The Zips (12-7, 4-1) could put themselves in a much better position with a win tonight against Ball State (12-5, 4-1). Certainly, it’s not must-win at this early stage, but if the teams remain on course as division leaders, tonight’s game could go a long way in deciding the Mid-American Conference champion.
Should the teams from the MAC’s East and West divisions end with the same record, the team that wins the regular season matchup claims the conference title and the No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament.
“I think it’s a big game,” UA coach Keith Dambrot said. “Our half [of the league] is going to beat each other up, or it looks that way.”
And right now the way Dambrot sees it, Ball State, a team tied with Eastern Michigan in the conference with 4-1 in the West, should control its half.
“They have a distinct advantage because their [division] is probably a little bit easier than our [division],” he said.
Playing it close
The Zips women’s basketball team evened its MAC record at 3-3 at Ball State on Saturday. Despite the .500 record, coach Jodi Kest said that the team hasn’t been up and down, but rather has been coming up short in close games.
Thus far, five players— Sina King, Taylor Ruper, Jasmine Mushington, Hanna Luburgh and Ti-eshia Stubbs— average double figures in conference play to fill a void created by the loss of the injured Rachel Tecca.
“I think we need to do a better job rebounding and do a better job of playing defense for 40 minutes,” Kest said. “Those are the two areas we need to step it up, but we get a little better every day.”
Gilliam gets boost
It’s too early to call it a trend, but starting guard Chauncey Gilliam certainly lifted some weight from his shoulders Saturday with his 11-point performance in the win over Kent State. Gilliam didn’t notch any points in the previous game — a loss to Buffalo — and averaged just two points per game in the prior three.
Dambrot said it wasn’t a worry for him. “Some guys when things go well, they tend to snowball for them,” he said. “He’s a guy when he gets off pretty good, he plays better. In every game that he’s scored a lot of points, it’s come boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.”
Gilliam appeared relieved Saturday.
“I just come out there and play basketball. I don’t think about what happened yesterday or the day before that. I love the game; I just come out and play hard,” he said.
Cvetinovic in exclusive club
Forward Nik Cvetinovic joined the Zips’ 1,000-point club last week, an impressive feat given that he didn’t have an easy transition to college hoops.
“It’s a great accomplishment and honor to be in that group of people,” he said, “the guys that were here giving their all to this program. It’s just very humbling.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at http://zips.ohio.com. Follow the Zips on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
