain alive.
-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). This is a rare Friday night lights game for the Big 12 on ESPN2; Texas needs a road win to maintain any hopes of getting a protected seed and a potential trip to OKC for the NCAA Tournament. Even Kansas has been caught napping at Gallagher-Iba Arena, so Longhorns beware!