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Happy Friday folks! We hope you’ve had a good week to this point, and we hope you enjoyed all of the post season basketball over the past week. We have a lot to cover on this weeks show!
To open up the pod, the boys discuss Miami’s parting of ways with men’s basketball coach Jack Owens. Owens went 70-83 in five seasons at the helm, and the RedHawks were never able to get over the hump and become true contenders in the conference. This makes three head coaching vacancies in the MAC, and Miami joins Western Michigan and Ball State in their search for a new head of the program.
[Editor’s note: this podcast was recorded prior to Ball State hiring Michael Lewis as head coach on Friday morning.]
Moving into postseason hoops talk, Zack and Zach discuss the valiant effort that Akron put forth in their first round NCAA tournament game against UCLA. The Zips led by one at half time and by eight in the second half, but the Bruins size proved to be too much for Akron to handle. Nonetheless, the future is bright for the Zips, who have basically their entire roster returning next year.
Elsewhere in men’s hoops, Toledo submitted an incredibly disappointing performance in their NIT opener, losing to Dayton at home 74-55. Kent State didn’t fare much better in The Basketball Classic, losing their opening round game to Southern Utah. Ohio picked up the only post season victory, defeating Rice in the first round of the CBI before falling to Abilene Christian in the second round.
In women’s hoops, Dyaisha Fair and Buffalo fought hard against Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite an early Buffalo lead, the Volunteers pulled away in the fourth quarter for an 80-67 victory. Similar to Akron on the men’s side, the Bulls performed admirably but were unable to come out on top.
In the WNIT, Toledo and Kent State were the only two of the five MAC squads to win their first round games, with Akron, Ball State, and Ohio all falling in the first round. Bowling Green ended their season on a high note, finishing third in the WBI tournament after defeating Nevada in the third place game.
To close out the show, the boys re-acquaint themselves with the baseball standings, as conference play has begun in the last two weeks. Central Michigan and Ball State seem to have righted the ship after their early season struggles, and the two preseason favorites currently find themselves at the top of the standings.
As always, thanks for stopping by this week folks. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Bandwagon on your favorite podcast platform so that you don’t miss anything! Everyone have a great weekend, and we’ll see you here again next week.