Jim Larranaga – who coached George Mason to the 2006 Final Four – looks to conjure up some old March magic as his Miami squad returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 when it takes on Buffalo in a South Region first-round game Thursday in Providence, R.I. The Hurricanes, the No. 3 seed in the West region, come in having won nine of their last 11, while the Bulls took the Mid-American Conference tournament championship for the second straight season.
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The Buffalo men’s basketball team will play in its second straight MAC championship game on Saturday night for a chance to become the first repeat champion in 14 years.
Buffalo led for much of the first half, although Akron rarely let the game get out of hand.
Central Michigan freshman Presley Hudson hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to tie it at 71.
“All of these guys bought in and we got hot at just the right time”, Buffalo coach Nate Oats said. Bowling Green was getting ready for warmups as an underdog, looking like a longshot to take down last year’s number one seed Central Michigan.
Hamilton spent the final 13 minutes of the first half on the bench with two fouls, but he dropped a 3-pointer to trigger the run, and when Massinburg hit another 3 to make it 49-35, Buffalo’s blue fans roared loud enough to be heard all the way back in Tonawanda.
Akron (25-7) held a brief lead a 3-2 after a McAdams triple that opened their scoring, but played from behind most of the rest of the first half.
After a timeout, the Bulls got the inbound to sophomore guard Stephanie Reid, who drove down the lane and threw up an off-balanced jumper. Hamilton also provided the game-winning basket on this pretty 3-pointer with just one second left on the clock.
Reggie McAdams led the Zips with 20 points and Isaiah “Big Dog” Johnson added 19 more to go along with his 16 rebounds. Central Michigan battled back to take a five-point lead in the second quarter.
“We’ve got a 28 RPI”, he said. “We’re only playing three guys right now that even played in that game past year, and Lamonte and Jarryn (Skeete) and Rodell (Wigginton)”. This win meant that the Bulls would be dancing once again, as the team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. “Like Coach told us, Duke was in this exact situation a year ago and went on to win the title, so a tournament is a new season for us”. They did bow out of the NCAA Tournament with a narrow loss to Virginia in their second postseason game, but were ranked #11 coming into that one. “I thought they did a really good job just being leaders in the locker room all year”. With that auto-bid, it is the first time the women’s program will be headed to the NCAA Tournament. “I believe in every kid I bring in here”. Three other Zips scored in double figures.
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Junior wing Willie Conner was named the MAC Tournament MVP and joined Massinburg and Bearden on the All-Tournament team.
