MAC Men's Basketball Daily - Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Northeastern (2-6, 0-1 CAA) vs. Western Michigan (4-5, 0-0 MAC)
Diamond Head Classic - Honolulu, Hawaii
3 p.m. • ESPNU • First Meeting
• Western Michigan will look to get back on the winning track at the Diamond Head Classic when the Broncos take on Northeastern at 3 p.m. The Broncos started the tournament yesterday with a loss as Martelle McLemore scored a game-high 21 points, but WMU couldn't hang on to a second-half lead and fell to USC, 55-51. WMU held USC to only five field goals and 22.7 percent shooting in the first half. The Broncos hit 40 percent of their shots, including three three-pointers. WMU won the rebounding battle, 34-31, against the bigger Trojans, but allowed 53.6 percent second-half shooting. The Broncos hit 7-of-9 free throws, while USC made 13-of-21 freebies.
Miami (3-8, 0-0 MAC) at Xavier (6-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
7 p.m. • FSN Ohio • Xavier leads series 50-46
• In the midst of a four-game road stretch which spans three weeks, Miami faces its final local rival of the season when the RedHawks travel to Xavier for a 7 p.m. game. Junior guard/forward Antonio Ballard has been a strong presence for the RedHawks in their last two games. Ballard was in double figures for scoring in both games, tallying a team-high 12 points against Wright State and a season-high 13 points at Milwaukee and averages a team-leading 12.5 ppg over Miami's last two contests. He also has knocked down 53.8 percent of his field goals, 40.0 percent of his 3-pointers and 81.8 percent of his free throws, while averaging 6.0 rpg and 3.0 apg over the RedHawks' last two games...The Musketeers have dropped four of their last seven games after starting 3-0, but are yet to lose back-to-back games. Xavier enters Wednesday with a 6-4 mark having dropped a nail-bitter at No. 21 Butler, 69-68, on Saturday in its last game. The Musketeers boast wins over MAC foes Bowling Green and Kent State, as well as a double-overtime victory against Cincinnati on Dec. 13. Sophomore guard Jordan Crawford leads the charge with 18.4 ppg, shooting 42.9 percent from distance, while also grabbing 5.0 rpg.
