The MAC tournament moves into the semifinal round on Friday after the No. 4 seed Akron knocked off fifth-ranked Ohio in a hard-fought contest and the No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan upset Buffalo, the third-ranked team coming into the tournament.
MAC tournament schedule and bracket: Akron, Eastern Michigan advance to semifinals
Just four teams remains in the 2014 MAC tournament after Akron and Eastern Michigan advanced to the semifinals in Thursday night’s games.
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Akron came from behind to beat Ohio 83-77, notching 50 points in the second half, as Demetrius Tredwell scored 19 points and hauled in 11 rebounds, while Quincy Diggs led all Akron scorers with 20 points. Ohio led most of the game, but Akron took their first lead, 68-67, with 2:58 remaining in the second half on a Tredwell free throw.
The Zips advanced to Friday night’s semifinals where they will play top-ranked Western Michigan. This is Akron’s ninth-consecutive trip to the MAC tournament semifinals, and if they can upset WMU on Friday, it will be Akron’s eighth-straight trip to the MAC Championship game.
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In Thursday's other contest, the No. 6 six seed, Eastern Michigan, upset third-ranked Buffalo 69-64, erasing a 10-point second-half deficit in the process. Karrington Ward led EMU with 19 points, as the Eagles went on a 27-10 run to lead 64-57 with 2:07 remaining and never looked back. EMU advances to play second-ranked Toledo on Friday, looking to spring another upset and advance to Saturday's championship game.
Akron and WMU will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night, with EMU and Toledo following at 9 p.m. afterward. In their only contest this season, Akron fell to WMU 57-54 in a close game on the road. EMU and Toledo, meanwhile, split their two meetings earlier this year, with EMU topping Akron 65-44 at home back in February and Toledo enacting revenge with an 11-point win over EMU in early March.
Here is a link to the MAC Conference Tournament bracket.
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