Despite loss to NIU, men’s basketball can clinch MAC West Tuesday against Toledo


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Guard Rayshawn Simmons searches for an opening around Northern Illinois University guard Michael Orris Feb. 18, 2015 in McGuirk Arena.

The men’s basketball had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 73-55 loss to Northern Illinois University (12-15, 6-10) Saturday.

The loss to the Huskies sets up a showdown with Toledo University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and McGuirk Arena. The Rockets sit one game behind the Chippewas in the MAC West standings.

A win Tuesday against UT gives CMU its first Mid-American Conference West Division title since 2010, while a loss would put the Rockets up one game in the conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

The Chippewas are 5-0 this season following a loss, including a 105-77 victory over Miami (OH) Jan. 14.

“I’d rather not have this feeling right now,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “What I told the team after was, ‘The best part of it is, we’re having this conversation now and not on the night that ends your season.’ We get to play Tuesday.”

Streak gets snapped

The Huskies led from start to finish Saturday, taking down the Chippewas three days after beating Toledo, the other top team in the Mid-American Conference, on the road.

“There haven’t been many moments where we weren’t tuned in to what we needed to do,” Davis said. “(But) this was one of them.”

The Chippewas,  shot 31.5 percent on field goals and had its junior captain, Chris Fowler, foul out of the game with 7:05 remaining.

While CMU’s chances at the one seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament did not come crashing down with the loss, there was more than one collapse in DeKalb, Ill. Saturday.

With 12:51 to go in the game, NIU’s forward Pete Rakocevic threw down a dunk to put his team up 16 points.

Seconds later, the basketball hoop began to fold up and collapse with CMU junior forward John Simons underneath.

Simons, was nearly struck by the crashing backboard, ducking and diving to narrowly avoid the crumpling hoop.

Taking on Toledo

Heading into Tuesday’s matchup with Toledo, Davis said the team has to learn how to matchup in a physical game.

“We’ve got to make sure that we go back to the drawing board and say, ‘What exactly did they do that bothered us?’” Davis said. “’How do we prepare for that the next time so that when we’re put in that position, we can respond better?’”

CMU beat the Rockets in Toledo 65-62 in the first game of the MAC season thanks to a Simons 3-pointer with 1:08 to play.

“We’re playing for a championship,” Davis said. “We’re playing to go to Cleveland directly and I hope we get a great crowd out on Tuesday at McGuirk and see if we can get back on the right track.”

Seeding Scenarios (Possible B.O.B.):

The top two seeds receive a bye to the semi-final round of the MAC Tournament, the third and fourth seeds receive double-byes to the quarterfinals. Seeds five through eight host the first round against seeds nine through 12.

The team that wins the regular season title and earns the top seed automatically receives a invitation to the NCAA National Invitational Tournament if that team fails to make the NCAA Tournament.

Seeding is based on conference records, not overall records, and the first tiebreaker is head-to-head matchups. The second tiebreaker is winning percentage against the top seed. If still tied, it’s the winning percentage against the second seed, then the third and so on.

If three or more teams are tied, the tiebreaker is the head-to-head record between the teams.

The Chippewas can earn the No. 1 seed if:

- CMU beats Toledo and Western Michigan AND Bowling Green loses to Buffalo and/or Kent State.

- CMU beats Toledo and loses to Western Michigan AND Bowling Green loses to Buffalo and Kent State AND Kent State loses to Akron.

The Chippewas can earn the No. 2 seed if:

- CMU loses to Toledo and beats Western Michigan AND Bowling Green loses to Buffalo and Kent State and Kent State loses to Akron.

- CMU beats Toledo and loses to Western Michigan AND Bowling Green beats Buffalo and loses to Kent State AND Kent State loses to Akron.

- CMU beats Toledo and loses to Western Michigan AND Bowling Green loses to Buffalo and beats Kent State.

The Chippewas can earn the No. 3 or No. 4 seed if:

- CMU beats Toledo or Western Michigan.

- CMU loses to Toledo and Western Michigan AND Buffalo loses to Ohio and/or Bowling Green OR Kent State loses to Bowling Green and/or Akron.

The Chippewas will earn a No. 5 seed or lower if:

- CMU loses to Toledo and Western Michigan AND Buffalo beats Ohio and Bowling Green AND Kent State beats Bowling Green or Akron AND Toledo loses to Eastern Michigan (assuming Toledo doesn’t win the tiebreaker against CMU for the fourth seed).

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About Taylor DesOrmeau

Taylor DesOrmeau is a senior at Central Michigan University, majoring in integrative public relations ...

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